MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Ripon women's basketball program maintained its grip on sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference standings with a critical 73-47 road win at Cornell on Saturday afternoon inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
With six regular season games remaining, Ripon (15-4, 9-1 MWC) stays a half game ahead of Lawrence in the race for the MWC regular season title. The Red Hawks remain two games ahead of Knox and Cornell (11-7, 7-3 MWC) after Saturday's results. In Ripon's current six-game winning streak, the Red Hawks have allowed less than 50 points in each game.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Freshman guard Halle Van Horn scored a team-high 15 points, adding nine rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes.
• Senior guard Anna Fahrney recorded 13 points and five rebounds off the bench, connecting on both three-point attempts.
• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas tallied 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.
• Senior guard/forward Bree Miller chipped in eight points off the bench, making a pair of three-pointers.
• Junior guard Natalie Rauwolf added eight points and five rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz had seven points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
It took a moment for the offenses to wake up in the opening quarter as Cornell was held without a basket for the first two and a half minutes of the game. After the teams exchanged the lead in the midway portion of the period, six consecutive points for Ripon gave it an 11-6 lead. Cornell scored the next five points to tie it up, but Ripon ended the frame on a 5-0 spurt to lead 16-11 after one.
 
Ripon opened up a cushion in the second quarter. After Cornell made it a one score game on its first possession, the Red Hawks went on a 6-0 spurt to make the score 22-13. Ripon ended the half by scoring the final eight points as Cornell was held scoreless for the final 2:50, giving the Red Hawks a 33-17 advantage at the break.
 
The Rams cut their deficit to 12 on multiple occasions in the early going of half two, but a 13-6 spurt opened up a 50-31 advantage for the Red Hawks near the end of the third quarter. Cornell's last made field goal of the period came at the 6:21 mark as the final 11 points of the frame for the hosts came at the charity stripe. Havlovitz hit a pair of free throws in the final minute, and Ripon took a 54-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Rauwolf opened the fourth quarter scoring with a triple, and the rout continued from there. Ripon scored the first four points of the fourth, building up a 22-point advantage in the process. The Red Hawks' lead was at least 17 for the entire final frame as the Rams had just two made field goals in the first four and a half minutes. Ripon's largest lead of the game was 73-47 after a layup by Maggie Glaus with a minute to go, and the Red Hawks cruised to the victory from there.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 43.1% from the field (25-of-58) on Saturday, shooting 50.0% in both the first and fourth quarters.
• The Red Hawks limited Cornell to 28.6% shooting from the field and 4-of-22 shooting from deep.
• Ripon had a 34-14 edge in paint points, and turned 21 Cornell turnovers into 20 points.
• The Red Hawks had a 43-25 advantage in rebounds.
• Erin Knowles led all scorers with 18 points for the Rams.

UP NEXT
Ripon plays at Beloit on Wednesday, February 5. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
 
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