GALESBURG, Illinois – The Ripon women's basketball program outscored Knox by 22 in the second quarter on Saturday afternoon en route to an impressive 76-57 victory over the Prairie Fire inside Memorial Gymnasium.
 
Separate 8-0 and 19-0 runs for Ripon (17-4, 11-1 MWC) in the second quarter alone turned a two-point margin after the first quarter into a rout. With the win, the Red Hawks clinched a spot in the upcoming Midwest Conference Tournament and held Knox (12-9, 7-5 MWC) under 64 points for the first time in conference play.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior forward Ella Ten Pas scored a team-high 16 points, adding 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
• Freshman guard Halle Van Horn added 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field. She also had seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
• Senior guard Vanessa Solano hit four three-pointers, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds off the bench.
• Junior guard Natalie Rauwolf contributed eight points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Sophomore guard Laney Havlovitz added seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
In a frenetic first quarter, Ripon took an early 6-5 lead before Knox responded with the next six points. However, a Van Horn jumper started a 13-2 Red Hawks run as the visitors went in front 19-13 with under two minutes to play in the quarter. The Prairie Fire ended the period strong, scoring five of the last final points to pull within 20-18 after one.
 
An 8-0 burst for Ripon in the early moments of quarter two gave the Red Hawks a 28-20 cushion. After the Prairie Fire cut its deficit to 28-23, Ripon rattled off the next 19 points to go in front by 24 while keeping Knox off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes. In Ripon's most impressive quarter of the season, the Red Hawks allowed just seven points and 3-of-17 shooting from the field by the opposition. Van Horn made a layup at the buzzer and Ripon took a 49-25 lead into half.
 
After Knox scored the first basket of the second half, Ripon embarked on a 10-1 run and took a commanding 31-point advantage with five minutes left in the quarter. Despite a 6-1 Knox run in the middle of the stanza, the Red Hawks kept a lead of at least 25 points for the remainder of the frame. Ten Pas scored the last five points of the quarter for Ripon and the Red Hawks led 64-39 with one quarter to play.
 
The offensive barrage continued at the onset of the fourth as Ripon scored the first four points of the frame. The teams exchanged baskets from there, but the Red Hawks continued to lead by at least 19 for the rest of the game. Knox put up a fight with eight consecutive points in the final minutes, but it was too late. Ripon endured a three-minute scoring drought in the fourth, though the Red Hawks did enough down the stretch to pick up the impressive 19-point road win.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 40.3% from the field (31-of-77) while Knox was just 19-of-60 from the floor (31.7%).
• The Red Hawks commanded the glass, owning a 56-37 rebounding advantage.
• Knox missed all 11 of its three-point attempts and made as many field goals as free throws (19).
• Ripon scored 19 second-chance points and 44 points in the paint.
• Bria Medina scored a game-high 28 points for Knox.

UP NEXT
Ripon returns home on Tuesday, February 11 to host Cornell at 5:30 p.m.
 
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