RIPON, Wis. – A late comeback attempt from the Illinois College women's basketball team came up short on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Blues fell to Ripon College by a score of 61-52, falling to 3-5 (0-2 Midwest Conference) on the year. Ripon improves to 2-5 (2-0 MWC) with the victory.
Following an opening bucket from
Carly Cameron, Ripon went on a 9-0 run to lead by seven. Illinois College answered back with a 9-0 run to take an 11-9 lead with two field goals from
Brielle Greenleaf and a three by
Madi Peyton before
McKenzie Skaggs gave IC the lead. The offense went quiet in the last four minutes of the quarter, however, with only a pair of
Grace Yaunches free throws to show for it. Ripon managed to take an 18-13 lead after 10 minutes.
Krista Bass kept Illinois College in it in the second quarter. The freshman provided the Lady Blues with 11 of their 12 points in the quarter as the team otherwise struggled offensively. Ripon went to the half with a 32-25 advantage.
An early push in the second half from Illinois College brought the team level at 36-36 after a Bass fastbreak layup. The Red Hawks managed to hold off the Lady Blues to maintain a 44-40 lead entering the final quarter of play.
Six straight points in the paint to open the fourth quarter helped Ripon hold off the Lady Blues. A short jumper from Maggie Oimoen gave the Red Hawks the 50-40 lead with less than eight minutes to play. The closest the Lady Blues would get for much of the quarter was six points until a Cameron three-pointer with less than two minutes to go pulled them to within four at 56-52. In the final 100 seconds of the game, Ripon held IC scoreless while hitting five free throws to clinch the win.
Cameron ended with a team-high 14 points and added six rebounds. Bass came off the bench for 13 points before fouling out. Greenleaf added 11 points in the game. Oimoen had game highs in both points and rebounds with 21 points and 12 boards.
Illinois College comes back to Sherman Gymnasium for its MWC home opener on Dec. 5 against Monmouth College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
