Ripon, Wis. - Ripon's women's basketball team trailed for just three minutes in Thursday's 67-59 win over Midwest Conference foe Illinois College. Even though they held the lead for the majority of the contest, the game was in doubt for the first 22 minutes.

The two teams played evenly throughout the first half, as neither team led by more than six points. After making two three-pointers to begin the game, the Lady Blues (3-7, 1-2) settled down and gave Ripon (6-4, 2-1) some competition. Illinois College went on an 11-3 run midway through the first half, giving them their largest lead of three points. The game was tight the rest of the period, and after the lead changed hands twice, Ripon took control again. Jo Ellen Buerger gave the 'Hawks momentum heading into halftime, as she made a layup with 12 seconds to play.

The Lady Blues came out firing in the second half, as they would take the lead one last time on a layup by Jolene Dodge to start the period. From there though, the Red Hawks shot lights out, shooting 63 percent in the second half. Ripon went on a 20-8 run to take control of the game, leading by as much as 13 points on a couple seperate occasions. Illinois College would try to close the gap late, but it was too late, as the Red Hawks shooting was just too much to handle.

Ripon didn't go to the bench too often, only playing eight players, and receiving 56 of their 67 points from their starters, who all finished in double figures. They were led by Morgan Roberts' 13 points and four assists. Sara Gustafson added 12 points for the Red Hawks.

The Lady Blues were led by Ashley Law, who was the lone player to score in double figures, with 10 points. Illinois College took the opposite approach than Ripon did, opting to go to their bench a lot. The Lady Blues scored 29 points off the pine.

The Red Hawks will be in action once again on Saturday, as they'll host Lawrence University in Storzer Center. Gametime is set for 2:00 p.m. and will be followed by the men's contest against the Vikings.