RIPON, Wis. - The Red Hawks began Friday night's game against Knox with a sign of things to come. After getting the opening tip, Mona Delsman drained a three-pointer for Ripon to open the scoring just 11 seconds into the ball game. Sara Gustafson added a three of her own on Ripon's next possession, and the rout was on. The Red Hawks never trailed in the ballgame, en route to a decisive 73-34 victory over the Prairie Fire.

After getting out to the early lead, Knox (2-3, 0-1) tried to fight back, cutting the Red Hawk lead to two with 14 minutes left in the first half. That is as close as they would get the rest of the day. Ripon (4-2, 1-0) held Knox to just 17 points on 22 percent shooting in the first half. Ripon gained a double-digit lead when Delsman connected on a jump shot with just over four minutes remaining. The Red Hawks never trailed by less than 11 the rest of the way, as they held a 15-point halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same, as Ripon forced Knox into 21 of their 36 turnovers in the second period. Knox experienced a little deja vu, matching their 17 point first half output with 17 more points in the second half. Ripon busted the game wide open late in the contest, ending the game on a 22-6 run. The Red Hawks shot 52 percent in the second half and 45 percent for the game.

Ripon was led by Gustafson's 14 points, on 5-of-7 shooting. Delsman chipped in with 12 points and four assists, while Amanda Lindauer had another strong outing of eight points and eight rebounds, with all her points coming in the first half. The Red Hawks feasted on turnovers, scoring 36 points off Prairie Fire mistakes. Ripon finished with 22 steals and three blocks in the game. Jeni Yaeger and Ashley Meister each recorded five thefts.

Knox had one player score in double figures, with Andie Allison doing the honors. Allison finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, to go along with five recbounds. Kate Moon came off the bench to add eight points and seven boards.

Ripon will try to keep their conference record unblemished when they travel to St. Norbert for their next contest on Wednesday. That game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by the men's contest.