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RIPON, Wis. – Entering the weekend, the Ripon women's basketball team had beaten the Beloit College in five of their last six meetings. That record is now five of their last seven meetings, as the Buccaneers prevailed 61-43 Saturday afternoon. All but three Ripon points came from the paint, and Beloit outshot the Red Hawks 42% to 27% from the field.
Ripon (4-13, 1-9) held a six point lead early, as they got out to an 8-2 advantage. That gap was quickly closed in the next few minutes, with Beloit (12-5, 8-2) taking the lead with under 13 minutes to play. Carissa Zuercher grabbed the lead back for the Red Hawks with just over nine minutes left in the half on a 3-pointer, putting Ripon ahead 15-13, which would be their final lead of the game. The score was still relatively close in the closing minutes of the half, when Ripon's Jessica DeHamer nailed a jumper to cut Beloit's lead to two. The Buccaneers then gave themselves some breathing room, scoring five points in the final minute on a 3-pointer by Angie Meehan and a
lay-up by Erinn Brooks, giving Beloit a 7-point lead at the break.
Zuercher opened the second half with a steal and a lay-up to get Ripon within five, but Beloit turned their game up a notch after that point. The Buccaneers extended their lead to 19 points with 11 and a half minutes remaining, thanks to a 22-8 run. From there, they would go on cruise control, making 10-of-14 free throws in the second half to seal the win.
The bright spot for the Red Hawks was the continued great play from freshman Emily Meyer, who recorded her second double-double in the past three games, scoring 17 points, to go along with 11 rebounds. Fellow freshman Katie Horkan added seven points off the bench, while DeHamer and Jeni Yaeger each finished with six. DeHamer also added a team-high 12 rebounds.
Beloit was led by Katie McCool's 22 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots. Christine Brown also scored in double figures for the Buccaneers, with a 10-point performance, to go along with nine rebounds and three assists. Meehan and Mary Parker each scored nine, while Brooks added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Things won't get any easier for the Red Hawks, who have now dropped six consecutive games. Their next game will be Tuesday, when they'll travel to conference-leader St. Norbert. That game will begin at 6:00 p.m. in DePere, and will be followed by the men's contest. Both games can be seen on www.midwestconference.tv.
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