Ripon College Days

Media Credit: Sal De Los Angelos [Click to enlarge]

The women's basketball team began their defense of the conference title season with the knowledge that they are wearing the proverbial target on their back.

"We're the target right now," says Head Coach Julie Johnson "Teams are going to play better against us than they normally do."

The first of these teams to attempt to knock Ripon off of their perch was rival Lawrence University. Both teams were undefeated going into Saturday's contest.

Ripon jumped out to an early 11-3 lead as sophomore Morgan Roberts hit three 3-pointers in the first 5 minutes of play. They led through the first half by as many as 12 points, but Lawrence battled back to pull within 5 at the half.

During the second half Ripon continued to lead, but as the game drew nearer to the end, Lawrence began to close the gap drawing to within one point with just 52 seconds left in the game.

Even though Lawrence seemed to have the momentum in their favor, Ripon didn't lose focus.

"We just kept stressing boxing out, controlling the ball, and staying calm," says Johnson.

Ripon regained the momentum as senior Janine Emmer was fouled in the process of making a lay-up. She missed her free throw, but sophomore Sara Gustafson grabbed the rebound and put it in to give Ripon a 4-point lead. Roberts added a pair of free throws to seal the deal, 58-52.

"It was a great team effort," says junior Karalyn Dehn, who led the Red Hawks with 16 points. "Everybody on the team contributed to this victory."

Also contributing for the Red Hawks were Roberts with 14 points, Emmer with 13, and senior Amanda Guay with 8.

"This was a huge win," says Coach Johnson. "It was important to win our conference opener, especially since it was at home."

The team hopes to keep this momentum going as they travel to Beloit College tonight. The Buccaneers handed Ripon their only conference loss last year.

"It should be a nail biter," says Johnson. "They beat us last year and they are a better team this year."

Dehn agrees. "It's going to be a tough game. They want to knock us off again and we have to work hard to keep them from doing that."

As for Saturday's victory, Dehn admits, "We can enjoy this one tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do. We can't be satisfied to win just one game."

The team will continue their drive toward repeating as conference champs over winter break with games against St. Norbert, Carroll, Monmouth, Grinnell, Lake Forest and Knox.

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