RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon women's basketball team shot 58 percent (21-36) in the first half on Saturday, as they were more than halfway to 100 points at halftime, leading 51-21 at the break, which helped them coast to a 76-49 win against Illinois College. The top rebounding team in the Midwest Conference, Ripon held a 56-39 advantage on the boards, while also outscoring the Lady Blues in the paint by a 48-18 margin.

Illinois College (7-15, 6-8 MWC) scored the game's first five points and led 7-2 after four minutes of play, before Ripon turned up the heat. Trailing 10-7 with four and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Ripon scored the next 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers from Senior Emma McDonald, the last of which broke both Ripon's career and single season 3-point record. That gives McDonald 155 career 3-pointers, with 56 of those coming this season.

Ripon (15-7, 12-2 MWC) ended the first quarter on a 15-2 run, and that streak continued in the second quarter, which saw the Red Hawks extend that run to 25-2 by scoring the first 10 points of that period. Ripon outscored Illinois College 29-9 in the second quarter to take a 30-point halftime lead.

That lead was simply too much for Illinois College (7-15, 6-8 MWC) to overcome, as they never got closer than 23 the rest of the way. Ripon held the Lady Blues to just 27 percent (17-62) shooting in the game, including 24 percent (9-37) in the second half.

Maggie Oimoen led the Red Hawks with 19 points, to go along with eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocked shots. McDonald added 15 points, six rebounds, and three steals, while Eleanore Mueller scored 14 points in 14 minutes off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting. Jonalee Elliott led the team in rebounding with 11, including six on the offensive end of the court.

Illinois College was led by 11 points apiece from Brielle Greenleaf and Shannen Quehl. Grace Yaunches added 10 points and three assists.

The win helps Ripon keep pace atop the MWC standings, as they remain tied for first with Cornell College with two games to play. The Red Hawks will be in action again on Tuesday when they'll host Lawrence University. That game will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.