RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's women's basketball team continued its near-half decade run Tuesday night as they clinched at least a share of the 2022 Midwest Conference Championship with an 80-55 win against Lake Forest College. That marks the Red Hawks' fourth consecutive conference title, which is second only to St. Norbert, who won six from 1984-89. The victory also clinched a berth in the conference tournament for the sixth consecutive season.

The game was tightly contested early on, with four ties and eight lead changes in the first half. After neither team led by more than four during the opening quarter, Alison Leslie gave Ripon (13-9, 12-1 MWC) a five-point lead with a 3-pointer on Ripon's first possession of the second period. Leslie gave the Red Hawks their largest lead of nine with a pair of free throws in the final minute, before Ripon would take a six-point lead into halftime.

Ripon never trailed in the second half, taking a 10-point lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter on another 3-pointer by Leslie, who would sink four triples in that period, while also accounting for 16 of Ripon's 25 points in that frame. Leading 53-47 with one minute to play before the final quarter, the Red Hawks would go on a 22-2 run to open up a 26-point fourth-quarter lead and coast to victory.

The Red Hawks shot 44 percent (27-61) from the field, tying a school record with 12 three-pointers. Leslie recorded a game-high 32 points, which is tied for the sixth-highest single-game total in program history, and just six shy of her own school record, which she set earlier this season. She also shot 10-for-14 from the field, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Bonnie Jensen added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Bella Opelt recorded a career-high six assists.

Lake Forest (7-15, 4-10 MWC) shot just 32 percent (9-28) after halftime, while also turning the ball over 22 times. They were led by Maurissa Edwards' 18 points, while Annie Pulaski and Kara Schoenlein each scored 14 points.

Ripon needs to win just one of their final three games in order to become the outright MWC Champion for the third consecutive season. They can accomplish that on Wednesday when they'll travel to Lawrence University. That game will begin at 6 p.m. in Appleton, Wis., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.