MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - Ripon became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2019 Midwest Conference Tournament Tuesday night, as they edged Cornell College 51-47 to remain in first place in the MWC standings with three games to play. This marks the Red Hawks' fourth consecutive trip to the four-team conference tournament, and improves Ripon's conference record to 42-7 during the past three seasons.

Cornell (5-14, 5-9 MWC) scored the first basket of the game, but Ripon (14-8, 13-2 MWC) answered with four consecutive points to take a lead that they would never relinquish. The Red Hawks would take a nine-point lead later in the quarter on a layup by Jesi Nay, and would lead by seven entering the second period, which saw Cornell go on an 8-2 run to cut Ripon's lead to a single point. Maggie Oimoen then answered with a basket for the Red Hawks, who would lead by six at halftime.

Ripon never led by double digits, as Cornell kept the game close for the majority of the second half. The Red Hawks led by just two points entering the fourth quarter, which is where the lead still stood with under 10 seconds remaining, but a missed jumper by Cornell allowed Oimoen to sink two free throws to seal the win.

The Red Hawks saw nine of their 10 players score at least two points, with five players scoring at least seven. Oimoen led all scorers with 11 points, to go along with four rebounds and two blocked shots. Shannon Sorbo added eight points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting, while Natalie Geiger, Alyassa Burgess, and Jesi Nay each scored seven points. Laurissa Johnson also chipped in with a career-high seven assists.

Cornell was led by a trio of players with 10 points, as Mo Kempiak, Kandis O'Donnell, and Rose Shimaoka did the honors. Mya Johnson added eight points for the Rams.

Ripon has now won four games in a row and 11 of their last 12. They'll be in action again on Saturday against Monmouth College, who is just one game behind the Red Hawks in the conference standings. That game will begin at 1 p.m. at Willmore Center in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.