The Lawrence University women’s basketball team was completely outplayed by Ripon College last Saturday, as the Vikings lost 82-58. The Vikings started off slowly, as has been their problem all season. Ripon took advantage of this, and though Lawrence regrouped, Ripon continued to maintain a steady lead. The Vikings did not hit a three-point basket in the first half, while Ripon hit four to push them out to an early advantage. Ripon junior guard Karen Kedrowski was especially deadly from beyond the arc, hitting four of six three point shots for the game. The Vikings tried to come back, but the Redhawk defense stymied the Viking offense. Senior guards Beth Pollnow and Dara Rakun were shut down, and the Vikings could not pick up the scoring from any other sources. At halftime Ripon was ahead 46-37.
In the second half, LU’s poor shooting killed them. They shot only 24 percent from the field. They also made only forty percent of their free throws, which has been another issue for the Vikings this season. The Redhawks, on the other hand, were making their shots. This allowed Ripon to relax down the stretch, and coast to an 82-58 victory.
Kedrowski lead Ripon with 21 points. Freshman guard Felice Porrata, who scored fourteen points for LU, led the Vikings. The Vikings end the regular season with a record of 12-10 and an 11-5 conference record, good enough for third place.
This game was a must-win for Ripon, as it gave them the fourth and last spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament.
The Midwest Conference Tournament takes place this weekend at Carroll College. Friday night’s semifinals feature two very interesting match-ups. In the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m., the third seeded Lawrence Vikings will play the Lake Forest Forresters. These teams played only once during the regular season, with LU winning at home. But Lake Forest has played in the last three MWC championship games, and is the defending champion.
In the other semifinal, the host Carroll Pioneers will take on the Ripon Redhawks at 7:00 p.m. Carroll has the home court advantage, but Ripon is a very tough team, as they proved last weekend against LU. The two winners of the semifinals will meet for the championship at 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Carroll would have to be regarded as the favorite, but any one of the four teams has a chance to win this tournament, and get an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.