Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Director of Sport Administration, 641-260-1814
 
GRINNELL, Iowa – After final play of the women’s basketball season ended with a first-place tie between Co-Champions Cornell College and Ripon College, a coin flip by the Conference Executive Director determined that Ripon College will serve as the host of the 2018 Midwest Conference (MWC) Women’s Basketball Tournament. The 2018 event will be played Friday and Saturday, February 23-24, at the Willmore Center in Ripon, Wisconsin.

The Red Hawks went 14-2 in MWC action and won the top-seed, as well as a share of the championship for the first time since 2009. Cornell College (14-2), Knox College (11-5), and Lake Forest College (9-7) also qualified for the four-team tournament.
The Red Hawks split wins in regular-season matchups against the Foresters, the first being a hefty 17-point win before dropping the second meeting by 22 points.

The Red Hawks currently lead the league in scoring defense and are led in scoring by junior center Maggie Oimoen and senior guard Emma McDonald, 14.5 ppg and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Oimoen also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.6 per game. The Red Hawks have relied on the three-point shooting of McDonald, who is shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc and holds the school record for career and single-season three-pointers.

Defensively, Ripon racked up 200 steals on the season, led by McDonald (41) and senior forward Jonalee Elliott (30). Elliott also holds the school record for career and single-season blocked shots (42). Other significant players for the Red Hawks are senior center Eleanore Mueller who is shooting 51% from the field this season, freshman forward Natalie Geiger, and freshman center Megan Dille.

The Foresters enter the tournament for the first time since 2012 behind leading scorers, freshman guard Kelsey Burton (15.8) and junior forward Hannah O’Day (12.3). Burton, a two-time MWC Performer of the Week, is also second on the team in rebounding (7.8) following sophomore Molly Schoenlein (8.2), who is 5^th in conference rebounding. Schoenlein leads the Conference in blocked shots with 42 (1.7 avg). The Foresters will look to freshman Jaianna Brooks for three-point scoring, shooting 41.2% on the season, and expect significant contributions from junior forward Hannah Hiland (11.2 ppg,), senior guard Kelsey Schmitt (7.0 ppg), and sophomore guard Zaria Sydnor (4.7 ppg).

In the first semifinal, the Rams will meet the Prairie Fire after dominating the first two matchups this season.

The Rams are led by senior forward Diamond Boyd and senior guard Haley Grana. Boyd, the reigning MWC Player of the Year, claimed MWC Performer of the Week honors three times this season and leads the conference in rebounding (10.5) and steals (3.7) per game, while averaging 14.8 points per game on the season for the Rams. Grana, a clutch three-point shooter for Cornell, has started every game this season and is the second leading scorer averaging 9.5 points per game, as well as, second on the team in steals with 56 on the season. The Rams will also look to starters Kandis O’Donnell, Anne Visser and Maya Johnson, while adding a spark off the bench for the Rams is senior forward Tal Neilly.

The Prairie Fire will enter the tournament for the first time in almost two decades after achieving a program record of eleven conference wins. The Prairie Fire are second in the league in scoring offense, also leading the league in three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goal defense. Led by sophomore guard, Jarrelyn McCall and junior guard, Karlie Thorn, the Prairie Fire have five players averaging double digits in points per game, are second in the league in scoring offense (64.2 ppg), 1^st in field goal percentage (41.0%) and 1^st in three-point field percentage (34.3 %). Tied for 6^th in the league scoring and rebounding for the season, McCall averages 15.2 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game. Thorn is shooting 46% from the field and 43% from behind the three-point line this season, averaging 10.4 points per game. The Prairie Fire starters have produced consistent scoring all season with help from sophomore forward, Kyra Huffman (10.4 ppg) and junior forward, Morgan Potter (10.0 ppg) who both are shooting 46% or better from the field this season. Also, a starter, junior guard, Taliah Ellis is shooting 36% from the field, 28% from behind the arc and averaging 5.0 points per game. Providing a spark off the bench for the Prairie Fire is senior guard Hailey Leinart. Leinart enters the tournament shooting 39.6% from the three and averages 11.5 points per game.

Tournament action will open Friday at 5:00 p.m. with the No. 2 Cornell Rams against the No. 3 Prairie Fire of Knox College. At 7:00 p.m. matchup with the top-seeded Ripon Red Hawks taking on the No. 4 Foresters of Lake Forest College will follow. The winners of the two games will square off Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for the MWC Tournament Championship. The winner of the tournament will be the MWC Champion and earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.