Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
 
OSHKOSH, Wisconsin – For the eighth consecutive season, the Ripon women’s basketball program is on top of the Midwest Conference as the Red Hawks claimed the league’s outright regular season title on Tuesday night with a 76-40 win over Cornell College inside Weiske Gymnasium.
 
After a tightly contested first quarter in which Ripon led 14-11 after 10 minutes, the Red Hawks gave up a combined 15 points in the next two periods to burst the game open. Ripon took a 40-19 advantage into half and shot north of 53% from the field (29-54) throughout the contest to win the league’s outright crown for the third consecutive season.
 
Karsyn Nelson tallied a game-high 17 points, while Natalie Rauwolf and Laney Halovitz also scored in double figures with 15 points and 13 points, respectively.
 
Standing at 21-2 overall (14-0 in MWC play), Ripon has won 16 consecutive games. The Red Hawks are ranked 19th by D3hoops.com and 15th by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
 
Ripon will be the top seed at the 2026 Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, hosted on the campus of Ripon College on February 27-28. The remaining three teams have yet to be determined. The four qualifying teams will compete for the MWC Tournament title and the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Red Hawks are seeking their ninth MWC Tournament title overall and fourth in the last five seasons.