RIPON, Wis. – The Grinnell College women's basketball team pushed the Midwest Conference leaders to the limit in the first quarter-plus of Saturday's basketball game.
 
But Ripon College rode a 13-2 scoring edge at the end of the first half to a 63-47 victory.
 
Tyria Heath '21 had one of the biggest outings of her young career, scoring a career- and game-best 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field.
 
Kayla Morrissey '18, with the help of 12-of-14 shooting from the free throw line, added 16 points to push her career total to 1,254. Morrissey, who also recorded three steals, is now 354-of-459 from the line for her career. Both the makes and attempts rank second in program history.
 
Mikayla Kricfalusi '20 added six rebounds and a career-best four blocks, while Abby Hellweg '19 added a career-high two blocks of the Pioneers' season-high 10 total for the game.
 
As a team, Grinnell made 18 of 25 free throws. Both of those figures are second-highest for the season.
 
Grinnell fell behind by seven early before mounting a 12-2 run. Morrissey started things with a pair of free throws and Heath hit a 3-pointer to bring Grinnell within two.
 
Regan Kasprak '19 then tied it with a basket. After the Red Hawks countered with a score, Morrissey made two free throws, Heath a layup and Claire Collier '21 a free throw for a 14-11 Grinnell lead.
 
However, Ripon rallied to lead 17-14 by the end of the first period.
 
After falling behind by eight early in the second quarter, the Pioneers had a burst as Heath made consecutive baskets and Morrissey two free throws to bring the visitors within 22-20.
 
But Ripon closed out the period with a 13-2 run for a 35-22 halftime lead, and went up by 19 in the third period before leading 49-31 at its conclusion.
 
Grinnell is now 4-5 in the MWC and 7-7 overall, while Ripon moved to 8-1 in the league and 11-5 in all games.
 
The Pioneers return to the home court Wednesday when Cornell College visits. Game time at Darby Gymnasium is 8 p.m.