Ferris Women Suffer Home Loss To Tiffin

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University women’s basketball team appeared to be in control and well on its way to a win over Tiffin in Saturday (Dec. 5) afternoon’s Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest at Jim Wink Arena, but the visiting Dragons rallied to record a 74-65 triumph.

Ferris led by 13 points (52-39) with 12:02 to play in the game before the Dragons went on a 15-1 run to take the lead. Tiffin outscored FSU 35-13 over the final 12 minutes of the game.

“Our defense got stagnant,” said FSU head coach Tracey Dorow. “We had been doing a nice job of containing their penetration, but they started attacking more and we didn’t move our feet.

“We gave up too many drives and we also struggled with turnovers, which are some things we need to correct,” she added.

The Bulldogs finished with 21 turnovers and were outscored 25-9 in points off turnovers as the Dragons claimed the win despite shooting only 37.7% (23-61) from the field for the game. TU was only four-of-22 (18.2%) beyond the three-point arc, but the Dragons sank 24-of-29 (82.8%) free throws compared to only seven-of-14 (50%) for FSU.

“They attacked us harder than we attacked them,” said Dorow.

The Bulldogs shot 44.8% (26-58) from the field and made six-of-18 (33.3%) three-pointers with four players reaching double-figure scoring. Sophomore guard Tricia Principe tallied a team-high 19 points, including four treys, while junior forward Tiara Adams nearly posted a double-double effort with 15 points and nine boards.

FSU also received 11 points from freshman forward/center Katy Fox off the bench and sophomore guard Kelsey DeNoyelles chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds. Ferris owned a 41-34 edge on the glass in the contest and outscored the Dragons 28-20 in the paint.

Mandy Jaeb keyed the Dragons’ comeback with a game-high 22 points and four assists. Katrina Clark added 14 points, Karli Mast scored 13 points and Jessica Harris contributed 13 points along with eight rebounds.

Tiffin was held to only 32.4% (11-34) field goal shooting in the initial half as the Bulldogs took a narrow 32-30 advantage at the break. However, they came back to sink 17-of-20 (85%) free throws in the second half of the game while improving the field goal percentage to 44.4% (12-27). The Dragons also took care of the ball as they turned it over only nine times.

Ferris finished with 20 assists and seven steals while the Dragons had 11 assists, 12 steals and four blocked shots.

Ferris State dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in league play with Tiffin improving to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC.

The Bulldogs will next hit the road for a pair of conference games next week. FSU visits Findlay on Thursday, Dec. 10, for a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league game before traveling to Hillsdale on Saturday, Dec. 12, for a 1 p.m. (EST) GLIAC encounter.

Bulldog Bites: The Dragons tied up the all-time series’ between the two teams at two wins apiece by virtue of the victory …… Five FSU players finished with three assists or more ……… Eleven of FSU’s 21 turnovers came in the second half ……… Ferris totaled 22 personal fouls compared to only 14 for Tiffin …… The Bulldogs’ bench outscored the Dragons’ reserves by a 19-12 count …… The game featured six lead changes and the score was tied nine times …… The Bulldogs have now split their last four games, all of which were at home …… Fifteen of Principe’s 19 points came in the second half of this game after she had previously scored all 12 of her points in the opening half of Thursday’s (Dec. 3) home win over Ashland.