Dorow Notches 200th Victory In Bulldog Win

Click To Watch Postgame Press Conference (Tracey Dorow)
Click To Listen To Tracey Dorow Postgame Audio (MP3)

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball program got back on track and gave head coach Tracey Dorow her 200th career victory with a 70-64 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) triumph over league newcomer Ohio Dominican on Saturday (Dec. 4) at Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs picked up their fourth win in the last five outings and improved to 4-2 overall along with 1-1 in the GLIAC by virtue of the win.  It marked the 200th time the Bulldogs have won under Dorow, who's now in her 13th season at the helm.

Both teams shot over 46% from the floor in the first half as FSU took a somewhat controversial three-point lead (35-32) into the break after an apparent tying three-pointer at the first half buzzer by Ohio Dominican was later waved off by the game officials.

Ferris took control midway into the second half by outscoring the Panthers 16-5 over a six-minute stretch to take a 13-point edge with 6:30 to play.  ODU got back within four at 65-61 with 1:14 remaining in the contest, but could get no closer as the Bulldogs sank five free throws in the final 32 seconds to seal the victory.

"I felt like today we came out with a lot of energy," said Dorow.  "The first half was a little bit of a struggle, but in the second half we really focused on our defensive intensity and trying to make them rush shots."

The Bulldogs were paced by the inside trio of senior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly), senior center Andrea Clancy (Port Austin/North Huron) and sophomore forward/center Katy Fox (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer).  

They combined for 38 points in the triumph and helped FSU post a decisive 36-12 edge in points scored inside the paint.

"This has to be Katy's best game of her career and she finished around the basket," Dorow said.  "We were real solid off the bench and Tiara was a beast.  It's hard to play against her because she out-hustles people most of the time and was very productive today."

Adams led FSU with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.  She also added three steals in 28 minutes of action.  Meanwhile, Clancy had a season-high 11 points for the Bulldogs in 15 minutes while Fox contributed 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

Ferris also received nine points from junior guard Kelsey DeNoyelles (Mt. Pleasant/Sacred Heart) and seven points apiece from both senior guard Becci Houdek (Canton) and junior forward Lindsey Pettit (Portland).  

Houdek added five rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocked shots in an all-around effort.  DeNoyelles had four assists as well to lead the Bulldogs, who finished with 18 assists in the outing.

On the opposite side, the Panthers had four players reach double-figure scoring in the first-ever matchup between the two teams.  Summer Hale tallied a team-best 15 points and nine rebounds with Katy Rasor scoring 12 points and both Tracy Snider and Rachel Billing managing 10 points.  Additionally, Melissa Hersey totaled nine assists as part of ODU's 17 team assists.

Ferris State owned a 40-33 rebounding advantage and had 14 offensive boards.  The Bulldogs also posted a 15-12 edge in points off turnovers despite turning the ball over 19 times compared to only 16 for the Panthers.

FSU finished shooting 45.1% (23-51) for the game and made 23-of-30 (76.7%) free throws to help offset a one-of-six (16.7%) showing from behind the three-point line.  Ohio Dominican shot only 29% in the second half to finish at 36.8% (21-57) for the game and was nine-of-28 (32.1%) from long range along with 13-of-19 (68.4%) at the charity stripe.

The Panthers fell to 1-4 overall and are still looking for their first-ever GLIAC win as they now own an 0-2 conference mark.

Ferris State will be back in action on Tuesday (Dec. 7) as the Bulldogs visit Hillsdale for an 8 p.m. (ET) league tilt at HC's Jesse Philips Arena in Hillsdale, Mich.  The game will represent FSU's initial conference road game of the 2010-11 campaign.

Bulldog Bites: The game featured six lead changes and the score was tied twice ...... Ferris State evened its record to 2-2 overall at home this year ...... Ferris State had nine steals and five blocked shots in the contest compared to 11 steals and two blocks for the Panthers .... ODU was called for 24 personal fouls to 17 for the Bulldogs ...... Ferris State played 11 players in the game and nine scored.