12th-Ranked Huskies Too Much For FSU

Houghton, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad fell to the nation's 12th-ranked Michigan Tech Huskies by a 64-43 count on Saturday (Dec. 18) in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton.

Michigan Tech shot 50% from the floor in the opening half and limited FSU to only 34.5% shooting for the frame in building a 32-23 halftime edge.  They stretched their lead to 15 points at 40-25 only two and a half minutes into the second frame and the Bulldogs could not climb back into the contest.

The Bulldogs kept the game close much of the first half as they trailed by only three points with five minutes to play in the period until MTU closed the initial stanza on a 10-4 run to grab the nine-point advantage at the break.

The second half was a different story, though, as MTU's biggest lead came by 24 points with 7:54 remaining in the contest in defeating the Bulldogs for the 16th time in the last 23 series' meetings.

Senior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly) paced FSU with 17 points in the contest to lead all scorers.  She also had five rebounds and three steals, but was the only Bulldog player in double-digits.

Meanwhile, the Huskies improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the GLIAC with three players reaching double-figures.  Lucy Dernovsek totaled 16 points and 11 boards in a double-double effort with Lynn Giesler adding 14 points and Angela Guisfredi chipping in 10 points.  Dernovsek added four blocked shots for MTU.

Ferris State was limited to only 30% (15-50) shooting for the game in dropping to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the conference.  FSU was 0-of-4 (0.0%) from downtown and 13-of-19 (68.4%) at the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, Michigan Tech hit 45.8% (22-48) of its field goal attempts and was seven-of-20 (35%) from beyond the arc along with 13-of-14 (92.9%) at the free throw line.

Ferris State forced 17 MTU turnovers while turning it over only 13 times of its own.  The Bulldogs also had 13 steals to go with eight assists, but were outrebounded 39-26 on the glass.

MTU finished with 14 assists, seven blocked shots and six steals.

The Bulldogs held a 26-20 edge in points scored inside the paint, however, MTU's reserves outscored the Bulldog bench by a 24-10 count.  The Huskies led throughout the entire contest and never trailed in the game.

Ferris State will have little time to rest as the Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow for a league tilt against Northern Michigan on Sunday, Dec. 19, at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.  Tipoff is set for approximately 3 p.m. (ET) following the opening game of the conference twinbill between the FSU and NMU men's squads.

Sunday's game will mark Ferris' final outing until after the Christmas holiday and will be the Bulldogs' last conference encounter until resuming GLIAC play back at home versus Lake Superior State on Jan. 6.

Bulldog Bites: Senior guard Becci Houdek (Canton) netted four steals for FSU ..... Senior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) was FSU's second-leading scorer with six points in the game ...... The Huskies netted 18 points off of the Bulldogs' 13 turnovers while Ferris totaled only 12 points from MTU's 17 miscues ........ FSU had nine offensive boards in the outing ..... Freshman guard Sarah DeShone (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown) had a team-high six rebounds for FSU.