Women Win Eighth-Straight By Beating LSSU

Postgame Press Conference Video 
(Coach Tracey Dorow, Nikki Arner, Sarah DeShone)

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad kept its winning streak alive as FSU topped Lake Superior State by a 75-56 score in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Thursday (Feb. 2) night at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The win was the Bulldogs' eighth consecutive victory of the year and FSU improved to 14-4 overall this campaign with the win.  Ferris State also maintained its hold on first place in the GLIAC North Division standings as the Bulldogs are now 11-1 in conference play and lead second place Michigan Tech (9-4).

The Bulldogs led by 10 points at halftime and outscored Lake Superior State 36-27 in the final half to complete a season sweep of the Lakers.  FSU led by as many as 26 points in the game with 6:06 to play and the Lakers never could recover.

Four Bulldog players reached double-figure scoring in the win.  Both sophomore guard Sarah DeShone (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown) and sophomore forward Nikki Arner (Ludington) totaled 16 points each to lead FSU.  Senior guard Kelsey DeNoyelles (Mt. Pleasant/Sacred Heart) added 14 points while senior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) recorded 10 points.

The Bulldogs shot 50% (24-48) from the floor, including a 60% (12-20) showing over the final 20 minutes of the game. FSU was 11-of-22 (50%) from three-point range and made 16-of-19 (84.2%) free throws.

Defensively, the Bulldogs limited Lake Superior State to only 37.7% (20-53) shooting and the Lakers were nine-of-22 (40.9%) beyond the arc along with seven-of-10 (70%) at the free throw stripe.

Ferris State owned a 35-26 rebounding edge for the game and held a 5-0 cushion in second chance production.  The Bulldogs turned the ball over 17 times to 13 for Lake Superior State, but registered a 14-8 edge in points scored inside the paint.

FSU also distributed the ball well as the Bulldogs recorded 18 assists in the contest with four from Principe and three by Arner.  Additionally, FSU finished with three steals and two blocks. 
On the opposite side, LSSU recorded both eight assists and eight steals to go with two blocked shots.

Lake Superior State was led by Jasmine Brown's game-high 19 points.  Sarah Cubr added 11 points, but those were the only two Laker players to reach double-figure scoring on the night.

The win for FSU came in the 85th series' meeting with the Lakers.  The contest marked the return to Wink Arena for first-year Laker head coach Justin Rees, who served as a Bulldog assistant under head coach Tracey Dorow from 2002-07.

LSSU fell to 7-13 overall and 3-10 in league play with the setback.

With the triumph, FSU finished league regular-season play this season with a perfect 6-0 mark against the GLIAC's three schools from Michigan's Upper Peninsula in LSSU, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.  It marks the first time in school history the Bulldogs have posted a clean sweep over all three U.P. teams in the same season.

Ferris State continues its five-game homestand as the Bulldogs host Saginaw Valley State in league play on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Wink Arena.  Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET).  Saturday is "Kidz Day" as all children in grades K-12 are free with a paid adult and a number of special activities will take place, including face painting, a bounce house, chasing the Bulldogs and more.

Also, the Mariachi Nacional Band of Indianapolis will provide music at halftime on Saturday as part of the area's annual Festival of the Arts Celebration.  Additionally, the Bulldogs will welcome high school girls basketball teams from Frankfurt and St. Joseph Lutheran, who will play at Wink Arena with the junior varsity game before the Bulldog women's contest and the varsity showdown to take place in the evening following FSU's men's basketball game.