Big Week At Home For Women's Hoops
Thursday, Feb. 9
Women's & Men's Basketball vs. Lake Erie, 6/8 p.m.
Live Radio On Sunny 97.3 FM (Pregame @ 5:30 p.m.)
Live Internet Statistics
Live Facebook Scoring Updates
Live Twitter Scoring Updates
Saturday, Feb. 11
Women's & Men's Basketball vs. Ashland, 1/3 p.m.
Live Radio On Sunny 97.3 FM (Pregame @ 12:30 p.m.)
Live Internet Statistics
Live Facebook Scoring Updates
Live Twitter Scoring Updates
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)
* The Games: The Ferris State University women's basketball team wraps up its five-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) homestand with a pair of contests this week inside Jim Wink Arena. The Bulldogs host Lake Erie for the first-time ever on Thursday (Feb. 9) before taking on Ashland on Saturday (Feb. 11).
* Home Ticket Info: Ferris State home basketball tickets are sold on gameday at Wink Arena and are $7 for adults or $5 for FSU faculty/staff, senior (ages 65+) and students K-12. Current FSU students are admitted free by showing a valid student ID card. For more ticket info, please call the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888 or visit the official FSU website at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com.
* Media Coverage: Both games will be carried live by the Bulldog Sports Network and Sunny 97.3 FM with Rob Bentley calling the play-by-play action and Sandy Gholston offering color commentary. They will also be accessible online at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com along with a live pay-per-view video webcast and live internet statistics. Visit the FSU Athletics website at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com for a complete listing of links.
* Follow On Twitter/Facebook: In addition to internet coverage, Bulldog fans can also follow FSU games this year via Twitter and Facebook with updates. Please visit www.facebook.com/ferrisathletics or www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics to follow the periodic posts and tweet-by-tweet coverage with scoring updates.
* GLIAC Preseason Poll: The Ferris State women's basketball squad was picked to finish fifth in the 2011-12 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll. The Bulldogs received 83 points in voting by members of the media across the league. Defending national runner-up Michigan Tech was tabbed to win the division after claiming the league crown last year with Ashland picked first in the GLIAC South poll. FSU was the only team to beat Michigan Tech in league play a year ago (1/20/11) as the Bulldogs posted a 63-60 victory at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.
* Last Season: The Bulldog women's basketball squad wrapped up the 2010-11 campaign with a 13-13 overall record. Last year marked the 14th time in the last 15 seasons the Bulldogs have registered double-digit wins in a campaign. FSU placed fifth in the GLIAC North Division standings with an 8-11 league record.
* First Place In GLIAC: The Bulldogs continue to rank first in the GLIAC North Division standings. FSU holds a 12-1 conference mark while Michigan Tech is second (10-4) followed by Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan (6-8) going into this week. Ashland heads the South Division and is the league's only unbeaten team (14-0) in league play.
* The Records: Ferris State (15-4, 12-1 GLIAC) has won 13 of its last 15 outings to date this campaign and leads the GLIAC North Division standings with a 7-1 league mark. Prior to the last two years, the Bulldogs had made 10-straight GLIAC Tournament appearances and advanced to the semifinals for the third-straight year in 2008-09.
Lake Erie (15-5, 9-4 GLIAC) is second in the GLIAC South Division and has won five of its last six contsts to date this season. The Storm were only 3-22 in 2010-11 and 2-17 in league play.
Ashland (20-1, 14-0 GLIAC) is ranked fifth nationally and has won 20 games in a row heading into Thursday's (Feb. 9) game at Grand Valley State prior to facing FSU. The Eagles are coming off a 90-50 win over Tiffin at home last Saturday (Feb. 4). They were 19-10 last year and 12-7 in GLIAC action.
* The Coaches: Ferris State – Tracey Dorow (Western Michigan, 1996), 14th season, 223-160 (.582). Dorow presently ranks as Ferris' all-time winningest coach. She guided FSU to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tourney appearance in 1999-00. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at Indianapolis (1997-98). She also directed FSU to an NCAA Tourney berth in 2003-04 and the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07.
Lake Erie – Bob Booher, 7th season at LEC. A 39-year coaching veteran, Booher is the program's winningest coach. He spent 35 years as an employee at Lakeland CC, including six as the program's head women's basketball coach.
Ashland – Sue Ramsey, (Miami, Ohio, 1978), 17th season at AU, 25th season overall. Ramsey has more wins than any coach in school history and has twice led the Eagles to the NCAA-II Tourney. Previously, she spent eight years as head coach at NCAA-I Dayton (Ohio) and was a
collegiate assistant at several schools.
* Pink Game: For the third year in a row, Bulldog Athletics will partner with the Colleges vs. Cancer student organization to hold a "Pink Game" against Lake Erie. Players will be in matching navy shooting shirts with the GLIAC's "Pink Wave" logo on it to help support cancer research.
* More Promotions: One lucky fan will have an opportunity to win $10,000 in a shot sponsored by Lake Osceola State Bank. Additionally, Saturday's game marks the last of FSU's four "Kidz Dayz" events sponsored by Jet's Pizza. All children in grades K-12 are free with a paid adult and a number of special kids activities will take place, including face painting, a bounce house, photos with Brutus the Bulldog and more.
* Pertinent Facts: The Bulldogs will host the top two teams this week from the GLIAC South Division in Lake Erie and Ashland .... Saturday's game will pit two ranked teams as Ashland is fifth and FSU 25th in the national rankings this week.
* Series History vs. LEC: Thursday's game marks the second-ever series' meeting between the two schools following the Bulldogs' 69-55 road win in the initial matchup last season (2/10/11) at Painesville, Ohio. This will mark the Storm's first-ever visit to Big Rapids.
* Series History vs. AU: Ashland holds a 15-10 all-time series' edge over FSU and beat the Bulldogs by a 68-58 score last year (2/12/11) in Ashland, Ohio. AU topped FSU 71-66 in the most recent matchup last year (1/16/10) inside Ferris' Jim Wink Arena. AU has won nine of the last 11 outings between the two teams while FSU head coach Tracey Dorow presently holds a current 8-11 career coaching mark versus AU.
* Scouting Lake Erie: The Storm are 15-5 overall and 9-4 in league play, which ranks second in the GLIAC South Division. They have won five of their last six contsts to date this season after posting only a 3-22 record in 2010-11 along with a 2-17 conference record. Seventh-year head coach Bob Booher's team is paced by senior forward Stephanie Rogers (15.9 ppg.).
* Scouting Ashland: The Eagles have won 20 games in a row and are 20-1 overall and 14-0 in the GLIAC heading into Thursday's (Feb. 9) game at Grand Valley State prior to facing FSU. The Eagles are coming off a 90-50 win over Tiffin at home last Saturday (Feb. 4). They were 19-10 last year and 12-7 in GLIAC action. Longtime head coach Sue Ramsey's team is led by junior forward Kari Daugherty (20.6 ppg.), who is a Division I transfer from Dayton (Ohio).
* FSU Ranked 25th: The Bulldogs are listed 25th nationally this week in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll administered by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. This week's ranking marks the first time FSU has been ranked nationally since finishing 25th in the final poll of the 2006-07 season. That poll was released at the end of the 2006-07 season in which Ferris State reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen by winning a pair of games in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Additionally, FSU's ranking this week represents the first time the Bulldogs have been found among the nation's top 25 teams in a WBCA regular-season poll in almost 12 years. The Bulldogs last were ranked in a regular-season poll at the 22nd spot on Feb. 29, 2000.
* Last Week: Ferris State continued to roll along as the Bulldogs picked up two more league wins last week to improve to 15-4 overall and 12-1 in conference play. The Bulldogs topped Lake Superior State by a 75-56 count on Thursday (Feb. 2) at home before beating Saginaw Valley State 81-57 on Saturday (Feb. 4).
* Ten Wins Again: With 13 wins this season, the Bulldogs have now failed to win 10 games in a season only twice in the last 21 years and only once under coach Tracey Dorow. FSU had reached double-digit victories 13 consecutive seasons prior to 2009-10. The Bulldogs bounced back to win 13 games a year ago.
* Key Note: With last Thursday's 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. The win for FSU also 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.
* The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women's basketball program, which starts its 37th season of varsity competition, has compiled a 476-485 (.496) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their only GLIAC crown, advanced to their first NCAA-II Regional Tournament and recorded the nation's highest grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which claimed GLIAC Tourney runner-up honors in 1999-00 and 2003-04, has posted 10 wins or more in 14 of the last 15 seasons.
* Coaching Staff: Ferris head coach Tracey Dorow returns the bulk of her coaching staff for the 2011-12 campaign. Kurt Westendorp returns for his second campaign as the assistant coach. He formerly spent three seasons as the assistant coach at NCAA Division III Albion. The Bulldogs' staff this season again includes Dorow's father, Rick Bloodworth, as a volunteer assistant coach for the sixth season. Former Bulldog players Becci Houdek and Caitlin Carmody are serving as student assistants.
* Coming Up Next: The Bulldogs hit the road next week as FSU opens a final four-game stretch with three away from home. Ferris State visits Wayne State on Thursday, Feb. 16, for a 5:30 p.m. (ET) game in Detroit before traveling to Findlay to face the Oilers inside Croy Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 1 p.m. (ET).
* GLIAC Leaders: FSU is first in the league in field goal % defense (.355), rebounding defense (29.7 pg.) and rebound margin (+9.8). FSU is also second in three-point % (.355) and free throw % (.777). Senior Tricia Principe ranks second in free throw % (.913) while Christina Branch is eighth in rebounds (8.1 pg.). Sarah DeShone is listed third in assists (4.2 pg.), sixth in steals (2.2 pg.) and sixth in scoring (15.5 pg.).