Bulldog Women Close 2012 With Fourth-Straight Victory

Hillsdale, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball team bolted out to an early advantage and withstood a Hillsdale rally to record a 76-63 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road win over the Chargers on Monday (Dec. 17) night at Jesse Philips Arena.

The win was the fourth-straight for the Bulldogs under first-year head coach Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate and the fifth in the last six contests for FSU, which improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the GLIAC standings.

Junior guard Sarah DeShone keyed the FSU victory with a game-high 27 points on nine-of-12 shooting.  She added five assists, four rebounds and two steals for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State jumped ahead by 19 points with 7:21 to play in the first half and owned a 13-point advantage at the break. The Chargers climbed within a possession in the second half, but Ferris State managed to take control and earn the triumph.

In addition to DeShone's 27 points, the Bulldogs also received a personal career-high 19 points from redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis along with 15 points and six rebounds by senior guard Kylie Muntz.

The Bulldogs shot 50% for the night and nailed five-of-11 (46%) three's along with 21-of-25 (84%) free throws.

Meanwhile, the Chargers received 22 points from Megan Fogt with Kadie Lowery adding 10 points in the setback for HC, which fell to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the GLIAC.

Ferris State had 21 turnovers, but still managed to post a decisive 21-9 margin in points off miscues by forcing 19 Hillsdale turnovers.

FSU also owned a 38-34 rebounding edge for the night and came away with four blocked shots and 12 steals as five different players had two steals each in the triumph.

Defensively, the Bulldogs limited Hillsdale to only 32.8% shooting for the night with the Chargers sinking seven-of-29 three's (24%) along with 16-of-29 (84.2%) free throws.

Besides her game-high 27 points, DeShone also had five of FSU's 10 assists in the contest.  The Bulldogs never trailed in the outing and outscored the hosts 32-18 in the paint for the game.

The outing marked the final game for the Bulldogs prior to the holiday break.  FSU will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 3, against league newcomer Malone at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids.  Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (ET) following the men's contest in the conference twinbill.

The Jan. 3 outing opens a four-game homestand to start the New Year for the Bulldogs.  Tickets are currently on sale now and can be purchased in advance.  Please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com for more information or call (231) 591-2888.