Bulldogs Come Up Short In Exciting Overtime Contest At SVSU

Big Rapids, Mich. - A potential game-tying three-pointer from junior guard Sarah DeShone rimmed out in the closing seconds as the Ferris State University women's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking 73-70 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road setback to Saginaw Valley State in overtime on Saturday (Jan. 26) night in University Center, Mich.

The Bulldogs held a six-point lead with two minutes to play in regulation before the Cardinals rallied and grabbed a two-point advantage on a three-pointer from Katelyn Carriere with 25 seconds to go.  FSU answered on a layup from senior guard Kylie Muntz with 15 seconds to play and came up with a big blocked shot in the final seconds of regulation from sophomore center Hannah Hoffman to force the extra period.

In overtime, the Bulldogs struck first, but SVSU took the lead for good on a free throw by Samantha Zirzow with 1:47 left.  FSU trimmed a three-point SVSU lead down to a single point on a jumper from sophomore forward Kara Hess with 11 seconds remaining and quickly fouled the Cardinals' Kayla Womack.  She hit back-to-back free throws with seven seconds to go and DeShone's potential tying three bounced out with only three seconds to play and the Bulldogs were not able to send the game to an extra session.

The contest was tightly-contested throughout as FSU never led by more than eight points and the Cardinals' biggest advantage was only four points.  Ferris State trailed 25-23 at the break, but claimed the game's biggest margin by holding an eight-point edge with 3:33 left before Saginaw Valley State responded.

Overall, the game was tied nine times and featured 21 lead changes between the two teams as SVSU beat Ferris State at O'Neill Arena for the seventh time in the last eight meetings between the two teams in University Center.

Freshman Emily Wendling was a handful for the Bulldogs in the paint as the SVSU rookie notched a game-high 23 points and pulled down a contest-high 11 rebounds.  Carriere added 15 points and hit five three-pointers, including several down the stretch in regulation.  Meanwhile, Womack contributed 13 points and made five-of-six free throws for SVSU.

The Bulldogs were paced by Muntz and junior forward Ashley Rando with 15 points each.  However, Rando fouled out late in the second half.  DeShoen added 12 points with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in 42 minutes of action.

Both teams shot 40.3% overall for the game although both teams struggled from the floor in overtime with FSU making only one-of-eight (12.5%) tries and SVSU hitting two-of-seven (28.6%).  Ferris State was four-of-17 (23.5%) from three-point range and made 16-of-18 (88.9%) free throws in comparison to the Cardinals' eight-of-23 (34.8%) effort from downtown along with 11-of-14 (78.6%) showing at the line.

Saginaw Valley State owned a decisive 43-36 edge on the glass with 16 offensive caroms to only 10 for FSU, which helped lead to a 17-7 advantage in second chance production.  They also outscored Ferris State 32-28 in the paint.

The Bulldogs did force 19 SVSU turnovers with 16 of their own and maintained a 19-17 margin in points off miscues.

Along with the three players in double-figures, FSU also received nine points from both redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis and junior forward Felicia Standley.  SVSU held a 22-13 advantage in bench scoring behind Womack's 13-point performance as a reserve.

With the loss, the Bulldogs dropped to 10-7 overall and 9-5 in league play.  Meanwhile, Saginaw Valley State improved to 7-10 overall and 5-8 in the GLIAC.

Ferris State is back at home next Saturday, Feb. 2, to face archrival Grand Valley State inside Jim Wink Arena.  Tipoff follows the men's contest at approximately 3 p.m. (ET) for FSU's lone outing of the week. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling (231) 591-2888 or by visiting StarTickets.com.