PREVIEW: Bulldog Women Travel To WSU & Host SVSU This Week

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Click Here For Complete Game Notes (PDF)

* The Week Ahead: The Ferris State women's basketball team plays two important Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games this week. FSU visits league leader Wayne State on Thursday, Feb. 21, for a 8 p.m. (ET) tilt at the Matthaei Complex in Detroit.  The Bulldogs then return home to play their regular-season home finale versus Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Feb. 23, beginning at 3 p.m. (ET) inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

* Media Coverage: Both games will be broadcast locally by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network starting with the Meijer Pregame Show a half-hour prior to the men's tipoff. A live audio broadcast will be accessible online in addition to live internet statistics and a live pay-per-view video webcast.  For a full listing of links, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

* Follow On Twitter/Facebook: In addition to internet coverage, Bulldog fans can also follow all games this season via Twitter and Facebook with updates. Please visit www.facebook.com/FerrisWBasketball or www.twitter.com/FerrisWBBALL to follow the periodic posts and tweet-by-tweet coverage with scoring updates.

* Live TV Game: Thursday's games against Wayne State in the Motor City will begin with the men's tipoff at 6:07 p.m. (ET). Both games will be televised live throughout parts of Michigan via Comcast Xfinity Channel 900 on selected cable systems, including the Metro areas of Detroit and Grand Rapids.

* Three Win A Row: Ferris State has presently won its last three games in a row this season, which came on the heels of a four-game slide.  The Bulldogs recorded back-to-back league home wins over Northwood and Lake Superior State last week.  FSU topped NU and avenged a 24-point setback against the Timberwolves earlier this year in Midland with a 69-57 win on Thursday (Feb. 14) night.  The Bulldogs then topped Lake Superior State 72-60 on Saturday (Feb. 16) to pull off the weekend sweep.

* GLIAC North Race: Ferris State is currently fourth overall in the GLIAC North Division standings with a 12-7 conference slate.  FSU trails third-place Grand Valley State by only a single game.  The Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 16 games overall and hold a current 7-3 mark at home this season.

* Scoring Leaders: Junior guard Sarah DeShone paced the Bulldogs last week with 25 points versus Northwood and 12 against LSSU.  Meanwhile, sophomore forward Kara Hess added 14 points on Thursday while redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis had a team-high 19 on Saturday with junior Ashley Rando chipping in 16 against LSSU.

* The Records: Ferris State (13-9, 12-7 GLIAC) finished the 2011-12 women's basketball season with a 23-7 overall record, which matched the school record set previously in 2006-07 for most wins in a campaign. Last year marked the 15th time in the last 16 seasons the Bulldogs have registered double-digit wins in a campaign.  FSU also reached the semifinals at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament last year.
   
Wayne State (17-5, 15-3 GLIAC) leads the GLIAC North Division to date and has won its last eight games in a row entering the contest.  The Warriors most recently beat Northern Michigan 87-70 on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Detroit.
   
Saginaw Valley State (11-12, 9-10 GLIAC) heads into Thursday's league home game against Grand Valley State coming off a 72-46 home loss to Michigan Tech last Saturday.  The Cardinals have lost two of their last three games overall this campaign.

* The Coaches: Ferris State – Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate (Aquinas), 1st season, 13-9 (.591) - (0-1 vs. WSU; 0-1 vs. SVSU).  A veteran coach with 26 years of experience on the sidelines and regarded as one of the state's top prep coaches prior to her FSU arrival, Lamoreaux-Tate most recently spent the last seven years as the varsity girls basketball coach at Grand Rapids Catholic Central High School where she guided the Cougars to a 167-19 cumulative record.
   
Wayne State – Carrie Lohr, 2nd season at WSU.  Lohr took over the WSU program last season after serving as the head coach at St. Clair Community College for nine years.  She also spent two years as an assistant coach at Oakland University.
   
Saginaw Valley State – Jamie Pewinski, 2nd season at SVSU, 7th season overall. She took over as head coach at SVSU last season after serving five years in the same role at Lake Superior State.  She previously was LSSU's assistant coach for seven seasons and played collegiately at both Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State.

* GLIAC North Run: The Bulldogs have three conference regular-season games remaining this campaign.  Overall, the Bulldogs have currently won 29 of their last 37 conference regular-season games dating back to the start of the 2011-12 season.  FSU posted a first-place 17-2 mark in league play a year ago en route to claiming the North Division crown and currently has a 9-6 mark to date this season.

* Senior Day Saturday: Ferris State will hold its annual "Senior Day" this Saturday for the regular-season home finale against Saginaw Valley State.  The Bulldogs will honor the senior members along with the senior members of the men's basketball squad between games.

* Second Meetings: This week's games are the second of the year against both WSU and SVSU.  The Bulldogs fell to Wayne State at home 81-68 (Jan. 24) and then dropped an exciting 73-70 overtime decision to SVSU on the road (Jan. 26).

* Ten More Wins: With 13 wins to date this season, the Bulldogs have now failed to win 10 games in a season only twice in the last 22 years. FSU had reached double-digit victories 13 consecutive seasons prior to 2009-10.  The Bulldogs bounced back to win 13 games in 2010-11 before winning 23 a year ago.

* Returning All-American: Ferris State's Sarah DeShone earned Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Honorable Mention All-America honors for her efforts on the hardwood last year. DeShone averaged 14.1 points and 4.6 assists per contest in 2011-12.

* Looking At The Opponents: Wayne State is 17-5 oerall and leads the GLIAC North Division to date with a 15-3 mark this year.  WSU has won its last eight games in a row entering the contest.  The Warriors most recently beat Northern Michigan 87-70 on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Detroit.  Second-year head coach Carrie Lohr's team is led by senior forward Talisha Bridges (15.3 ppg.) ..... Saginaw Valley State is 11-12 overall and 9-10 in conference action heading into Thursday's league home game against Grand Valley State.  SVSU is coming off a 72-46 home loss to Michigan Tech last Saturday.  The Cardinals have lost two of their last three games overall this campaign under second-year head coach Jamie Pewinski and are led by freshman forward Emily Wendling (16.0 ppg.).

* Coming Up Next: Ferris State closes out the regular-season on Saturday, March 2, at West Michigan rival Grand Valley State in an 8 p.m. (ET) league contest.  The Lakers beat the Bulldogs 83-73 in the first game between the two schools at Wink Arena (Feb. 2).

* GLIAC Preseason Poll: Ferris State was picked to finish first in the 2012-13 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll announced by the league office.  Ashland claimed top honors in the South Division as both teams were chosen to repeat as divisional champions.

* Second GLIAC Crown: FSU finished with a 17-2 mark in GLIAC play last campaign and won the league's North Division Championship for only the second time in school history in addition to earning conference tournament runner-up honors.

* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris' 2012-13 roster includes two seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Nine of the 14 players are primarily frontcourt players while the remaining five are guards. Ten of the 14 players on the Bulldogs' roster hail from Michigan with three from Indiana and one from Ohio.

* New Head Coach: FSU Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger officially announced the appointment of Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate as the Bulldogs' new head coach on June 14. She became only the sixth head coach in the 38-year history of Bulldog women's basketball and replaced former head coach Tracey Dorow, who accepted the head coaching position at NCAA Division I Valparaiso University in April. In her seven seasons at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, she recorded 23 wins or more six consecutive years, including back-to-back 27-1 marks in 2008-09 and 2009-10.  Her 2009-10 team claimed the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class B State Championship.

* Looking Back To Last Year: Ferris State finished the 2011-12 season with a 23-7 overall record, which matched the school record set previously in 2006-07 for most wins in a campaign. The Bulldogs also advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinals and claimed the schools second-ever GLIAC North Division Championship.

* New Assistant Coach: FSU landed another highly-successful coach from the Grand Rapids area when Charlette Muller was appointed to the assistant coaching position. Muller most recently spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons as the varsity head coach at Grand Rapids Christian High School where she led the Eagles to back-to-back regional finals appearances and a 44-5 (.900) overall record. Muller won 90 percent of her games as a varsity head coach and was the 2010 Associated Press Class A State Coach of the Year.

* Season Of Firsts: The women's basketball team was one of three FSU teams to win league championships last winter along with men's basketball and the Bulldog Hockey team, which claimed the CCHA Regular-Season crown and reached the national championship game at the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four.

* Key Win Mark: Ferris State's 23 wins a year ago matched its 23-9 mark while advancing to the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07 for the most in school history.  Additionally, the Bulldogs' 17 league regular-season victories were the program's most in school history and topped the 16 wins set in 1999-00.

* Bulldog Notes: Sophomore Sarah DeShone is the GLIAC's second-leading scorer to date at 18.4 points per game.  DeShone has 937 career points to date and needs 63 more to notch her 1,000th career point ..... Ferris State made its fifth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago.  The Bulldogs reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen and the regional final in 2006-07.

* Series History vs. WSU: The Bulldogs maintain a 34-27 series' advantage entering Thursday's 62nd meeting and topped WSU 81-63 in last year's lone matchup at Detroit (2/16/12) before this year's loss. The Warriors had won the lone meeting in 2010-11 by a 83-74 score in Big Rapids (2/17/11). Ferris has won 14 of the last 18 series' encounters overall.

* Series History vs. SVSU: The Cardinals hold a 44-33 advantage entering Saturday's 78th encounter. FSU has won 21 of the last 28 meetings, including a 81-57 triumph in the final game last year (2/4/12) in Big Rapids, which followed a 66-48 victory in the first meeting a year ago (J1/7/12) in University Center.  The Bulldogs had lost six consectuvie games on the road at Saginaw Valley State prior to last year's win at O'Neill Arena before SVSU came back to record the home win this year.

* Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women's basketball program, which starts its 38th season of varsity competition, has compiled a 496-494 (.501) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their first previous 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 for the third time last year, has posted 10 wins or more in 14 of the last 15 seasons.

* All-GLIAC Honorees: Ferris State was well-represented on the All-GLIAC teams announced last season in conjunction with the postseason banquet at the league's final four.  Sarah DeShone was one of 10 first-team honorees while both forward/center Christina Branch and guard Tricia Principe were second-team picks.  Branch also claimed GLIAC All-Defensive Team recognition.

* Reigning GLIAC Champs: Eight players returned this year from a squad that advanced to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament Semifinals and won the GLIAC North Division last season.

* Preseason All-GLIAC: A pair of Bulldog women's players were named to the 2012-13 All-GLIAC North Division Preseason First Team in junior guard Sarah DeShone and sophomore forward Christina Branch. FSU had two of the five players chosen to the preseason All-North team.  Branch was injured during the preseason and is sitting out this year for the Bulldogs.

Click Here For Complete Game Notes (PDF)