Ferris State Women Storm Past Lake Erie For Victory In League & Home Debut

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad picked up its first victory of the season as the Bulldogs beat Lake Erie 77-65 in their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and home debut on Thursday (Dec. 5) night at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State jumped out to a 44-37 halftime lead and limited the Storm to only 29.6% shooting over the final 20 minutes in earning the victory.  FSU improved to 1-2 on the year after two games against top Division II teams on the road to open the year nearly two weeks ago.

Lake Erie came into the contest with a 5-1 mark on the year and led by as many as six points only four minutes into the game. However, FSU surged back to grab a 44-37 lead at intermission and then outscored the Storm by five in the second half to pickup the triumph.

Bulldog junior Kara Hess tallied 22 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the floor to lead all scorers and FSU also received 16 points from senior guard Sarah DeShone. Hess added six boards, three assists and two steals while DeShone also netted seven rebounds, six assists and five thefts in the game.

Along with those two players in double-digits, the Bulldogs also received 12 points and five assists from sophomore guard Katie Mavis along with nine points, five boards and four assists from sophomore guard Dena Droste.  Hannah Hoffman contributed six points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State shot 56% in the first half and finished with a 54.2% shooting clip. The Bulldogs also had a strong showing at the free throw line as they hit 23-of-27 (85.2%) tries to go with a two-of-six effort (33.3%) from beyond the three-point arc.

On the defensive side, the Bulldogs forced 21 Lake Erie turnovers, which led to a 18-7 advantage in points off miscues. FSU also held LEC to only eight-of-27 (29.6%) shooting in the final half as the Storm finished at a 43.4% clip for the night.

Lake Erie stayed in the game much of the way thanks to a nine-of-17 (52.9%) figure from beyond the arc and they also hit 10-of-14 (71.4%) free throws. 

Both Alyssa Brumbaugh and Jackie Murray scored 14 points apiece for Lake Erie with Chrissy Delaney adding 10 points in the setback as the Storm fell to 5-2 on the year.

Ferris State owned a 33-24 rebounding edge and came away with nine offensive boards to eight for Lake Erie while both teams netted nine second chance points. FSU also had 10 steals and two blocked shots to go with 15 turnovers. Lake Erie totaled nine steals and two blocks for the game.

The lead changed hands four times and the contest was tied five times. It marked the Bulldogs' fourth win in as many series' matchups against Lake Erie as the Storm visited Wink Arena for only the second time ever.

Ferris State will be back in action on Saturday (Dec. 7) as FSU hosts defending NCAA Division II National Champion Ashland at Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET).