Ferris State Takes 18th-Ranked Warriors To Wire In Road Setback

Highlights

Detroit, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball team battled nationally 18th-ranked Wayne State to the wire, but fell short 88-83 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Thursday (Jan. 30) night in Detroit.

The Bulldogs trailed by a single point, 43-42, after a high-scoring first half of action and then fought back from a 16-point deficit with 11:23 to play to pull within striking distance before the Warriors pulled out the win at home.

The FSU setback came despite a high-scoring night from senior guard Sarah DeShone and sophomore guard Dena Droste. DeShone hit 11-of-18 shots from the floor and made four three's while scoring a game-high 29 points while Droste made five long range tries and scored 28 points in the losing effort.

Along with DeShone and Droste, the Bulldogs also received 11 points from sophomore guard Destiney Robinson with sophomore center Christina Branch scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds. Junior forward Hannah Hoffman pulled down a team-best nine boards with three blocked shots while DeShone had six assists.

Wayne State received a big performance inside from leading scorer Shareta Brown, who netted 22 points and 16 rebounds in a double-double effort. She also grabbed 10 offensive boards.

The trio of Imari Redfield, Destiny Lavita-Stephens and Ondrea Hughes each scored 15 points apiece for the Warriors with the fifth starter, Jackie Jones, narrowly missing double-digits with nine points. She added seven assists and four steals.

Ferris State shot 51% for the game and held one of the nation's top field goal shooting squads to only 41.8% shooting. However, the Warriors outrebounded FSU 40-34 for the night and hauled in 23 offensive boards to only 14 for the Bulldogs, which also helped lead to a 27-13 edge in second chance production.

The Bulldogs were also hampered by 20 turnovers compared to 15 for the hosts, giving Wayne State a 25-14 advantage in points off miscues for the game.

Both teams made nine three-pointers and FSU hit 18-of-26 (69.2%) free throws with the Warriors sinking 23-of-31 (74.2%) tries. 

Wayne State also benefited from 11 steals and came up with 16 assists to only five steals and eight helpers on the Bulldog side. Ferris State finished with three blocked shots with WSU totaling two swats in the game.

Ferris State dropped to 6-9 overall and 6-7 in league action with the setback while Wayne State moved to 15-2 overall and remained atop the GLIAC standings with a 12-1 league record.

The Bulldogs will return home to host Saginaw Valley State this Saturday (Feb. 1) for "Kids Day" starting at 1 p.m. (ET). FSU then visits rival Grand Valley State on Monday (Feb. 3) night for a 6 p.m. (ET) GLIAC game in Allendale.