Ferris State Women's Basketball Claims Home Court Victory By Beating Wayne State

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad pulled out one of its biggest wins of the season on Saturday (Jan. 21) as FSU scored a hard-fought 83-80 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home win over Wayne State inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs, playing with confidence following a close 70-68 overtime setback at divisional leader Saginaw Valley State on Thursday night, bolted in front early by scoring the first nine points of the day and owned a 44-33 halftime lead against the Warriors. 

WSU battled back in the second half and took a 70-68 lead with five minutes to play before FSU fought back. The Bulldogs jumped back in front on a pair of baskets from redshirt freshman guard Riley Blair along with three points from junior guard Leah Humes and held on down the stretch for the win.

After a Wayne State layup with five seconds left followed by a foul, FSU junior Rachel McInerney hit one of two free throws to make it a three-point game and a desperation try from halfcourt by the Warriors bounced off the rim as time expired.

Ferris State shot 55.6% for the day and connected on 19-of-24 (79.2%) free throws while earning the conference home win. The Bulldogs also went four-of-10 (40%) beyond the three-point line.

McInerney paced the Bulldogs with another big game as she tallied a game-high 22 points along with 14 rebounds, four blocked shots and a steal in 38 minutes. Blair added 20 points while hitting several key shots down the stretch and Humes added 13 points off the bench while dishing out four assists.

FSU also received 14 points and three assists from forward Joslyn Nicholson, who went six-of-six from the floor, and sophomore guard Alexis Bush totaled 12 points with a game-high six assists in the victory.

The Bulldogs dominated the glass by outrebounding Wayne State 46-28 for the game and pulled down 13 offensive caroms. FSU also posted five blocked shots to go with five steals.
Wayne State was limited to 41% shooting with the Warriors making six-of-19 (31.6%) three's and 14-of-19 (73.7%) attempts from the charity stripe.

The Warriors were led by Nastassja Chambers, who notched 17 points. Shannon Wilson added 15 points with a big second half while Ja'Nae Williams contributed 14 points in the loss.

WSU forced 26 FSU turnovers and came away with a 27-8 edge in points off turnovers as the Warriors had only 10 of their own. They also recorded 15 steals, including four from Chambers, and blocked a pair of FSU tries.

The Bulldogs distributed the ball well with 23 assists to 14 for Wayne State. Along with the six from Bush, FSU received four apiece from both Humes and freshman guard Renee Sturm while Blair and Nicholson posted three each.

Overall, the lead changed hands nine times and the game was tied nine different times.

With the win, FSU improved to 4-13 overall and 3-8 in the GLIAC. WSU fell to 6-12 overall and 3-8 in conference play.

Ferris State will now hit the road for three consecutive league games. FSU visits Northern Michigan on Thursday (Jan. 26) for a 6 p.m. (ET) tilt at the Berry Events Center in Marquette before going to Michigan Tech next Saturday (Jan. 28). After the trip the Upper Peninsula, FSU returns to West Michigan to face archrival Grand Valley State on Monday, Jan. 30, in Allendale.