FSU

Blazing Start Lifts Ferris State Women's Basketball Over Hillsdale In Home Opener

Game Highlights & Postgame Video

Big Rapids, Mich. - A blazing start lifted the Ferris State University women's basketball squad to a decisive home-opening win over Hillsdale on Thursday (Nov. 14) night as the Bulldogs rolled to a 85-59 triumph inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State scored the first 19 points of the game and built a 32-7 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to the high-scoring victory over the Chargers in regional action.

The Bulldogs set the pace early and ended up outscoring the Chargers 41-8 on the break for the night as they forced 19 turnovers and came up with 12 steals. FSU also posted a decided edge on the glass with a 50-35 rebounding margin, which included 15 offensive rebounds generating a 12-0 advantage in second chance production.

FSU utilized 14 different players in the game with all playing at least three minutes or more and 13 breaking into the scoring column in the balanced effort.

Junior guard Adrienne Anderson tallied a game-high 15 points for FSU with Samantha Krauss adding 10 points off the bench. The Bulldogs also got nine points from freshman guard Mallory McCartney in her home debut with fellow rookie Chloe Idoni contributing seven points, nine rebounds and four steals in her first game at Wink Arena.

Both senior forward Riley Blair and senior guard Renee Sturm contributed eight points each for the Bulldogs while senior center Brayene Better totaled six points and six rebounds.

Ferris State shot 45% for the night and went seven-of-24 (29.2%) from long range in addition to sinking six-of-nine (66.7%) free throws.

Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Chargers to only 34.4% shooting, including a 13.3% effort in the opening quarter. HC finished eight-of-28 (28.6%) behind the three-point arc and nine-of-10 (90%) at the line.

After the Bulldogs opened up a commanding lead, Hillsdale managed to chip the lead down inside of 20 points, but a 19-12 Ferris State run in the third sealed the victory. The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest and the score was tied for only 13 seconds overall as FSU led from start to finish.

The Bulldogs dished out 26 assists, including six from junior guard Shaniya Huggins, and had only nine turnovers overall, outscoring Hillsdale 30-7 in points off turnovers. FSU also totaled 52 points in the paint to only 26 for the Chargers and the FSU bench outscored the Hillsdale reserves by a 45-19 count.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 2-1 overall this year and the Chargers fell to 1-2 on the year.

The Bulldogs continue their six-game homestand next week as they host Ursuline on Thursday, Nov. 21, in regional action starting at 5:30 p.m. (ET). FSU then hosts Southern Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 23, starting at 1 p.m. (ET) in Wink Arena.