FSU Falls Short In Loss At Ashland

Ashland, Ohio - A late rally by the Ferris State University women's basketball team came up short as the Ashland Eagles posted a 71-66 victory in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Saturday (Jan. 16) afternoon at AU's Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio.

The Eagles took a narrow 32-29 advantage at the break following a first half in which the two teams combined for 27 turnovers.

FSU battled back from an 11-point second half deficit and trimmed the margin to three (69-66) in the final minute.  Ferris had a chance to tie the game up in the final 10 seconds, but a three-point try from Bulldog sophomore guard Tricia Principe came up short and AU's Lacy Romine was able to grab the rebound and knock down two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to account for the final margin.

The Bulldogs were paced by junior forward Amy Joostberns, who tallied 14 points in the game. Junior guard Becci Houdek chipped in with 12 points and junior forward Tiara Adams conbributed 10 points and 12 rebounds in a double-double effort.

FSU had trouble containing AU point guard Lindsey Gaut, who finished with a game-high 21 points to go with four assists and four steals.  Romine added 15 points, but those were the only two Ashland players to reach double-figure scoring.

Ferris shot 43.9% (25-57) for the game, including a 57.1% effort in the final half after shooting only 31% in the first frame.  Meanwhile, AU finished at 45% (27-60) for the afternoon.

The Eagles made seven-of-20 (35%) three-pointers with FSU sinking only three-of-13 (23.1%) tries from the arc.

FSU owned a 40-32 rebounding edge with 13 offensive boards and outscored the Eagles 36-32 in the paint, but Ashland tallied 25 points off Bulldog turnovers in notching the victory.

The Bulldogs finished with 25 turnovers while Ashland netted 21 turnovers.  FSU had 15 assists, 11 steals and one blocked shot compared to AU's 18 assists, 15 steals and also a single block.

The game featured four lead changes and the score was tied six times.

AU improved its record to 7-7 overall and 4-6 in GLIAC play with the triumph.  Ferris is also at 4-6 in conference action following the setback and now 5-10 overall this campaign.

Ferris State next visits Wayne State on Thursday, Jan. 21, for a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league game in Detroit, Mich.