Ferris Women Drop Season Opener At Wink

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Coach Tracey Dorow (Video)

Big Rapids, Mich. - Turnovers hampered the Ferris State University women's basketball squad as the Bulldogs dropped a 69-60 decision to Edinboro (Pa.) in their 2010-11 season opener on Saturday (Nov. 20).

The contest was part of day one action in the two-day Bulldog Classic inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.  Former Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Gannon beat Northwood by a 80-68 count in the opening game of the event.

"They outscrapped us in every area and we didn't maintain our composure," said FSU head coach Tracey Dorow.  "They pressed us the whole game and we didn't attack it and seemed very timid.

"They forced us to rush into things and we didn't play smart today," she added.

Ferris trailed Edinboro by only two points in the second-ever meeting of the two schools at the break (26-24), but was outscored 43-36 over the final 20 minutes of action in the first contest for both teams.

In all, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 29 times with 15 coming in the opening frame against only 15 Edinboro miscues in the entire contest.

Ferris led by one point with 15:17 to go in the contest before the Fighting Scots seized control. They went on a 9-0 run over the next two plus minutes to grab an eight-point edge.

Ferris trimmed the margin back to only two points with 10:24 to play, but that was followed by another 13-2 Edinboro run over a six-minute span.  The Bulldogs could get not closer than six points the rest of the way.

Edinboro managed to win its opener despite shooting only 30.3% (23-76) from the floor and five-of-23 (21.7%) from beyond the three-point arc.  EU was also 18-of-32 (56.3%) at the free throw line.

Besides turning the ball over 29 times, the Bulldogs also were outrebounded 52-45 for the game as the Fighting Scots pulled down 29 offensive boards compared to only 13 for the Bulldogs.

Edinboro's bench also provided a boost by outscoring the Bulldog reserves 25-5 for the day.  Their success on the offensive glass helped lead to a 20-7 advantage in second chance scoring while their defensive effort helped create a 23-7 margin in points off turnovers.

The Bulldogs had three players reach double-figure scoring with junior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) netting a team-high 21 points.  She was eight-of-12 from the floor and also made three-of-four long range attempts in addition to grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists.

Senior guard Becci Houdek (Canton) added 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals for FSU with senior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly) contribuing 10 points and 12 boards in a double-double effort.

On the other side, Edinboro's Kiara Brown totaled a game-high 22 points on nine-of-21 shooting.  She was joined in double-digits by Micki Cerchiaro with 14 points and seven rebounds.  Samantha Blazetic added 11 points and 13 boards in the winning effort.

Ferris shot 45.5% (25-55) for the game and was six-of-12 (50%) from downtown along with four-of-nine (44.4%) at the free throw stripe.

FSU will wrap up the Bulldog Classic by hosting Gannon on Sunday (Nov. 21) in a 3 p.m. (ET) non-league tilt at Wink Arena.  Edinboro will square off against Northwood in Sunday's opener at 1 p.m. (ET).

Bulldog Bites: The victory was Edinboro's second over FSU in as many seasons following a win in last year's first-ever series' meeting at Erie, Pa. .... The Bulldogs played 12 individuals in the contest ..... Senior center Andrea Clancy (Port Austin/North Huron) returned to the floor after missing all of last season due to injury and had a blocked shot in six minutes of action ...... The combination of Principe, Houdek and Adams scored 48 of FSU's 60 points ...... The lead changed hands five times and the score was tied on seven occassions in the game.