FSU Women Win Second-Straight At Lewis

Romeoville, Ill. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad notched a second consecutive victory to open a two-game regional road trip on Tuesday (Nov. 23) as the Bulldogs beat Lewis (Ill.) by a 55-52 count in Romeoville, Ill.

FSU jumped out to a slim 28-23 halftime edge at Neil Carey Arena and held on down the stretch to pull out the win.

The Flyers grabbed a one-point lead with 1:23 to play on a layup by Kady Currin.  After both teams failed to convert on offensive possessions, the Bulldogs finally regained the advantage on a layup by sophomore forward/center Katy Fox (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer) with only 37 seconds remaining.

Lewis had two opportunities to score following Fox's bucket, but Ferris was able to grab the defensive rebound with only 24 seconds to play.  The Flyers fouled after back-to-back timeouts and FSU junior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) drilled two free throws with 17 seconds left.  A last-second three-pointer by Currin came up empty as the Bulldogs preserved the win.

Senior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly) notched a double-double effort in leading FSU with a game-high 14 points and 11 boards.  She was joined in double-figures by junior guard Kelsey DeNoyelles (Mt. Pleasant/Sacred Heart) with 12 points and Principe with 11 points.

The Bulldogs limited LU to only 31.1% (19-61) shooting for the game, including a nine-of-33 (27.3%) showing in the initial frame.  Ferris also forced 20 Flyer turnovers to help offset 26 turnovers of its own.

Lewis struggled from beyond the three-point arc as the Flyers made only four-of-24 (16.7%) long range tries.  They were 10-of-13 (76.9%) at the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Ferris converted 20-of-48 (41.7%) field goal attempts and was 13-of-19 (68.4%) at the line despite making only two-of-12 (16.7%) three-pointers.

Ferris registered a 40-34 rebounding edge for the game and outscored Lewis 26-20 in the paint.

Overall, the game featured 16 lead changes and the score was tied 13 times as neither team led by more than seven points on the night.

The Bulldogs finished the game with 12 assists, nine steals and two blocked shots in comparison to Lewis' 12 assists, 12 steals and six blocks.

FSU's five-point halftime lead came on the heels of a 46.2% (12-26) shooting effort in the initial frame.

Lory Shaw paced Lewis with 12 points and seven rebounds while Kelly Monaco added 11 points and Carol Kruckman totaled 11 points and six boards.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 overall following their home upset of nationally 15th-ranked Gannon on Sunday (Nov. 21) prior to Tuesday's victory.  Lewis fell to 2-2 overall with the setback.

The Bulldogs will try to make it three in a row as they visit St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Wednesday (Nov. 24) evening for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) non-league tilt at the Richard Scharf Fieldhouse in Rensselaer, Ind.

Bulldog Bites: DeNoyelles added seven rebounds and Principe had six for FSU ....... Tuesday's victory gave FSU a 6-5 all-time series' lead over Lewis and was the Bulldogs' second-straight victory against the Flyers ....... FSU head coach Tracey Dorow now needs only two more wins to notch her 200th career victory ...... The win was the Bulldogs' 450th all-time victory in school history .... Eleven Bulldog players saw action in the win.