Ferris Women Top Northwood In GLIAC Tilt

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(Final 10 minutes of game)

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball team secured a much-needed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road win with a 65-55 triumph over the Northwood Timberwolves on Saturday (Jan. 15) evening in Midland, Mich.

The Bulldogs trailed 25-22 at the break after being down by as many as nine points in the opening half.  However, FSU outscored NU 43-30 in the final half to notch the win.

Northwood led by five points with 10:15 to go in the contest, but FSU limited the Timberwolves to only 11 points the rest of the way in the victory.  The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a three-pointer with 9:16 left and never trailed the rest of the way. 

Ferris held NU without a field goal in the final two minutes and hit four free throws in the final 44 seconds to preserve the win.

A balanced Ferris State lineup was paced by junior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan), who totaled 14 points and eight rebounds in the victory as Ferris improved to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in the GLIAC.  The win also snapped a four-game Bulldog conference losing skid.

Principe was the lone Bulldog player to reach double-figure scoring.  However, FSU also received nine points and nine rebounds from senior guard Becci Houdek (Canton) along with nine points and seven boards by senior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly).

NU was led by senior leading scorer Pam Wilson with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Rachel Church added 10 points for Northwood, which dropped to 6-8 overall and 2-6 in the GLIAC.

Ferris State shot 37.7% (23-61) from the field and was five-of-17 (29.4%) beyond the three-point line along with 14-of-20 (70%) at the free throw stripe.  The Bulldogs shot 46.9% (15-32) over the final 20 minutes after shooting only 27.6% (8-29) in the first half of play.

Meanwhile, NU managed to make 19-of-58 (32.8%) field goals along with eight-of-26 (30.8%) three-pointers and nine-of-15 (60%) free throws.  Ferris State limited NU to only eight field goals in the opening half.

Ferris State turned the ball over 11 times compared to 14 for Northwood and both teams garnered 41 rebounds in the contest.  The Bulldogs took advantage of NU's turnovers by outscoring the Timberwolves 16-8 in points off miscues and FSU also held a slim 13-8 edge in second chance scoring as both teams grabbed 12 offensive caroms.

FSU came up with 16 assists in the contest with Houdek dishing out a game-high tying five assists and freshman guard Sarah DeShone (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown) adding four more.  The Bulldogs also had seven steals and a blocked shot in comparision to NU's 12 assists, eight blocks and a single steal.

Ten of the 12 Bulldog players who saw action scored in the outing.

Saturday's win was FSU's second over the Timberwolves this season as the Bulldogs previously recorded a thrilling 81-79 win at home back in December (12/11) at Big Rapids.

Ferris will return home to host Michigan Tech in GLIAC action next Thursday, Jan. 20, at FSU's Jim Wink Arena with tipoff set for 8 p.m. (ET) in Big Rapids.  The Bulldogs then square off against Northern Michigan in a league home game on Saturday, Jan. 22, starting at 3 p.m. (ET).

Bulldog Bites:  The Bulldog reserves outscored the Northwood bench by a 25-16 margin for the game ..... The contest featured seven lead changes and the score was tied four times ....... FSU improved to 47-16 all-time versus NU with the win and head coach Tracey Dorow moved to 24-4 in her head coaching career against the Timberwolves ....... The victory was Ferris' 23rd in 32 series' meetings in Midland.