Ferris State Falls To MTU In Battle Between GLIAC North Leaders

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball team had its six-game winning streak snapped by Michigan Tech on Thursday (Jan. 10) night as the visiting Huskies climbed into a first-place tie with the Bulldogs atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division standings with a 60-46 win at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs had held a one-game lead over Michigan Tech entering the first GLIAC North Division contest for both teams, but the Huskies earned the win to improve to 9-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play.  FSU fell to 8-4 overall and 7-2 in the GLIAC with the setback.

Ferris State bolted out to a six-point advantage only 3:19 into the game before Michigan Tech battled back to grab a 24-19 edge at halftime.  The second half, however, was a different story as the Huskies outscored FSU 36-27 the rest of the way.

Michigan Tech pushed its lead to as many as 21 points with 9:08 to play.  Ferris State cut the margin down to eight points at 51-43 with 3:38 remaining, but the Huskies answered with a 9-1 run to put the game away.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs for Michigan Tech, which reached the national championship game only two seasons ago.  FSU had won back-to-back games over a top 10 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech team at Wink Arena in 2010-11 and 2011-12 prior to the loss on Thursday night.

Ferris State's loss came despite a game-high 21 points from junior guard Sarah DeShone (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown), who played despite an injury and made nine-of-15 shots from the floor and three-of-five three's in 34 minutes of action.

DeShone was the lone Bulldog player to reach double-figure scoring as FSU shot only 32.7% for the game and was five-of-15 (33.3%) beyond the arc along with seven-of-10 (70%) at the line.

While no one else reached double-digits, the Bulldogs did receive nine points apiece from both sophomore forward Kara Hess (Grand Rapids/Grandville) and junior forward Ashley Rando (Jackson/Northwest).  Both also had two steals each.

Ferris State also welcomed the return of senior guard Kylie Muntz (Dayton, Ohio), who returned to the floor and scored four points with a team-high two assists after missing two games last week.

Michigan Tech post player Kylie Moxley fueled the Huskies' second-half run with a team-best 19 points in the contest.  Standout guard Sam Hoyt added 12 points and three assists while Jillian Ritchie added 12 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double performance.

Overall, Michigan Tech shot 39.7% for the night and connected on six-of-23 (26.1%) three's along with eight-of-10 (80%) free throws.

The Huskies also recorded a 42-32 rebounding advantage and grabbed 11 offensive caroms to eight for the Bulldogs, who were outscored 9-7 in second chance scoring.  FSU also turned the ball over 17 times compared to 16 for Michigan Tech with the Huskies recording 13 steals to eight for the hosts.

In all, the contest featured only a single lead change and was tied just twice.  MTU posted a decisive edge over FSU in bench production by a 28-3 count.

Ferris State will try to get back on track as the Bulldogs wrap up a four-game league homestand against Northern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 12, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) inside Wink Arena.  The game will be carried live by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

Saturday will be Kids Day with all youth in grades K-12 admitted free with a paid adult.  Tickets can be purchased in advance online at StarTickets.com.  Please call (231) 591-2888 for more information or visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com..