Bulldog Women Win Second-Straight Contest By Avenging Earlier Loss

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad put together one of its most complete performances as the Bulldogs registered a 69-57 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home win over Northwood on Thursday (Feb. 14) night in a Valentine's Day contest at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs avenged an earlier 70-46 defeat to Northwood on Jan. 17 in Midland by outscoring the Timberwolves 43-33 over the second half to improve to 12-9 overall and 11-7 in GLIAC play.

Ferris State led narrowly 26-24 at halftime and neither team led by more than four points either way until a Bulldog run in the second half.  After the two teams were tied at 41 points apiece with 13 minutes to play, the Bulldogs proceeded to score 17 of the next 23 points to push their advantage to 11 points with 7:39 to go.  The lead eventually grew to 15 points and Northwood could not close within 12 points the rest of the way.

Junior guard Sarah DeShone keyed the Bulldog victory as she scored a game-high 25 points and had both three rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes of action.  DeShone hit four-of-eight three's with all four coming in the final half.  

In addition to DeShone's play, the Bulldogs also received 14 points from sophomore forward Kara Hess while redshirt freshman guard Katie Mavis chipped in with nine points.  Senior guard Kylie Muntz pulled down a team-high six rebounds to go with four points and two assists.

Ferris State hit 46.3% of its field goal tries and was 14-of-15 (93.3%) at the free throw line in addition to connecting on five-of-19 (26.3%) three's.  The Timberwolves were 34.5% from the floor and five-of-22 (22.7%) beyond the arc along with 14-of-20 (70%) at the charity stripe.

Besides posting the higher shooting percentages, the Bulldogs also outrebounded Northwood by a 37-30 count and outscored NU 24-15 in points off turnovers despite totaling 21 of their own to 19 for Northwood.  Ferris State held a slim 16-13 edge in second chance scoring although the Timberwolves grabbed 15 offensive caroms to 12 for FSU.

Defensively, the Bulldogs also came away with 10 steals and held NU to only 27.6% shooting in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Northwood was led by Rachel Church, who had 16 points and made three treys for the visitors.  Aleigha Wylie joined her in double-digits with 12 points in the game, but those were the only two players to score more than seven points versus FSU.

In all, the game featured 11 lead changes and was tied eight times as the two teams battled back and forth until the Bulldogs' second half run.

Ferris State continued its series dominance over Northwood with the win as the Bulldogs improved to 50-17 all-time versus NU, including a 26-6 mark in Big Rapids. The win was FSU's ninth victory in the last 14 meetings, which followed a 24-game series' winning streak.  FSU had beat NU twice in each of the last two seasons prior to the loss in Midland earlier this year.

Northwood fell to 11-13 overall and 9-9 in the GLIAC after coming into the contest right behind the Bulldogs in GLIAC North Division action.

The win was also the second-straight for the Bulldogs on the heels of a four-game losing streak as FSU posted an exciting 73-70 overtime win on the road at Northern Michigan last Saturday (Feb. 9) in its most recent outing prior to the contest.

The Bulldogs will next host Lake Superior State on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. (ET) inside Wink Arena.  The game is one hour earlier than most Saturday afternoon starts due to a home tripleheader at the Ewigleben Sports Complex. The men's game tips off prior to the women's contest with FSU hockey hosting Bowling Green State in its final Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) regular-season home tilt at 5:05 p.m. (ET), which will be televised live nationally by Fox Sports Detroit as part of "Hockey Day In Michigan" coverage.

Saturday's game will be aired live by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.  Rob Bentley and Sandy Gholston will team up to call the action and a live pay-per-view video webcast will also be available.