Ferris State Suffers Close Loss On Road To Open Two-Game Ohio Trip

Columbus, Ohio - The Ferris State University women's basketball team jumped out to a first-half lead, but host Ohio Dominican rallied for a 53-50 win over the Bulldogs in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Sunday (Dec. 15) night in Columbus, Ohio.

Ferris State led by as many as 10 points midway thru the first half and held a slim 25-23 lead at the break, but suffered its first-ever loss to the Panthers as ODU rallied for the victory in the second frame.

FSU trailed by a single point, 51-50, and had possession of the ball on a baseline in-bounds play late in the game, but a jump ball was called as FSU tried to throw it in under the basket to sophomore center Christina Branch with 9.2 seconds remaining and ODU was awarded the ball.
The Bulldogs then had to foul three times to put the Panthers at the free throw line where they made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left. A last-chance throw down floor by the Bulldogs was knocked away as Ohio Dominican preserved the win.

Ohio Dominican received a game-high 19 points from Kacee Hockenberry en route to the win. She was the lone ODU player to reach double-digits in a balanced effort. Tori Beth Leader added nine points and Lauren Bates contributed eight points along with a game-best nine rebounds for the Panthers.

Meanwhile, senior guard Sarah DeShone paced FSU with 16 points and Dena Droste totaled 11 points. Branch finished with nine points and a game-high tying nine rebounds in the setback.

FSU was held to 32.8% shooting and made only three-of-13 (23.1%) three's in addition to a nine-of-12 (75%) showing at the free throw line.

Ohio Dominican connected on 37.5% of its field goals, including a 46.2% effort in the second half of action. The Panthers were four-of-15 (26.7%) behind the three-point stripe and made seven-of-nine (77.8%) free throws.

Ferris State owned a 41-36 rebounding edge for the game and pulled down 18 offensive boards to 13 for the Panthers. That helped lead to a decisive 14-3 advantage in second chance scoring.

However, FSU also had 21 turnovers for the night in a contest that was tied six times but featured only one lead change. ODU also struggled to take care of the ball with 22 turnovers and each team scored 13 points off the opponents' miscues.

The Bulldogs totaled 11 steals with DeShone netting three along with two each by Branch and junior center Hannah Hoffman. DeShone dished out a game-high four assists and sophomore guard Katie Mavis had three helpers.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the GLIAC this campaign. Ohio Dominican improved to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in league action.

Ferris State wraps up the pre-holiday portion of its schedule by visiting Tiffin on Tuesday (Dec. 17) for a 6 p.m. (ET) league tilt at the Gillmor Center in Tiffin, Ohio. The contest can be heard live on Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com.