Ferris State Women's Basketball Wins For Fourth Time In Five Games By Beating Malone At Home

Contributor - Cody Carlson
FerrisStateBulldogs.com

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University women's basketball team led nearly the entire way en route to a 55-47 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home victory over visiting Malone on Thursday (Jan. 8) night at Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State claimed its fourth win in the last five contests to move to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the GLIAC. It came in the third-ever series' matchup versus the GLIAC South Division counterpart as FSU moved to 2-1 all-time against the Pioneers.

Thursday's tilt marked the Bulldogs' first home contest of the New Year as FSU had not played inside the confines of Jim Wink Arena since beating Ohio Dominican on Dec. 14 in league action.

The Bulldogs took a 22-17 lead into the half behind 11 first half points from junior guard Katie Mavis. She finished the game with a team-high 13 points and totaled seven steals along with four assists and three rebounds in the victory.

Ferris State pushed its lead to as many as 13 points with 3:55 to go in the opening half before Malone rallied to trim the margin to five at the break. In the second half, the Pioneers remained within striking distance and trimmed the margin to a single basket at one point, but FSU stepped up and made several key plays down the stretch to earn the win.

Ferris State shot 40.8% for the night and was four-of-14 (28.6%) from three-point range. FSU shot an outstanding 11-of-12 (91.7%) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs hit 50% from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, Malone shot just 33.3% overall and was six-of-23 (26.1%) from beyond the arc and seven-of-11 (63.6%) at the line. The Pioneers were limited to 25.9% shooting in the initial half of play.

Along with Mavis, junior center Christina Branch added 10 points for FSU and sophomore guard Ally Christman finished with eight points for the Bulldogs. Junior guard Destiney Robinson chipped in with seven points.

Malone was paced by Rachel Goddard, who led all scorers with 16 points, while Selana Reale joined her in double-figures with 14 points. Alahna Singleton and Bri Libertore each chipped in six for the visiting Pioneers.

The Pioneers held the edge on the boards 36-29 and they tallied 10 offensive boards to only three for the Bulldogs.

However, the Bulldogs forced 22 turnovers and held a 20-13 advantage in points off turnovers despite 16 of their own. Malone finished the game with six steals to 13 for the Bulldogs.

Branch and senior center Hannah Hoffman once again paced FSU on the boards with six rebounds each. Besides Mavis' four assists, Ferris State also received three dimes from Branch, who accounted for both of FSU's blocked shots in the game.

Malone received eight rebounds from Lindsy Snyder and seven from Libertore. Additionally, Reale had a game-high seven assists for the visiting Pioneers.

Ferris State completes its weekend homestand by hosting Walsh on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET).

Bulldog Bites: Malone dropped to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the GLIAC with the setback … Ferris State remained within a game of the GLIAC North Division lead with the win … The Bulldogs outscored the Pioneers 24-16 in the paint while avenging a two-point road loss last year in Canton … FSU totaled 14 fast break points to only six for the Pioneers … The lead changed hands only one time in the contest … Ferris State now owns a perfect 3-0 mark at home this season.