Ferris State Drops Opening Game At Bellarmine Classic To Unbeaten Knights

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State women's basketball squad opened its weekend trip to the Bellarmine Classic with a 76-52 setback against the host Knights on Saturday (Dec. 19) afternoon at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky.     

The Bulldogs, who were riding a two-game winning streak coming into the game, led 18-17 into the second quarter before the unbeaten and nationally-ranked Knights took off with the lead and never looked back after trailing the Bulldogs by as many as six points early in the contest.

Bellarmine took a 34-27 halftime lead over the Bulldogs after outscoring FSU 22-11 in the second quarter. They increased the advantage in the second half with a 42-25 second half scoring margin.

The shooting figures were close between the two squads as FSU shot 41.3% overall compared to BU's 44% effort. However, FSU shot only 7.7% (1-13) from three-point range while the Knights sank four treys. They also went six-of-nine (67%) at the line while FSU made 13-of-19 (68.4%) tries from the charity stripe.

Turnovers proved to be a difference in the game as Bellarmine forced 32 Ferris State miscues to fuel its offensive attack. Meanwhile, the Knights netted only 15 turnovers of their own.            

Sophomore forward Rachel McInerney paced the Bulldogs with 10 points while junior forward Joslyn Nicholson finished with nine points overall.            

The game saw the Bulldog debut of two players in senior forward Alexis Huntey and redshirt freshman forward Hannah Guy, who both were members of FSU's GLIAC Championship volleyball team in the fall and played their first collegiate contests on the hardwood against the Knights.          
Huntey finished with four points and five rebounds in 19 minutes while Guy had three points and two rebounds in 18 minutes of play. The two came off the bench for the Bulldogs.

The Knights got point contributions from 11 of the 13 players that saw action against the Bulldogs, with Sarah Galvin leading the way by scoring 15 points on 7-12 shooting. Whitney Hartlage had 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a team-best five assists.             

Ally Mayhaus finished with a game-high eight rebounds for Bellarmine University.            

Ferris State was led on the glass by freshman forward Alexis Bush, who had seven caroms in the contest.            

The Bulldogs are back in action for their final game of the 2015 calendar year on Sunday (Dec. 20) as they wrap up the Bellarmine Classic against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles at 1 p.m. (EST) in Louisville.