Ferris State Drops First-Ever GLIAC Matchup To Davenport In Close League Road Tilt

Postgame Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad battled to the finish, but came out on the short end of a 68-63 decision versus Davenport on Saturday (Jan. 6) in the first-ever Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup between the two West Michigan programs in Grand Rapids.

The game went back and forth much of the first half with Davenport grabbing a four-point lead at intermission. The score remained a four-point difference after three quarters before Davenport pulled out the five-point win in the end.

Ferris State fought back several times in the second half and had opportunities down the stretch, but FSU finished shooting only 59.3% (16-27) from the free throw stripe, which helped prove to be the difference.

The Bulldogs were led by sophomore guard Riley Blair, who tallied a team-high 19 points. Senior guard Leah Humes added 15 points and the Bulldogs also got 10 points from junior guard Alexis Bush in the setback.

Meanwhile, Davenport got a game-high 23 points from Emily Severn, who knocked down six-of-eight tries from beyond the three-point stripe to help DU pull out the victory. Jenna Falkenberg added 17 points and eight boards on the inside while Martyna Pioro added 11 points off the bench and hit five-of-six free throws down the stretch to help secure the triumph.

FSU was held to 34.9% shooting against the Panthers' defensive zone with the Bulldogs managing to hit only three-of-17 (17.6%) three's. DU connected on 43% of its field goals and went six-of-16 (37.5%) from long range along with 14-of-23 (60.9%) at the stripe. The Panthers made 10 of their free throws in the final quarter when FSU went only seven-of-15 (46.7%) at the line.

Overall, Ferris State did own a 46-37 edge on the glass with the Bulldogs haulding down 19 offensive rebounds. Both teams had 18 turnovers in the gaem and each notched 11 steals overall.

The Bulldogs got four steals from Humes along with three from senior center Rachel McInerney, who was limited to only seven points but did pull down a game-high 11 rebounds. Both Humes and Bush dished out a team-high three assists.

With the win, Davenport improved to 6-8 on the year and 4-3 in the GLIAc while FSU fell to 8-7 overall and 2-5 in league action.

The Bulldogs will return home to host Michigan Tech in GLIAC North Division play on Thursday (Jan. 11) starting at 7:30 p.m. (ET) inside Jim Wink Arena. FSU then wraps up the weekend homestand versus Northern Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 13) with tipoff slated for 3 p.m. (ET) in Big Rapids.