Ferris State Takes Rival GVSU To The Wire In Senior Day Setback To Close Regular Season

Postgame Interview 
Game Highlights 
Senior Day Ceremony 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad battled archrival Grand Valley State to the wire on Saturday (Feb. 24) as the Bulldogs closed the regular season with a hard-fought 77-64 setback to the Lakers in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs led by as many as seven points in the opening quarter and trailed only 34-33 heading into halftime. The game stayed at a two-point difference heading into the fourth quarter before the Lakers pulled out the win with a 26-15 edge over the final 10 minutes of action.

Senior center Rachel McInerney got FSU off to a great start in her final home contest and finished with a team-high 21 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Meanwhile, freshman guard Shaniya Huggins added 10 points with senior guard Leah Humes scoring eight points with four assists and three steals in her last home game.

The Lakers, though, got a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds from Cassidy Boensch inside and she finished 13-of-16 from the floor. Natalie Koenig added 19 points and eight assists with Megan Belke contributing 11 points in the road triumph.

Grand Valley State shot 53% overall compared to FSU's 40% figure and the Lakers went five-of-15 (33.3%) from long range with FSU going four-of-13 (30.8%). The Lakers also totaled 22-of-30 (73.3%) free throws with FSU limited to an eight-of-13 (61.5%) figure.

Ferris State was outscored 40-18 inside the paint, but FSU did own a 12-4 edge in fast break production.

Overall, the Lakers outrebounded FSU 35-32 for the night. However, Ferris State pulled down 13 offensive boards and held a 8-7 margin in second chance scoring for the game.

FSU forced 19 turnovers on the day and finished with 21 assists, 13 steals and three blocked shots. The Lakers netted 18 assists, nine blocks and six steals.

Prior to the game, FSU honored its three-member senior class, which included McInereny, Humes and current student assistant coach and former player Hannah Evo. Together, they helped lead FSU to a conference tournament berth this year for the first time since 2013 and the most wins by the program since 2011-12.

With the win, the Lakers improved to 23-5 overall and 16-4 in the GLIAC while securing the #3 seed for the conference tournament.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs closed the regular season with a 14-14 overall mark and will be the #7 seed for next week's GLIAC Tournament.

Ferris State will visit second-seeded Michigan Tech for the first round of the GLIAC Tournament on Wednesday (Feb. 28) in Houghton. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. (ET).

Stay tuned to FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional postseason information.