Ferris State Falls In Overtime Thriller At Christmas Classic In Florida

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad battled to overtime, but fell to host Southeastern (Fla.) by a 94-90 count in extra action on Thursday (Dec. 19) at the Christmas Classic in Lakeland, Fla.

The Bulldogs led by six points at halftime before the Fire fought back in the third period to take a one-point edge. The two teams battled to the finish with Southeastern eventually tying the game up on a free throw with six seconds left in regulation.

In overtime, the Fire outscored FSU 15-11 to earn the win. The Bulldogs fell to 6-4 overall this season while Southeastern improved to 12-2 on the year.

Senior forward Riley Blair continued her impressive offensive output as she tallied a team-high 27 points for the Bulldogs to go with seven rebounds. Blair was one of four FSU players in double-digits for the game.

The Bulldogs also got 13 points from junior guard Adrienne Anderson alongw ith 11 points from freshman forward Chloe Idoni, who made her first start. Senior guard Renee Sturm added 10 points. The Bulldogs also received nine points each from freshman guard Mallory McCartney along with Samantha Krauss off the bench.

Overall, Ferris State shot 44% from the floor and made 11-of-30 (36.7%) long range tries from behind teh three-point arc, but went 15-of-28 (53.6%) at the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Southeastern shot at a 47.1% clip and made 28-of-39 (71.8%) free throws along with only a two-of-11 (18.2%) figure from the three-point arc.

Southeastern, which reached the NAIA National Championship game a year ago, was led by Taylah Simmons' team-best 24 points. All five Fire starters scored in double figures for the afternoon.

Ferris State will wrap up the Christmas Classic at Southeastern on Friday (Dec. 20) as the Bulldogs face William Carey (Miss.) with tipoff slated for 12 p.m. (ET).