Ferris State Drops Weekend Opener To Rival GVSU In Women's Basketball Action

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball team fought back late, but fell to nationally 15th-ranked Grand Valley State 72-57 on Saturday (Feb. 6) in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) weekend opener at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

The Lakers jumped in front early and led 22-12 after the first quarter before expanding the lead to 14 points at halftime. FSU climbed back into the game in the second half by outscoring the Lakers 21-11 in the third before GVSU closed the door with a 22-11 edge in fourth quarter scoring.

The two teams will meet again in the weekend rematch on Sunday (Feb. 7) with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) in Allendale.

Sophomore guard Mallory McCartney paced FSU with 16 points in the setback while freshman guard Kadyn Blanchard added 13 points. FSU also got nine points from junior Zoe Anderson and eight by Samantha Krauss.

FSU was limited to 32.8% shooting with the Bulldogs going eight-of-27 (29.6%) from long range and nine-of-10 (90%) at the free throw line.

For Grand Valley State, Hannah Kulas totaled a game-high 23 points and Emily Spitzley added 15 points. The Lakers shot 42.6% from the floor and were six-of-19 (31.6%) from the three-point line in addition to 14-of-22 (63.6%) at the stripe.

The Lakers also garnered a 44-36 rebounding edge and forced 17 Bulldog turnovers in the game while totaling only14 of their own.

FSU did have 11 steals, including five from McCartney. Both Krauss and Ellie Dykstra notched three assists each.

Sunday's game will be carried live by local flagship station Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network with pregame coverage set for 2:30 p.m. (ET) from Allendale.