Bulldogs Fall At The Wire To Wayne State In Tightly-Contested GLIAC Tilt

Postgame Interview & Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad built a nine-point lead in the final quarter, but could not hold on as visiting Wayne State captured a close 48-47 victory in a defensive battle inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena on Friday (Feb. 26).

The Bulldogs and Warriors battled back and forth with FSU holding a slim two-point lead at halftime and a five-point lead after three before taking a nine-point edge with six minutes to play.

The Warriors fought back and knotted the game up in the final minute. After the Bulldogs grabbed a one-point advantage on a free throw from junior Zoe Anderson, the Warriors' Tori Perez scored on an offensive outback with 1.1 seconds to play, giving WSU the lead.

The Bulldogs advanced the ball to midcourt and had a potential game-winning three-pointer from sophomore guard Mallory McCartney bounce off the rim as time expired.

Anderson along with freshman guard DeShonna Day, senior guard Samantha Krauss and freshman Kadyn Blanchard all totaled a team-high nine points each for the Bulldogs. McCartney added six points with five rebounds, five assists and four steals in 40 minutes of action.

Both teams struggled from the floor as FSU shot only 25.4% overall and the Warriors climbed to 32.1% overall only following a strong fourth period in which they shot nearly 50% from the floor. The Bulldogs finished six-of-23 (26.1%) from long range compared to Wayne State's four-of-17 (23.5%) effort.

Kate Sherwood paced Wayne State with a game-high 13 points before leaving the game due to injury. Meanwhile, Sam Cherney added eight points and 18 rebounds with Perez scoring eight points and pulling down six rebounds.

The Warriors held a 48-42 rebounding edge with FSU garnering 12 offensive boards to 11 for WSU. The Bulldogs also held a 14-5 margin in points off turnovers as Wayne State totaled 20 to only 10 for Ferris State.

The two teams will meet in the regular-season finale again on Saturday (Feb. 27) with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) inside Wink Arena.