Ferris State Opens New Year With GLIAC Victory Over Saginaw Valley State

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's basketball squad opened 2025 with a victory as FSU topped Saginaw Valley State 70-56 on Thursday (Jan. 2) evening inside Jim Wink Arena.

Ferris State resumed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play and began a four-game homestead with the triumph in its first game of the New Year. With the win, the Bulldogs moved to 9-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in conference action.

FSU jumped out to a 25-15 lead after the opening period, but trailed by two points at halftime as SVSU outscored the Bulldogs 19-7 in the second frame. However, the Bulldogs opened the second half by scoring the first 13 points and never looked back in the victory. Ferris State held a 16-9 margin in third quarter scoring and a 22-13 edge in the final frame.

Junior Mia Riley led the Bulldogs with a team-high 19 points while fellow junior Mya Hiram posted 16 points and senior guard Kadyn Blanchard chipped in 15 points.

Ferris State shot 44.1% for the night, including 61% in both the first and fourth quarters of play. The Bulldogs also hit 16-of-21 (76.2%) free throws, but finished only two-of-14 (14.3%) from the three-point line.

However, the Bulldogs also forced 28 turnovers and came up with 20 steals while outscoring SVSU 30-11 in points off turnovers and 25-4 on the break with many of those points coming directly off turnovers. Blanchard had a game-high seven steals and Riley added five thefts to help the Bulldog cause.

Saginaw Valley State shot 40.4% overall and was five-of-17 (29.4%) from long range along with nine-of-11 (81.8%) at the free throw stripe. Megan McCalla led SVSU with a game-high 23 points and Aleshia Jones added 16 points.

In addition to her 15 points and seven steals, Blanchard also finished the night with a team-high tying seven rebounds and a squad-best six assists. Hiram added seven boards and senior guard Kenzie Bowers handed out five assists in the win to go with seven points and five boards.

Ferris State will host Wayne State on Saturday (Jan. 4) afternoon starting at 1 p.m. (ET) inside Wink Arena.