Posted: Mar 12, 2025

PREVIEW: Ferris State Women's Basketball To Make 8th NCAA Tourney Appearance This Week

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NCAA Midwest Regional
March 14-17 | Allendale, Mich.

FSU vs Ashland - Friday - 2:30 pm ET
Live Stats: GVSULakers.com
Video: FloSports
Radio: Sunny 97.3 FM
Audio: Bulldog Sports Network

This Week's Action

The Ferris State University women's basketball squad, which claimed the Midwest Regional Championship last year, will face the Ashland Eagles in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Quarterfinals on Friday, March 14, in Allendale. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (ET). FSU is the seventh seed in the regional hosted by Grand Valley State while the Eagles are the number two seed.

Media Coverage

Friday's contest along with complete coverage of FSU throughout the NCAA Regional will be carried live by local flagship station Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network at FerrisStateBulldogs.com with Rob Bentley and Sandy Gholston providing the play-by-play coverage. A live video webcast will be available on FloSports along with live internet statistics and social media updates. For a complete listing of links, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the NCAA Regional Tournament can be purchased in advance online at GVSUTickets.com. Prices are $12 for adults, $9 for senior citizens (age 55+) or $6 for youth (age 3-17) per session. In addition, students from participating universities can show their ID at the ticket window for $3 per ticket.

NCAA Tourney History

Ferris State will be making its eighth NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance in the program's history, including its third in the past four years. Last season, the Bulldogs claimed their first-ever regional title and advanced to the NCAA D2 National Semifinals. FSU's run to the D2 Elite Eight included memorable NCAA Tournament wins over Lewis, Ashland and host GVSU in Allendale a year ago with the title game played before a near sellout crowd.

Recent GLIAC Success

Ferris State has ranked as one of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) most improved teams in recent years and captured the GLIAC North Division Championship three years ago in 2021-22. FSU also won the GLIAC North title in 2019-20, which was its first since the 2011-12 campaign. FSU followed up its regular-season showing by capturing its first GLIAC Tournament title three seasons ago, knocking off second-ranked rival Grand Valley State in the final..

GLIAC Tourney History

The Bulldogs made their eighth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament this year. It was also FSU's 22nd league women's basketball tournament appearance and the Bulldogs reached the championship game this past week before falling to rival Grand Valley State.

The Head Coach

Fifth-year head coach Kurt Westendorp, who previously served two years (2010-12) as the Bulldogs' top assistant coach and had more than a decade of coaching experience on the collegiate level, returned to Ferris State in the summer of 2020 to take over for former head coach Kendra Faustin. The Michigan native spent four years as the head coach at William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., building the program from the ground up into a successful national contender on the NAIA level following a four-year run as the associate head coach at NCAA Division I Valparaiso University..

Big Home Record

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 13-4 overall mark at home inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena. Overall, FSU has now won 66 of its last 93 games on its home floor dating back to the 2017-18 season. The Bulldogs have also posted a 7-6 mark in road games this year and are 1-1 on neutral floors.

Both Bulldog Teams In NCAA Tournament

This year represents the fourth time in school history in which both the FSU men's and women's basketball squads have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in the same season. Both teams also accomplished the feat in 2020 before the tourneywas cancelled along with 2021-22. Both reached the D2 Elite Eight last year.

Another 20-Win Season

The Bulldogs have now won 20 games or more three times in the last four seasons overall and four times in the past five full seasons of action, not counting the 2020-21 COVID season. Last year, the Bulldogs posted a school all-time best 26 wins en route to the school's first national semifinal showing. Prior to the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs had not won 20 games since 2011-12.

GLIAC Players of the Week

Ferris State finished the year with seven GLIAC Player of the Week selections with Mia Riley, Kadyn Blanchard and Kenzie Bowers all honored at least once as the offensive or defensive choice.

Postseason Honorees

Ferris State had four student-athletes receive All-GLIAC honors for the 2024-25 season. FSU senior guard Kenzie Bowers and junior guard Mia Riley were both honored as All-GLIAC First Team selections. Junior post Mya Hiram was tabbed to the all-conference second team. Meanwhile, junior Elle Irwin and Riley were both chosen to the GLIAC All-Defensive Team. In the GLIAC Tournament, the Bulldogs had two players named to the all-tournament team in Hiram and Bowers.

NCAA Tournament History

Ferris State is midst its eighth NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance in the program's history. The Bulldog women's squad advanced to the tournament in 2020 before it was cancelled and the berth was FSU's first in the field since 2011-12 when FSU reached the Midwest Regional semifinals. The Bulldogs also made berths in 1999-00, 2003-04 and 2006-07 when FSU made its deepest previous run by reaching the regional final and the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen. The Bulldogs fell in the first-round at Ashland in 2022 before reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in program history by claiming the Midwest Regional Championship last year.

Midwest Regional Matchups

The complete first round matchups and NCAA Midwest Regional pairings are below:

Friday, March 14 - Quarterfinals

(3) Northern Michigan vs. (6) Hillsdale | 12 pm

(2) Ashland vs. (7) Ferris State | 2:30 pm

(1) Grand Valley State vs. (8) Quincy | 5 pm

(4) Wayne State vs. (5) Lewis | 7:30 pm

The winners will take part in the regional semifinal games on Saturday (March 15) evening with the championship game on Monday (March 17). The single-elimination national tournament field includes eight regions of eight teams apiece. The Midwest Regional champion will advance to the NCAA Division Elite Eight with quarterfinal-round play on March 24 and the semifinals on March 26 in Pittsburgh, Pa. This year, the national championship game will be contested on March 28 at the UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse.

FSU vs Ashland

Ashland has won 17 of the past 20 matchups between the two former GLIAC rivals. However, the Bulldogs have claimed two of the last three outings, including a pair of wins in 2023-24. FSU topped the Eagles 66-62 in the regular-season last year in Ohio and then beat AU 64-59 in the NCAA regional semifinals in Allendale. This year, the Eagles claimed a 69-59 regular-season win in Big Rapids back on Nov. 23. This year will mark the third time the two teams have played in the NCAA Tourney in the last four years as Ashland also captured a close 76-63 NCAA Tourney win over FSU in 2022 on the Eagles' home floor.

Ferris State Notebook

Ferris State won D2 national championships in men's basketball in 2018 along with football in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

The Bulldogs have played the second half of the season without veteran starters Kadyn Blanchard and DeShonna Day due to injury. FSU also lost two other starters from last year's national semifinal team due to graduation in standouts Chloe Idoni and Mallory McCartney, who rank among the program's all-time best.

A trio of current players were key regulars a year ago in the FSU lineup, including Kenzie Bowers, Mya Hiram and Elle Irwin.

The Bulldogs currently rank sixth nationally in three-pointers per game (9.1 pg.) along with seventh in free throw percentage (.794), seventh in assists per game (17.6 pg.) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.25). FSU is also sixth in three-point attempts (27.4 pg.). Mia Riley is fifth in the nation in steals (94).

Mia Riley and Kenzie Bowers both had a triple-double this year and were the only GLIAC players to do so.