Women's BB Notes: LSSU & SVSU (Jan. 7 & 9)
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* This Week: The Ferris State University women’s
basketball team opens the 2010 portion of its schedule by returning
home for a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) contests this week inside Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids,
Mich.
* The Matchups: FSU first hosts Lake Superior
State on Thursday, Jan. 7, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. (EST). Ferris
then squares off against Saginaw Valley State during the first-ever
“Basketball Bonanza” on Saturday, Jan. 9, beginning at
3 p.m. (EST).
* Ticket Info: Tickets for both outings will be
available at the door with gates opening one hour prior to the
day’s first scheduled game. All-Day tickets on Saturday are
only $5 (adults) or $4 (students). For more info on ticket sales,
contact the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888.
* Media Coverage: Both of this week’s games
will be carried live on Bulldog Radio, which is accessible on
Charter TV Channel 21 in the Mecosta County or online at www.bulldogradio.org. A live
audio and video pay-per-view webcast will also be offered via B2
Networks in addition to live internet statistics. Complete links
will be available via FSU’s Athletics Website at
www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com - click on the
“upcoming events” tab for links.
* Follow On Twitter: Bulldog fans can follow all
FSU games this year via Twitter. To access the service, visit www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics
to follow the tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring
updates.
* Last Time Out: Ferris State dropped a pair of
non-conference road contests over the holiday break last week as
the Bulldogs fell to regional foe Southern Indiana (Dec. 30) by a
71-52 score and then dropped a 85-74 New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31)
decision at Oakland City (Ind.).
* Looking To Score: Sophomore guard
Tricia Principe has currently scored 10 points or
more in six consecutive games to date this season for the Bulldogs,
including a season-high 19 points in FSU’s most recent home
game against Tiffin (Dec. 5). Overall, Principe has reached
double-figure scoring in seven of the Bulldogs’ 10 contests
this campaign.
* Long Layoff: Last week’s game at Southern
Indiana (Dec. 30) wrapped up a two and a half week layoff for the
Bulldogs. In fact, FSU played only the two games at Southern
Indiana and Oakland City during a nearly three and a half week
stretch dating from the Hillsdale game (Dec. 12) to
Thursday’s tilt with Lake Superior State. The trip to Findlay
and Hillsdale also began a stretch in which the Bulldogs play nine
of 11 games away from home from Dec. 10-Jan. 23. Thursday’s
game versus LSSU will be FSU’s first home contest since a
loss to Tiffin on Dec. 5.
* The Records: Ferris State (2-8, 1-4 GLIAC)
concluded the 2008-09 season with a 13-15 overall record after
winning seven of their final nine contests. The Bulldogs made their
10th consecutive and 11th overall berth in the GLIAC Tournament
where they advanced to the semifinals for the third-straight year
in 2008-09.
Lake Superior
State currently owns a 7-3 overall record and is 4-2 in
GLIAC action to date this season.
Saginaw Valley State heads into a conference road contest
at Grand Valley State on Thursday (Jan. 7) night with a 4-6 record
and is 2-3 in GLIAC play this year.
* The Coaches: Ferris State – Tracey
Dorow (Western Michigan, 1996), 12th season, 190-132 (.590)
– (10-15-0 vs. LSSU, 17-5-0 vs. SVSU). Dorow presently ranks
as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach. She guided FSU to a
22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional
Tourney appearance in 1999-00. She spent three seasons as an
assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season
at Indianapolis (1997-98). She also directed FSU to an NCAA Tourney
berth in 2003-04 and the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07.
Lake Superior State
– Jamie Pewinski, 4th season at LSSU. She took over as
head coach in 2006 after seven seasons as the program’s
assistant coach. Pewinski played collegiately at both Oakland
University and Saginaw Valley State.
Saginaw Valley State
– Shannon Baugh, 2nd season at SVSU. Baugh is midst
her second season at the Cardinal helm after previously serving as
a NCAA Division I assistant coach at Buffalo, Northern Illinois,
Bradley and Wisconsin-Green Bay along with a stint at North
Dakota.
* The “Basketball Bonanza”: FSU
squares off against Saginaw Valley State in a conference home
contest as part of the "Basketball Bonanza" high school-college
quadruple header on Saturday, Jan. 9. The event will feature both
two high school and collegiate contests with two local prep
schools, Big Rapids and Chippewa Hills, facing off in high school
boys and girls contests, making it a full-day of hoops action.
Saturday's action begins at 1 p.m. (EST) with the prep girls game
between BRHS and the Warriors. The two collegiate contests will
follow the girls high school game with the Bulldog women squaring
off against SVSU at 3 p.m. (EST) and the FSU men taking on the
Cardinals at 5 p.m. (EST). Finally, the day's events wrap up with
the high school boys contest between Big Rapids and Chippewa Hills
at 7 p.m. (EST).
* Looking At LSSU: The Lakers are currently 7-3
overall and 4-2 in GLIAC action this season heading into
tonight’s game. LSSU recorded a 16-15 overall record in
2008-09 and placed tied for fourth in GLIAC North Division play
with a 9-13 conference record. Fourth-year head coach Jamie
Pewinski’s squad had its six-game winning streak snapped by
Saginaw Valley State in a 62-60 road loss last Saturday (Jan. 2) as
the Cardinals sank a half-court buzzer beater. Freshman forward
Maria Blazejewski averages a team-high 15.3 points per game to
date.
* Looking At SVSU: Saginaw Valley State heads
into a conference road contest at Grand Valley State on Thursday
(Jan. 7) night with a 4-6 record and is 2-3 in GLIAC play this
year. The Cardinals are coming off a 62-60 home triumph over Lake
Superior State last Saturday (Jan. 2) when they sank a half-court
buzzer beater to notch the win. Junior forward Brittany Burkhardt
is the squad’s leading scorer (11.4 ppg.) to date. SVSU has
won two of its last three outings this campaign after posting a
3-24 overall record a year ago with a 2-20 conference mark.
* Series Info vs. LSSU: The Lakers maintain a
47-32 advantage heading into Thursday’s 80th meeting. LSSU
has won 13 of the last 19 meetings, including a 67-52 win in last
year’s (1/8/09) initial meeting at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
However, FSU responded with a 69-66 triumph later in the year
(2/21/09) at Wink Arena. Ferris head coach Tracey
Dorow presently has a 10-15 career coaching mark versus
LSSU.
* Series Info vs. SVSU: The Cardinals hold a
41-29 advantage entering Saturday’s 71st encounter. FSU has
won 17 of the last 21 meetings, including a 81-69 triumph at home
in the most recent game (2/19/09). SVSU claimed a 68-63 decision in
last year’s initial meeting (1/10/09) at University Center,
Mich. FSU head coach Tracey Dorow presently is
18-4 to date versus SVSU.
* Last Campaign: Ferris split two meetings
against both SVSU and LSSU last campaign. The Bulldogs dropped a
pair of games on the road to both squads, but came back to beat
both teams at home on the next to last week of the
regular-season.
* FSU Picked Third: Ferris was picked to finish
third in the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll in
conjunction with the league’s annual media day
teleconference. The Bulldogs totaled 74 points in the balloting and
trailed Michigan Tech's 142 points and second place Grand Valley
State's 122 points in the North Division. The preseason nationally
top-ranked Huskies earned 22 of a possible 24 first-place votes
with GVSU earning the final two top votes. Northwood received 16
first-place votes in being selected the South Division favorite by
a group of 24 media members.
* Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2008-09
season with a 13-15 overall record after winning seven of its final
nine contests. The Bulldogs made their 10th consecutive and 11th
overall berth in the GLIAC Tournament where they advanced to the
semifinals for the third-straight year in 2008-09.
* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ current
2009-10 roster includes one senior, four juniors, three sophomores
and five freshmen. Seven of the 13 players are guards while the
remaining six are frontcourt players. Eleven players on the roster
hail from Michigan with one each from Ohio and Indiana.
* FSU Newcomers: Three Bulldog players made their
official debut in the season opener at Gannon (Nov. 20), including
freshman guard Kylie Muntz (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne),
freshman forward/center Leah Kebler (Midland/Dow)
and freshman forward/center Katy Fox (Royal
Center, Ind./Pioneer). A fourth freshman, guard Ashley
Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood), made her debut versus
Lewis (Nov. 24) after joining the squad following her sophomore
volleyball campaign at FSU.
* The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State
women’s basketball program, which is midst its 36th season of
varsity competition, has compiled a 443-457 (.492) all-time mark.
The Bulldogs won their only GLIAC crown, advanced to their first
NCAA-II Regional Tournament and recorded the nation’s highest
grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which claimed GLIAC Tourney
runner-up honors in 1999-00 and 2003-04, has posted 10 or more
victories 13 consecutive seasons.
* Great Season: Ferris State advanced to the
NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship Game for the first time
ever in 2006-07 and was ranked 25th nationally in the final 2006-07
USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs, who
prior to 2006-07 had never won a NCAA Tournament game, recorded
back-to-back wins in their first two national tournament contests
en route to the regional runner-up finish. Ferris also compiled a
second-place tying 13-5 GLIAC regular-season finish and earned the
program's eighth consecutive GLIAC Tournament bid in the historic
campaign.
* Coaching Staff Changes: Ferris head coach
Tracey Dorow put the finishing pieces of her
coaching staff together for the 2009-10 campaign with the
appointment of Mark DeNoyelles, who served as a
volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs in 2008-09, to the
assistant coaching post following the departure of former assistant
Crystal Harris, who left earlier this summer for a NCAA Division I
assistant coaching position in her home state at Cal-State
Fullerton. Former Bulldog standout Rachel Folcik
has also returned to the program as a student assistant coach for
this year. Folcik wrapped up her stellar Bulldog career in 2007-08
and spent last year playing overseas, but has returned to FSU to
pursue a Master's degree. The Bulldogs' staff this season will also
include Dorow's father, Rick Bloodworth, as a
volunteer assistant coach for the fourth season and current FSU
student Miles Prendergast in a student coaching
role.
* Bulldog Notes: Junior guard Becci
Houdek needs three points to garner her 400th career point
at FSU ....... Ferris has won nine or more home games three of the
last four years to date ...... Junior forward Amy
Joostberns is one point away from earning her 200th career
point ...... FSU head coach Tracey Dorow notched
her 190th career coaching win against Ashland (Dec. 3) and needs
only 10 more to post her 200th career victory ..... The Bulldogs
are seven wins away from notching the 450th triumph in school
history ......... Junior forward Tiara Adams
posted her second double-double effort of the year with 10 points
and 10 rebounds at Oakland City ..... Leah
Kebler’s 11 points at Oakland City marked a
career-high.
* FSU Notebook: The game at Oakland City (Ind.)
represented the Bulldogs’ 900th game in school history
....... Ferris currently ranks 23rd nationally of 300 Division II
programs in field goal percentage (.455) this season. FSU is second
among the GLIAC schools in the same category as five league teams
are presently listed among the nation’s top 35 squads in
field goal percentage to date this season.
* Another “Big Monday” Matchup:
Ferris will visit rival Grand Valley State on Monday, Jan. 11, for
a 6 p.m. (EST) league tilt in Allendale, Mich. It will be this
year’s final regular-season matchup versus GVSU.
