WBB Notes: USI & Oakland City (Dec. 30-31)
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* The Game: The Ferris State University
women’s basketball team will play a pair of non-conference
road contests in Indiana over the holiday break. FSU visits
Southern Indiana on Wednesday, Dec. 30, for a 6 p.m. (EST) game in
Evansville before taking on Oakland City (Ind.) on New Year’s
Eve (Dec. 31) in a 6 p.m. (EST) contest at Oakland City, Ind.
* Ticket Info: Tickets for both games will be
available at the door prior to the respective tipoff time.
* Media Coverage: There will be no local radio or
broadcast coverage available for either contest. Southern Indiana
will provide live audio along with live internet statistics for
that game. Please visit FSU’s Athletics Website at
www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com as the game approaches
to find links for all available coverage in the “upcoming
events” tab.
* Follow On Twitter: Bulldog fans can follow FSU
games this year via Twitter. To access the service, please visit www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics
to follow the tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring
updates.
* Last Time Out: Ferris State suffered a pair of
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road losses
last week. FSU fell to Findlay by a 71-43 score last Thursday (Dec.
10) and then dropped a 94-74 decision at Hillsdale on Saturday
(Dec. 12). Ferris shot 57.8% (26-45) from the floor in
Saturday’s loss at Hillsdale, but turned the ball over 30
times in the setback.
* Leading The Way: FSU sophomore guard
Tricia Principe averaged a team-high 11.5 points
along with seven rebounds in the two-game stretch at Findlay and
Hillsdale. Freshman forward/center Leah Kebler
also posted two double-figure scoring outings with 10 points apiece
in both contests.
* Long Layoff: The game at Southern Indiana will
wrap up a two and a half week layoff for the Bulldogs. In fact, FSU
will play 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 its next league contest versus Lake
Superior State (Jan. 7). 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.
* Burning The Nets: Ferris currently ranks 25th
nationally of 300 Division II programs in field goal percentage
(.457) this season. FSU is fourth among the GLIAC schools in the
same category as five league teams are presently listed among the
nation’s top 33 squads in field goal percentage to date this
season.
* The Records: Ferris State (2-6, 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.
Southern Indiana
(10-2, 2-0 GLVC) has won nine consecutive games heading into its
meeting with FSU and are a perfect 6-0 at home this campaign.
Oakland City is
currently 2-7 overall with a single home game left to play on Dec.
19 prior to facing the Bulldogs. They are 2-4 at home this year to
date.
* The Coaches: Ferris State – Tracey
Dorow (Western Michigan, 1996), 12th season, 190-130 (.594)
– (2-3-0 vs. USI). 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.
Southern Indiana –
Rick Stein, 11th season at USI. He is Southern
Indiana’s all-time leader in victories and entered the year
with a 167-122 overall ledger. Stein has been involved in the
program for 18 years as a head coach or assistant and has played a
hand in four league titles, seven NCAA Tourney bids and two Elite
Eight appearances.
Oakland City –
Jessica Mehringer, 3rd season at Oakland City. Mehringer has
led the “Lady Oaks” to back-to-back third place
finishes in the National Christian College Athletic Association
(NCCAA) Women’s Division I National Championship
Tournament.
* Coming Up Next: The Bulldogs return home and
resume GLIAC play on Thursday, Jan. 7, by hosting Lake Superior
State at Jim Wink Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (EST). FSU
then takes on Saginaw Valley State as part of the “Basketball
Bonanza” on Saturday, Jan. 9, with the women’s game
starting at 3 p.m. (EST) inside Wink Arena. The “Basketball
Bonanza” will include four games as a pair of local high
schools in Big Rapids and Chippewa Hills will also square off in
boys and girls action at Wink Arena.
* Top Performers: Sophomore guards Tricia
Principe and Kelsey DeNoyelles have both
tallied four double-figure scoring performances each in their last
five outings to date this season. Principe has scored 10 points or
more in four-straight games heading into the Southern Indiana
contest.
* Looking At Southern Indiana: Southern Indiana
has won nine consecutive games heading into its meeting with FSU
and is a perfect 6-0 at home this campaign. Last year, Southern
Indiana finished 14-13 overall (6-11 GLVC) and was just one win shy
of qualifying for the league's post-season tournament, despite
having just three upperclassmen on the roster. The game against FSU
is part of a six-game homestand for the Screaming Eagles, who are
guided by Rick Stein. Junior guard Ellen Young leads two players in
double-figure scoring with a team-high 15.3 points per game average
to date this year.
* Looking At Oakland City: Oakland City is
currently 2-7 overall with a single game remaining on Dec. 19 prior
to facing the Bulldogs. They are 2-3 at home this year to date.
Head coach Jessica Mehringer has led the “Lady Oaks” to
back-to-back third place finishes in the National Christian College
Athletic Association (NCCAA) Women’s Division I National
Championship Tournament. They will wrap up their own six-game
homestand versus the Bulldogs. Junior guard Samantha Stahl is
averaging a team-best 16.2 points per contest.
* Series Info: The Bulldogs trail Southern
Indiana 5-2 in the all-time series and own a 1-2 mark in games
played at Evansville along with an 0-2 record in Big Rapids. FSU
won the most recent game 71-55 during the 2006-07 season ......
Ferris and Oakland City have never faced each other before heading
into the New Year’s Eve contest.
* FSU vs USI - The Last Meeting: Ferris State
raced out to a six-point halftime advantage and beat Southern
Indiana by a 71-55 score in the most recent series’ game
played between the two teams in the opening game of the Southern
Illinois-Edwardsville Cougar Classic held in 2006-07 (12/29) at
Edwardsville, Ill. Four Bulldog players reached double-figure
scoring with guard Kristin Reinhart pacing FSU with 19 points.
Current Ferris student assistant coach Rachel Folcik had 14 points
in the game. Senior center Andrea Clancy, who is
out with an injury, is the only current player still on the
Bulldogs’ 2009-10 squad who was active on the 2006-07 team
that advanced to the NCAA Division II “Sweet
Sixteen”.
* 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 443-455 (.493) 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 17 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 ...... Kelsey DeNoyelles
scored her 200th career point at Hillsdale while junior forward
Amy Joostberns is five points away from the same
figure ...... 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 ......... Two FSU veteran players are sidelined for the
forseeable future in junior guard Stephanie
DeNoyelles and senior center Andrea
Clancy. DeNoyelles was injured in the offseason while
Clancy played four minutes in FSU’s exhibition at Oakland
before likely being lost for the year.
* Notes From Last Week: All 10 Bulldog players
scored in the game at Hillsdale ........ Ferris made four-of-five
(80%) three-pointers in the final half versus the Chargers ........
The Bulldogs' five starters combined for only one personal foul in
the Hillsdale game ....... Ferris shot only 29.6% (8-27) from the
field in the first half versus Findlay .... UF picked up its third
series' win in the last four meetings ..... The Oilers also tied up
the all-time series' at 7-7.
