Posted: Mar 12, 2026

PREVIEW: Ferris State Women's Basketball To Make 9th NCAA Tourney Appearance This Week

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NCAA Midwest Regional
March 13-16 | Allendale, Mich.

FSU vs Missouri-St. Louis - Friday - 2:30 pm ET
Live Stats: GVSULakers.com
Video: HUDL/NCAA
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 two years ago, will face the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Quarterfinals on Friday, March 13, in Allendale. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (ET). FSU is the second seed in the regional hosted by Grand Valley State while UMSL is the number seven seed. The regional semifinals are on Saturday (March 14) with the regional title game on Monday (March 16).

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 NCAA.com & HUDL 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 $11 for general public tickets or $20 for courtside seats plus applicable fees. A single ticket for Friday will allow for admission to the first two quarterfinal-round afternoon games.

NCAA Tourney History

Ferris State will be making its ninth NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance in the program's history, including its fourth in the past five years. Two years ago, 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 in 2024 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 four 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 four seasons ago, knocking off second-ranked rival Grand Valley State in the final in 2022.

GLIAC Tourney History

The Bulldogs made their ninth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament this year. It was also FSU's 23rd league women's basketball tournament appearance and the Bulldogs reached the championship game this past week before falling to rival Grand Valley State for the second year in a row.

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 12-1 overall mark at home inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena. Overall, FSU has now won 78 of its last 106 games on its home floor dating back to the 2017-18 season. The Bulldogs have also posted a 10-3 mark in road games this year and are 4-2 on neutral floors.

Closing In On Mark

The Bulldogs have matched a school record this season with 26 wins to date and need one more victory to officially set the stand alone mark this year. FSU also had 26 wins two years ago in 2023-24 en route to a national semifinal appearance.

Another 20-Win Season

The Bulldogs have now won 20 games or more four times in the last five seasons overall and five times in the past six full seasons of action, not counting the 2020-21 COVID season. Two years ago, 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 five GLIAC Player of the Week selections with Mia Riley, Kadyn Blanchard and Mya Hiram all honored at least once as the offensive or defensive choice.

Postseason Honorees

Ferris State had three student-athletes receive All-GLIAC honors for the 2025-26 season. FSU senior guard Kadyn Blanchard and senior guard Mia Riley were both honored as All-GLIAC First Team selections. Senior post Mya Hiram was tabbed to the all-conference second team. Meanwhile, Blanchard 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 Blanchard. Finally, Blanchard was recognized as the 2026 GLIAC Player of the Year, becoming the first Bulldog player in 25 years to claim the league's top individual award.

NCAA Tournament History

Ferris State is midst its ninth 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 in 2024. Last year, the Bulldogs dropped a 62-50 decision to Ashland in Allendale in the first round.

Midwest Regional Matchups

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

Friday, March 13 - Quarterfinals

(3) Northwood vs. (6) Malone | 12 pm

(2) Ferris State vs. (7) Missouri-St. Louis | 2:30 pm

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

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

The winners will take part in the regional semifinal games on Saturday (March 14) evening with the championship game on Monday (March 16). 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 UMSL

The Bulldogs hold a 2-1 mark all-time against Missouri-St. Louis entering Friday's opening round matchup. The two teams have not played each other since 2000-01 when FSU scored a 87-68 win at home inside Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids. FSU is 1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road and 0-1 on neutral floors all-time versus the Tritons.

Ferris State Notebook

Ferris State won D2 national championships in men's basketball in 2018 along with football in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

This year, Kadyn Blanchard became the school's all-time career scoring leader and is currently only 34 points away from notching her 2,000th career point. FSU's Mya Hiram and Mia Riley also topped the 1,000 career point mark this season.

Three current players were key regulars in the FSU lineup during the Bulldogs' run to the national semifinals two years ago, including Kadyn Blanchard, Mya Hiram and Elle Irwin.

The Bulldogs currently rank second in the nation in assists (18.2 apg.) along with free throw percentage (.807) and are listed third in three-pointers per game (9.5) along with fifth in three-point attempts (28.2 pg.). FSU set a school-record with 20 made three's in the GLIAC Semifinal win over Wayne State last week.

Mia Riley notched her second areer triple-double this year.