GAME THREE: DRURY (MO.) 79, FERRIS 69

Bulldogs Falls In Great Lakes Regional Championship Game

The fourth-seeded Panthers led by only two points at halftime (32-30), but outscored Ferris 47-39 in the final frame to notch the victory. DU forced 25 Bulldog turnovers in the loss.

Ferris' remarkable tournament run came to an end against Drury (Mo.) in the squad's first-ever regional championship game appearance

The Bulldogs fought back from a nine-point deficit with 15 minutes left and took a 58-55 advantage with six minutes to go before Drury went on a 14-4 run to seize control.

DU was appearing in its fourth regional final in the last five years while the Bulldogs made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen.

"We're extremely disappointed because we had such a big opportunity," said ninth-year FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk. "I'm not disappointed in our effort, but we didn't play as well as we could have.

"We hadn't been here before and they had so I think experience played a large role."

Ferris State, the number seven seed entering the regional, shot only 38.8% from the floor despite hitting seven-of-19 (36.8%) three-point tries. The Panthers made 28-of-61 (45.9%) three-point attempts and hit 21-of-26 (80.8%) free throws. Drury converted 45.9% of its field goal tries.

Ferris was led by junior guard Sam Johns, who had 18 points. Junior forward Rachel Folcik chipped in 13 points and 13 rebounds, sophomore guard Teghan Thelen netted 13 points and senior guard Kristin Reinhart totaled 12 points in her final collegiate contest. Fellow senior forward Audrey Thwing added three points and eight boards in the last game of her career. The squad's third senior, guard and third-leading scorer Erin Miller, missed the final four games of the year during postseason play due to injury.

"I'm proud of all three of our seniors and it would have been nice to have Erin's leadership and ball-handling ability out there with us tonight," Bloodworth-Fisk said. "It's the first-time we've ever been in this situation and they've set a great tradition for us, which hopefully we can continue to build upon."

Drury was paced by Molly Carter and Hannah Carter, who both finished with 15 points. Becky Flippin and Lauren Gregory contributed 14 points apiece.

FSU held a slight 39-36 rebounding edge and compiled 14 assists, five steals and three blocked shots compared to 13 assists, 10 steals and two blocks for the Panthers.

Ferris State concluded the year with a school-best 23-9 overall record as the Bulldogs reached the regional championship game for the first time in school history. FSU picked up its only two NCAA Tournament wins in the program's history en route to the Sweet Sixteen round.

Ferris State opened the tournament with a 70-69 win against second-seeded Northern Kentucky via a buzzer-beating layup by Thelen in Friday's (March 9) quarterfinals before topping Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) foe and sixth-seeded Gannon 80-61 in Saturday's (March 10) semifinals for the right to play for the regional crown. Drury had upset top-seeded host Lewis in the semifinals of the event.

"We've made a great run and had a good year," Kristin Reinhart said. "We fought hard tonight, but we're disappointed with the outcome."

Both Reinhart and Folcik were among the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional All-Tournament Team selections for the Bulldogs.

The Panthers improved to 25-8 on the year and will advance to the NCAA-II Elite Eight set for March 21-24 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Health and Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.

The complete boxscore can be found at this link:
http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/sports/bbwomen/0607stats/fsgame32.htm