FERRIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RANKED IN FINAL NATIONAL POLL

Bulldogs Listed 25th Nationally Following NCAA-II Sweet 16 Finish

The Ferris State University women's basketball team, which advanced to the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history this season, was ranked 25th nationally in the final 2006-07 USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll released by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Tuesday (March 27).

Ferris posted a school-record 23 wins (23-9) this campaign while advancing to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship Game for the first time. The Bulldogs, who suffered a 79-69 loss to Drury (Mo.) in the regional final (March 12) at Romeoville, Ill., recorded back-to-back wins in their first two national tournament games en route to the regional runner-up finish. Prior to this year, Ferris had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament.

FSU also compiled a second-place tying 13-5 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season finish and earned the program's eighth consecutive GLIAC Tournament bid in head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk's ninth season at the helm.

The Bulldogs, who were seeded seventh overall entering the regional tournament, were one of only three Great Lakes Regional participants to be ranked in the final poll. Regional host Lewis (Ill.) led the way with a 12th-place national ranking despite being eliminated by eventual regional champion Drury in the tourney semifinals. Drury was listed 16th with 173 points while the Bulldogs received 71 points to earn their first national ranking this campaign.

NCAA-II National Champion Southern Connecticut State, which defeated Drury in the national quarterfinals, topped the final national poll with 21 first-place votes and 525 points followed by runner-up Florida Gulf Coast. The top six teams in the final poll all advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight held last week (March 21-24) in Kearney, Neb.

FSU was the only GLIAC-member school listed in the final top 25 poll. Both Grand Valley State and Gannon, which had been ranked nationally entering regional tournament play, were listed among other schools receiving votes. Ferris was one of six schools included in the final poll that had not been ranked in the most recent listing prior to regional tournament play.

The Bulldogs will lose three seniors from this season's squad in guards Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing), Erin Miller (Niles) and forward Audrey Thwing (Davison). The remaining 10 players from this year's squad are eligible to return for the 2007-08 campaign, including NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-America forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau), who was also a consensus all-region selection as a junior this campaign.