Ferris sophomore forward/center Jenna Guay and her teammates begin a four-game league road swing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula this week

FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball team opens a four-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road swing Thursday, Jan. 11, at Northern Michigan. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (EST) inside NMU's Berry Events Center at Marquette, Mich. FSU then visits Michigan Tech Saturday, Jan. 13, for a 1 p.m. (EST) league encounter inside MTU’s Student Development Complex Gymnasium in Houghton, Mich. Both games in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will be the first contest of a women’s and men’s doubleheader.

Media Coverage: Both of this week’s games will be carried live by Bulldog Radio, which can be heard locally on television Channel 21 both via on-campus cable and Charter Communications in Mecosta County. Rob Bentley will handle the play-by-play coverage. A live audio webcast of both games will also be offered at www.bulldogradio.org. In addition, a live video and audio webcast of Thursday’s outing at NMU will be available through B2 Networks for a charge of $6 on FSU’s Athletics Website at www.ferris.edu/sports and can also be accessed through NMU’s site at www.nmu.edu/sports. MTU is slated to offer both live audio and video of Saturday’s afternoon game at www.michigantechhuskies.com.

About Ferris State: Ferris State University is a NCAA Division II school located in Big Rapids, Mich., with an enrollment of 12,578. The Bulldogs are a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Big Rapids is located in West Michigan approximately 60 miles north of Grand Rapids or 40 miles west of Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Ticket Info: Ticket information along with travel directions for this week’s games can be obtained by directly contacting the MTU and NMU Athletics Departments, respectively. Michigan Tech’s main office number is (906) 487-3070 while NMU can be reached by dialing (906) 227-2105.

FSU Drops First Game Of New Year: Ferris dropped its first game of the New Year as the Bulldogs suffered a 72-67 GLIAC home setback to Hillsdale in FSU's Jim Wink Arena Saturday (Jan. 6) at Big Rapids, Mich. The two teams battled to an even first half as the score was tied 38-38 at halftime. The Chargers then outscored FSU 34-29 in the final frame to earn the league road victory. The contest was tied with four minutes to play. However, HC scored seven of the game's final nine points in winning the encounter. Ferris junior forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) tallied both a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double showing. Senior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) chipped in 11 points and six assists while senior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) was the only other Bulldog player in double-digits with 10 points.

Last Season: Ferris State wrapped up its 2005-06 women's basketball season with an 18-10 overall record and made its seventh consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance last campaign. FSU, which posted a third-place tying 12-6 mark in GLIAC North Division play a year ago, also registered its 10th consecutive season with 10 or more victories in 2005-06.

Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk: Ninth-year FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 143-93 (.606) career record at Ferris State. A 1996 graduate of Western Michigan, she guided FSU to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tourney appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at Indianapolis (1997-98).

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program, which is midst its 33rd season of varsity competition, has compiled a 396-418 (.486) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their only GLIAC crown, advanced to their first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament and recorded the nation’s highest grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which also claimed GLIAC Tournament runner-up honors in 1999-00, has posted 10 or more victories 10 consecutive seasons to date.

Looking Back At 2003-04: The Bulldogs compiled a 21-10 overall record in 2003-04 and reached the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament for only the second time in school history. FSU was second (14-4) in the GLIAC North Division and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament title game during the 2003-04 campaign. The Bulldogs also recorded the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign three seasons ago.

The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ 2006-07 roster includes three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. Six of the 13 players are guards while the remaining seven are frontcourt players. All 12 players on the roster hail from Michigan.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 57-24 (.704) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 44-21 (.677) mark in league play. The 2,400-seat facility replaced the Old Jim Wink Arena, which was converted into the current Student Recreation Center after the 1997-98 campaign. FSU won its first 14 games in the facility.

On The Road: Ferris State is 180-133 (.575) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 103-89 (.536) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 60-49 (.550) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 43-31 (.581) record in GLIAC play.

The Team Captains: FSU senior guards Erin Miller (Niles) and Kristin Reinhart along with Rachel Folcik are serving as the Bulldogs’ team captains for the 2006-07 campaign. Miller picked up first team All-GLIAC and Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region Second Team accolades last campaign. Reinhart was named to the All-GLIAC North Division Second Team for the second consecutive season. Folcik started 26 contests.

Live Internet Stats: “Live Stats” of all 2006-07 Ferris State home games will be provided in progress via the internet. Visit the site at www.ferris.edu/sports and click the “Live Stats” icon to access.

B2 Broadband Webcasts: A live broadband video and audio webcast will be available via B2 Networks for FSU’s remaining home games this season. The cost is $6 per game and includes live video along with a radio audio feed. To access the service or obtain more info, please visit the FSU Athletics Website at www.ferris.edu/sports.

Listen To The Bulldogs: FSU women’s basketball (GLIAC games only) will be carried live this season through a partnership with Bulldog Radio, a registered student organization on the Ferris campus. The station can be heard locally on television Channel 21 both via on-campus cable and Charter Communications in Mecosta County. A live 24-hour webcast of the signal is also available at www.bulldogradio.org. Fans wishing to access the live internet broadcast of the GLIAC contests will also be able to visit the Bulldog Athletics Webcast icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.

GLIAC Preseason Poll: Ferris State was picked to finish second in the 2006-07 GLIAC Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll released by the league office (Nov. 8). The Bulldogs totaled 29 points in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. A year ago, Ferris State took fourth place in the conference's preseason coaches poll with 23 points. Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Grand Valley State was selected as the North Division favorite as the Lakers recorded 36 points along with six first-place votes. Ashland claimed the top spot in the South Division with 24 points and four first-place votes. The league's 13 head coaches voted for the division in which they play.

Academic Success: The Bulldogs have ranked among the nation’s top academic programs seven consecutive seasons, according to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list. Ferris compiled a 3.350 grade point average in 2005-06 to place 20th overall in Division II. FSU had the nation’s highest gpa in 1999-00 and placed second in 2002-03.

New Club Member: FSU’s Kristin Reinhart became only the 13th player in school history to notch her 1,000th career point earlier this season. She accomplished the feat in FSU’s league opener at Northwood (Nov. 30) and presently has 1,115 career points at Ferris State.

Top Of The List: Ferris head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk became the school’s all-time victory leader with two wins in the Aquinas College Classic (Nov. 18-19) to open the 2005-06 season in Grand Rapids, Mich. Bloodworth-Fisk, who also ranks as FSU’s all-time winningest coach, surpassed Pat Dolan’s (1977-89) previous school-record total of 118 wins at FSU. Both of FSU’s two all-time NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances have came under Bloodworth-Fisk. She was honored as the GLIAC’s 2003-04 Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign.

Folcik Earns Distinction: Rachel Folcik was honored as the first GLIAC North Division Player of the Week recipient of the New Year in an announcement made by the conference office last Wednesday (Jan. 3). It represents her first-ever league weekly award honor. Folcik tallied 71 points, 34 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists as the Bulldogs split four games over the holiday break. She averaged 17.8 points along with 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals in the four outings. Folcik is currently averaging a team-high 16.5 points along with a squad-best 8.2 rebounds per game this campaign. She has registered a double-double effort (points & rebounds) in four of her last six outings to date. The 6-1 Folcik has posted six consecutive double-figure scoring performances and tallied 10 points or more in all but two of FSU's 13 outings this season.

GLIAC Recognition: Rachel Folcik’s selection as GLIAC North Division Player of the Week last Wednesday (Jan. 3) marked the third time a Ferris player has earned the distinction this season as both senior guards Kristin Reinhart and Erin Miller were previous recipients on Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, respectively. FSU has presently had a player honored as the league's player of the week 16 times in the last five seasons, including the current year, to date.

Bulldog Bites: Ferris head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk needs seven more wins to notch her 150th career coaching victory ...... The Bulldogs have outrebounded their opponents in nine of 13 games this season ....... FSU needs four wins to record the program’s 400th all-time victory ....... Audrey Thwing is six points away from notching her 500th career point at FSU ...... The Bulldogs need two more wins to notch the program’s 11th consecutive 10-win or more campaign.

What’s On Tap: Ferris continues its league road swing next week as the Bulldogs travel to Erie, Pa., for two conference outings. FSU visits Mercyhurst Thursday, Jan. 18, for a 6 p.m. (EST) contest before concluding the trip Saturday, Jan. 20, at Gannon with a 3 p.m. (EST) tipoff set.

Ferris State vs. NMU/MTU Notebook:

Scouting Northern Michigan: NMU holds a 38-16 series advantage and has won seven of the last 11 meetings heading into this Thursday’s 55th encounter. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 6-11 career coaching mark against Northern Michigan and directed FSU to a 92-81 victory in the most recent (2/11/06) encounter at Marquette, Mich. Ferris swept the Wildcats last campaign as the Bulldogs also posted a 66-53 home triumph (1/12/06) at Big Rapids. NMU, which is directed by second-year head coach Troy Mattson, presently is 6-19 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC after Monday’s (Jan. 8) 72-43 non-conference home win over Northland College. The Wildcats, who have lost two of their last three outings to date this campaign, compiled a 6-19 overall record in 2005-06 and placed seventh (2-16) in the GLIAC’s North Division. NMU, which was picked to finish seventh in the 2006-07 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by junior forward Allison Carroll (12.3 ppg).

Scouting Michigan Tech: The Huskies maintain a 33-20 lead and have won nine of the last 13 series’ encounters entering this Saturday’s 554th meeting. Ferris, however, recorded a 70-61 home triumph in the most recent meeting (2/18/06) at Big Rapids, Mich. MTU defeated FSU 66-52 in the last matchup (2/9/06) at Houghton, Mich. MTU, which swept the Bulldogs in two outings during the 2004-05 campaign, is presently 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the GLIAC following Saturday’s (Jan. 6) 73-64 league home loss to Lake Superior State. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently has a 5-12 career coaching record against the Huskies, who have won five of their last six games to date this campaign. Michigan Tech, which is led in scoring by sophmore guard Sarah Stream (13.1 ppg), was chosen third in the 2006-07 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Huskies, who are guided by fourth-year head coach John Barnes, were 19-9 overall during the 2005-06 campaign and compiled a second-place 14-4 GLIAC North Division record. Michigan Tech hosts Northland College in non-conference play Tuesday (Jan. 9) evening prior to facing the Bulldogs.