FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball team continues a four-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road swing this week with two games in Erie, Pa. FSU will first face Mercyhurst Thursday, Jan. 18, in a 6 p.m. (EST) conference game at MC’s Athletic Center. FSU then visits Gannon Saturday, Jan. 20, for a 1 p.m. (EST) league encounter inside GU’s Hammermill Center. Both games in Erie will be the first contest of a women’s and men’s doubleheader.

The Records: The Bulldogs are presently 10-5 overall and 4-3 in GLIAC action heading into Thursday's game at Mercyhurst. The Lakers enter the outing with a 6-11 mark and are 2-5 in league play. Gannon heads into its league home game against Lake Superior State Thursday evening with a 12-3 ledger and a perfect 6-0 conference slate.

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, Mercyhurst will offer both live audio and internet statistics on Thursday evening. The audio will be available at http://wmce.mercyhurst.edu with live stats on MC’s official athletics website at www.hurstathletics.com. Gannon will have both an audio webcast and live internet stats for Saturday’s game at www.gannon.edu/sports. The game at Mercyhurst is also scheduled to be televised live locally in Erie by Image Sports Network.

Sophomore forward Ashley Corbiere and the Bulldogs travel to Erie, Pa., for two games this week at Mercyhurst and Gannon

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 Mercyhurst and Gannon Athletics Departments, respectively. MC’s main office number is (814) 824-2228 while Gannon can be reached by dialing (814) 871-7416.

FSU Sweeps Upper Peninsula Trip: Ferris swept Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech on its trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this past weekend (Jan. 11 & 13). FSU defeated NMU 71-54 Thursday (Jan. 11) evening in Marquette before topping MTU 77-64 Saturday (Jan. 13) at Houghton, Mich. Junior forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) tallied a game-high 21 points and 11 boards in the win over the Wildcats with senior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) and senior forward Audrey Thwing (Davidson) adding 19 and 12 points, respectively. Reinhart scored a game-best 21 points, Folcik totaled 19 points along with 10 boards while sophomore guard Teghan Thelen (Pewamo/Westphalia) had a personal career-high 14 points against the Huskies.

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 145-93 (.609) 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 398-418 (.488) 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 182-133 (.578) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 105-89 (.541) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 62-49 (.559) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 45-31 (.592) 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.

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 Claims GLIAC Award: Rachel Folcik was honored for the second time in her career this week as the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week award recipient in an announcement made by the conference office Monday (Jan. 15). Folcik, who also earned the award on Jan. 3, tallied 40 points, 21 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the two games. To date, she has recorded a double-double effort in four of her last five contests. The 6-1 Folcik, who’s currently averaging a team-best 17.0 points per game, has presently scored in double-figures eight consecutive games to date and tallied 10 points or more in all but two of FSU's 13 outings this season. Folcik was also honored as Ferris State University’s female Bulldog of the Month award recipeint for December based on her play during the month.

GLIAC Recognition: Rachel Folcik’s selection as GLIAC North Division Player of the Week this week marked the fourth 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 17 times in the last five seasons, including the current year, to date.

Bulldog Bites: Ferris head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk needs five more wins to notch her 150th career coaching victory ...... The Bulldogs have outrebounded their opponents in 10 of 15 games this season ....... FSU needs two wins to record the program’s 400th all-time victory ...... Ferris notched the program’s 11th consecutive 10-plus victory campaign with Saturday’s triumph at Michigan Tech ........ Junior guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) is only 24 points away from scoring her 500th career point ....... Audrey Thwing notched her 500th career point in Thursday’s win at Northern Michigan ...... Ferris State was the nation’s 20th most-improved team at the Division II level in 2005-06. The Bulldogs had a seven-game turnaround from 11-17 overall in 2004-05 to 18-10 overall a year ago ..... FSU head coach Tracey Bloodwoth-Fisk would record her 100th all-time career victory against a GLIAC member school with a win on Thursday at Mercyhurst ..... Junior guard Katie Loosvelt (Trenton/Carlson) notched a career-best six steals at NMU.

What’s On Tap: Ferris returns home to host Ashland Thursday, Jan. 25, in a 6 p.m. (EST) league tilt inside FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. Findlay then visits Wink Arena Saturday, Jan. 27, for a 1 p.m. (EST) GLIAC encounter.

Statistics Notes: The Bulldogs are ranked 16th nationally in assists (17.8 apg) along with 19th in scoring offense (77.1 ppg) and 21st in three-point field goal percentage (.369) according to the latest (Jan. 9) NCAA-II National Statistics. FSU currently leads the GLIAC in assists and scoring while ranking second in three-point percentage for all games played overall.

Ferris State vs. Mercyhurst/Gannon Notebook:

Scouting Mercyhurst: The Bulldogs maintain a 10-2 series advantage heading into this Thursday’s contest and defeated Mercyhurst 72-47 in the last meeting (1/19/06) at Big Rapids, Mich. MC is presently 6-11 overall and 2-5 in the GLIAC as a result of dropping a 76-55 league road decision Saturday (Jan. 13) at Saginaw Valley State. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently has a 7-1 career coaching record against the Lakers. Mercyhurst, which is led in scoring by senior guard/forward Julie Anderson (17.8 ppg), was 8-19 overall in 2005-06 and placed sixth in the GLIAC’s South Division with a 4-13 conference record. The Lakers were picked to finish sixth in this season’s South Division coaches poll and are guided by third-year head coach Karin Nicholls.

Scouting Gannon: Ferris holds a 9-3 edge entering this Saturday’s meeting and has won eight of the last 10 series’ contests. The Bulldogs claimed a 80-68 victory in the last meeting (1/21/06) at Big Rapids, Mich. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 7-2 career coaching record against the Knights. Gannon, which is coached by fifth-year head coach Cleve Wright, is presently 12-3 overall and 6-0 in GLIAC action after Saturday’s (Jan. 13) 71-69 league road win at Northwood. GU hosts Lake Superior State Thursday (Jan. 18) prior to meeting the Bulldogs. The Knights, who compiled a 14-15 overall record in 2005-06, were picked to finish third in the 2006-07 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll following a third-place 8-9 GLIAC mark a season ago. Senior forward Christina Jackson presently ranks as GU’s leading scorer (18.7 ppg) this season. Gannon has won each of its last five outings to date this campaign.