FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball team visits Northwood for its 2006-07 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener Thursday, Nov. 30. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (EST) in NU’s Bennett Sports Center at Midland, Mich. The contest will be the first game of a women’s and men’s league doubleheader.

Sophomore forward Ashley Fleming and the Bulldogs open GLIAC play Thursday evening at Northwood

Media Coverage: The game will be carried live by Bulldog Radio, which can heard locally on television Channel 21 both via on-campus cable and Charter Communications in Mecosta County. Rob Bentley of the FSU Athletics Communications Office will handle the play-by-play duties for Thursday’s coverage. A live audio webcast will also be provided at www.bulldogradio.org. Live internet statistics will be available on NU’s Athletics Website at www.northwood.edu/mi/athletics/.

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: Tickets for the game can be obtained at the door. Please contact the Northwood Athletics Office at (989) 837-4381 for additional information.

Ferris Upsets Drury: Ferris State built a 24-point lead and held on for a 91-87 non-league triumph over nationally-ranked Drury (Mo.) last Saturday (Nov. 25) evening in FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs led 50-26 near the end of the first half and held a 22-point halftime advantage before the Panthers responded by outscoring FSU 59-41 in the final frame. Drury managed to cut the Bulldog lead back down to three points on two different occasions in the final 4:17 of the contest, but could get no closer as Ferris finished by connecting on 23-of-26 (88.5%) free throws in the outing. DU was ranked 10th nationally in the 2006-07 USA Today/ESPN Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll. Senior guard Erin Miller (Niles) led the way with a game-high 30 points. Senior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) chipped in 21 points and a game-best 13 boards.

FSU Falls At Lewis: Ferris fought back from a 20-point deficit with 11 minutes to play before suffering a narrow three-point setback to Lewis (Ill.) 72-69 in non-league action last Tuesday (Nov. 21) at Romeoville, Ill. The Flyers built a 45-35 halftime edge and led 64-44 with 10:52 remaining in the contest before the Bulldogs rallied to cut the lead down to only two points with 14 seconds to go. After a made Lewis free throw pushed the lead to three points with 10 seconds remaining, Ferris called timeout before Erin Miller's game-tying three-pointer misfired in the closing second. Miller scored a game-high tying 21 points. Junior forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) chipped in 19 points while junior guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) recorded 11 points for Ferris State. In addition, Johns added a game-high 14 rebounds while Audrey Thwing (Davison) registered 10 boards.

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 138-89 (.608) 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 391-414 (.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 placed second (14-4) in the GLIAC North Division and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship game during the 2003-04 campaign. The Bulldogs also recorded the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign three seasons ago.

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.

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 54-22 (.710) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 43-19 (.694) 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 175-129 (.576) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 101-87 (.537) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 59-47 (.557) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 42-30 (.583) record in GLIAC play.

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.

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.

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.

The Coaching Staff: Head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk returns her top assistant coach for the fifth year in Justin Rees. Rees, who previously served for three seasons (1999-02) as an assistant coach at NCAA-II Teikyo Post (Conn.), played collegiate basketball at Barry (Fla.) from 1993-97. Tracey’s father, Rick Bloodworth, is a volunteer assistant coach this campaign after previously serving as the head coach at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich.

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 last Wednesday (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, but were not allowed to vote for their own team.

A Coaching Family: FSU’s Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk is far from the only coach in her family. She previously spent three seasons as an assistant coach under her father, Rick Bloodworth, at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Mich. Her father is serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Ferris this season after a long stint as LMC’s head coach. In addition, her younger sister, Andrea Bloodworth, currently is midst her second year as an assistant women’s coach at NCAA-I Valparaiso (Ind.) after spending three years as the top assistant at GLIAC-member Gannon.

The Next Game: Ferris State returns home to host Saginaw Valley State Saturday, Dec. 2, in a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league encounter at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

GLIAC Player Of The Week: Erin Miller has been awarded this week's (Nov. 27) GLIAC North Division Women's Basketball Player of the Week honor for her play in two contests last week. Miller led Ferris State with 51 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and three steals in two outings versus Lewis and Drury last week. This week's selection marks the second consecutive week a Ferris player has earned the distinction as senior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) was chosen as this season's first recipient last week (Nov. 20). It also represents the fourth time in her career Miller has received the honor. FSU has had a player honored as the league's player of the week 15 times in the last five seasons, including the current year, to date.

Number One On 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.

GLIAC Opening Action: The Bulldogs have won five of their last six league-opening games including last season’s (12/1) 102-85 home win over Northwood in Big Rapids, Mich. However, FSU has posted only a 6-7 (.462) mark in its last 13 initial conference tilts. Ferris currently is 7-11 (.389) in its first GLIAC contest since the 1988-89 campaign. FSU is 11-7 (.611) over the last 18 seasons in its second conference outing of the year and has won five of its last eight such games. Ferris lost its second league game last year (12/3) to Saginaw Valley State by a score of 76-67 at University Center, Mich.

Bulldog Bites: Kristin Reinhart currently has 995 career points and is only five shy of becoming the 13th player in school history to notch 1,000 career points ......... FSU needs nine wins to record the program’s 400th all-time victory ...... Sam Johns’ 14 rebounds at Lewis represented a personal career-high ...... Audrey Thwing’s five steals versus Drury marked a career-best .... Erin Miller is a single basket away from notching her 500th career made field goal.

The Team Captains: FSU seniors Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart along with Rachel Folcik have been named 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.

Ferris State vs. Northwood Notebook:

Scouting Northwood: NU is presently 3-1 overall following Monday’s (Nov. 27) 90-30 non-league home win over Grace Bible College. Northwood, which is led in scoring by senior guard Sara Bilunes (14.0 ppg), was 10-16 overall in 2005-06 and placed fifth (5-13) in the GLIAC’s North Division. The Timberwolves, who are guided by third-year head coach Jeff Curtis, were picked to finish fifth in the 2006-07 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Former Bulldog player Jennifer Brogger (1999-02), who scored 626 points during her FSU career, presently is midst her third season as a NU assistant coach after concluding her collegiate career at Saginaw Valley State.

Series Information: The Bulldogs maintain a 39-12 advantage heading into this Thursday’s 52nd series meeting. FSU has won 21 consecutive series’ games and beat NU 81-75 in the last meeting (2/4/06) at Midland, Mich. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently has a 16-0 career coaching record against the Timberwolves. Ferris State is 21-4 (home), 18-7 (road) and 0-1 (neutral) all-time to date versus Northwood. FSU also posted a 102-85 home win over NU last campaign (12/1/05) at Big Rapids.