FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will take part in the Ashland FirstMerit Classic this Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 29-30) in AU’s Kates Gymnasium at Ashland, Ohio. The Bulldogs are slated to face Slippery Rock (Pa.) in Saturday’s (Nov. 29) opening game and then battle Kentucky Wesleyan Sunday (Nov. 30). Both non-league games are set for 1 p.m. (EST) starts.

Last Weekend: FSU, which is currently 2-1 overall this season, split two non-conference games last weekend (Nov. 21-22) in the fourth annual Quincy/Subway Tipoff Tournament held at QU’s Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Ill. Ferris recorded a 70-65 triumph over Missouri Western State in Friday’s (Nov. 21) tournament opener before falling to host Quincy 94-60 in Saturday’s (Nov. 22) championship game. Senior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) claimed all-tournament team honors after leading the Bulldogs with a game-high 28 points versus MWSC and 15 points against the Lady Hawks. Sophomore guard Erin Miller (Niles) also reached double-figure scoring in both outings with 13 points and 11 points versus QU and Missouri Western State, respectively. Quincy was ranked eighth in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2002-03 campaign with a 15-11 overall mark, which included a fourth-place (tie) 10-8 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. FSU reached the GLIAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and posted its seventh straight 10-win campaign a year ago.

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program, which is midst its 30th anniversary campaign, has compiled a 340-377 (.474) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won the GLIAC North Division crown, advanced to the 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 ranked among the nation’s top 25 academic teams four consecutive seasons.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk: Sixth-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 87-52 (.626) career record at Ferris State. A 1996 graduate of Western Michigan, Fisk guided Ferris State to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. Prior to FSU, Fisk spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at the University of Indianapolis (1997-98).

On The Road: Ferris State is 124-93 (.571) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 72-61 (.541) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 39-26 (.600) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 25-20 (.556) record in conference play.

FSU Picked Third: Ferris State was picked to finish third in the 2003-04 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs totaled 26 points and one first-place vote in the balloting by the GLIAC’s head coaches. Each of the league’s 13 head coaches ranked the teams in their respective divisions, but were not allowed to vote for their own team. The first-place team in the North Division received six points while the second-place team earned four points, etc. The first-place squad in the South Division picked up five points, the second-place team took four points, etc. Grand Valley State was selected as the GLIAC North Division favorite with three first-place votes and 33 points while Wayne State took the top spot in the South Division with 22 points and two first-place votes.

A Look At The Roster: Ferris’ 2003-04 roster includes four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. Eleven players hail from Michigan with one each from Indiana and the Czech Republic.

Between The Lines: “Between The Lines”, a weekly television program profiling Ferris State University Athletics, airs across northern Michigan on WFQX-Fox 33 every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The 30-minute program is hosted by Phill Mooney and produced in the studios of the University’s cable Channel 7. FSU women’s basketball head coach Tracey Fisk will make appearances throughout the season. The show is also aired locally on the University's cable Channel 7 every Tuesday (7 p.m.) and Wednesday (8 p.m.).

FSU 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 and more. The Bulldogs’ 2003-04 yearbook is also available online.

Glancing At The Bulldogs: Ferris returns eight letterwinners and five starters from last season, including senior captains Lucy DeMartin, Stephanie Benear (Howell), Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) and Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central). The Bulldogs’ also added five newcomers.

GLIAC Games On The Air: Ferris’ 2003-04 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN-1460 AM. Selected league contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

Super 16 All-America Pick: Ferris’ Lucy DeMartin has been named to the 2003-04 Women’s Division II Bulletin Preseason Super 16 All-America Team. DeMartin, a 2002-03 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, was also chosen as the publication’s preseason GLIAC Player of the Year. DeMartin's team-leading 20.2 points per game scoring average last season ranked first among the school’s all-time leaders and placed second in the GLIAC’s overall statistical rankings. The two-time (2002-03) GLIAC All-Academic Team pick compiled a school-record 525 points while earning 2002-03 Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Basketball First Team accolades. She posted 26 double-figure scoring outings, including 13 20-plus point performances en route to claiming All-GLIAC North Division First-Team honors a year ago.

Bulldog Bites: Lucy DeMartin currently has 1,208 career points and needs two more to tie Jodi Raab (1,210; 1989-93) for seventh place on the school’s career scoring list. She needs one rebound to register her 300th career board ....... Molly Potvin grabbed a personal career-high 15 rebounds while attaining her 200th career board versus Missouri Western State. She is currently 14 points shy of notching her 300th career point ..... Erin Miller garnered her 100th career rebound against MWSC and presently needs eight more assists to reach the same mark ....... Bridget Horwitz has not played in FSU’s first three outings this season due to a thumb injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage .......... Stephanie Benear is 28 points away from recording her 300th career point .......... Ferris is in the midst of a seven-game season-opening road swing. Twelve of FSU’s first 13 outings are away from home. Ferris has nine home contests this campaign, including its Dec. 11 home opener versus Lake Superior State at Big Rapids High School ........ Lucy DeMartin currently ranks tied for second place in free throws (289), seventh in made field goals (424), eighth in both assists (258) and three-point baskets (71) along with ninth in steals (137) among Ferris’ career leaders. She presently has an active 34-game double-figure scoring streak ........ Ferris holds a current 7-8 (.467) record in its last 15 neutral site contests ....... FSU’s current start this campaign marks the fifth time in head coach Tracey Fisk’s six seasons the Bulldogs have won two of their initial three games.

Ferris Earns Academic Honors: The 2002-03 Bulldog squad was honored for having the nation’s second-highest (tie) cumulative grade point average in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list. The Bulldogs, who placed among the top 25 teams for the fourth consecutive season, compiled a 3.604 grade point average and shared runner-up kudos with Dowling (N.Y.). Ferris previously compiled the nation’s highest gpa (3.534) in 1999-00.

Up Next: Ferris opens GLIAC action Thursday, Dec. 4, against Findlay at UF’s Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (EST). FSU will then visit Ashland Saturday, Dec. 6, for a 1 p.m. (EST) league tilt in AU’s Kates Gymnasium at Ashland, Ohio.

A Look At The Opponents:

Slippery Rock: Ferris and Slippery Rock will square off for the first time this Saturday. The Rock compiled a 9-17 overall record in 2002-03 including a sixth-place 4-8 finish in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s (PSAC) Western Division. SRU, which was picked to finish sixth in the 2003-04 PSAC Western Division Preseason Poll, is directed by fourth-year head coach Laurel Heilman. Junior forward Stacey Green (18.0 ppg) is the leading scorer to date this campaign for SRU, which opened the season with a 1-1 mark in last weekend’s (Nov. 21-22) C&L Lancer Classic at Farmville, Va. The Rock beat host Longwood 63-59 last Saturday after suffering a 86-81 loss to Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) Friday. Slippery Rock is slated to host West Virginia Wesleyan in non-league action this Tuesday (Nov. 25).

Kentucky Wesleyan: The Bulldogs won the only previous series’ meeting 74-73 in the Wright State Tournament (12/29/82) in Dayton, Ohio. KWC, which is guided by first-year head coach Ron Williams, registered a 7-20 mark last season and placed 11th (4-16) in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The Panthers, who were picked to finish tied for 10th place in the 2003-04 GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll, are currently 2-1 overall this campaign following last Saturday’s (Nov. 22) 84-71 non-conference loss at Tennessee-Martin. Sophomore guard Holly Mills (18.7 ppg) is KWC’s leading scorer to date this season after ranking as the squad’s second-leading (11.4 ppg) scorer a season ago. Kentucky Wesleyan will face host Ashland this Saturday (Nov. 29) prior to its meeting with Ferris.