FSU DUO ATTAINS VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT IV KUDOS

DeMartin & Miller Honored By College Sports Information Directors Of America

Lucy DeMartin	Erin Miller

Senior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) and sophomore guard Erin Miller (Niles) of the 2003-04 Ferris State University women’s basketball team have been recognized as Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Basketball selections in an announcement made today.

DeMartin attained first-team honors for the second consecutive season while Miller was a third-team pick. The duo joins Ashland’s Jackie Mason (forward), Andrea Novak (forward) of Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State’s Allyson Conaway (forward) as the lone representatives from a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member school in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA). Novak and Mason were also first-team honorees while Conaway received second-team recognition.

Student-athletes must have reached at least sophomore status academically, maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and also be a starter or key reserve for their team to be nominated. The District IV team is comprised of colleges and universities located in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. As a first-team recipient, DeMartin is now eligible to receive Verizon Academic All-America consideration.

A 2002-03 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, DeMartin was named to the 2003-04 Women’s Division II Bulletin Preseason Super 16 All-America Team and chosen as the publication’s preseason GLIAC Player of the Year. Her team-leading 20.2 points per game scoring average in 2002-03 ranked first among the school’s all-time leaders and placed second in the GLIAC’s overall statistical rankings. She previously received second-team Verizon Academic All-District honors in 2001-02.

The 5-9 DeMartin, who was named this week's (Feb. 16) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week, presently ranks as Ferris' leading scorer (17.8 ppg) this campaign and is currently fourth in the GLIAC's overall statistical rankings. DeMartin is also averaging a team-best 2.0 steals and 3.5 assists per game to date this season. She became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,580 points by notching a team-high 23 points in Monday’s (Feb. 16) 72-66 league triumph at Grand Valley State.

Miller, who was named FSU’s 2002-03 Rookie of the Year Award winner, presently has reached double-figure scoring in 22 of her 24 contests this campaign and ranks as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer (17.4 ppg) to date. Miller was the recipient of the GLIAC’s 2002-03 Freshman of the Year Award after ranking as the team’s third-leading scorer (12.5 ppg). She currently ranks as the league’s second-leading performer in both three-point field goal percentage (.419) and free throw percentage (.877) this season. The 5-7 Miller has attained GLIAC North Division Player of the Week accolades twice this campaign – Jan. 5 and Feb. 9.

The Bulldogs, who are presently 17-7 overall and hold a second-place 12-3 mark in the GLIAC's North Division, will visit Northwood Saturday (Feb. 21) for a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league encounter at NU's Bennett Sports Center in Midland, Mich. Ferris is ranked third in the current (Feb. 17) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional rankings.

This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the Verizon Academic All-America program, which was founded by CoSIDA in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the years, the Verizon Academic All-America program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports.