FSU At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team, which is currently 4-9 overall and 2-2 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play this season, will visit archrival Grand Valley State Saturday, Jan. 8, for a 6 p.m. (EST) league outing in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena at Allendale, Mich. FSU then hosts Hillsdale Tuesday, Jan. 11, in a 6 p.m. (EST) GLIAC home game at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

GLIAC Games On Air: FSU’s 2004-05 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN-1460 AM. Selected contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports. Live internet statistics will also be available for all remaining FSU home games and can be found at the FSU Athletics website.

Ticket Information: Individual game tickets to FSU regular-season home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $7 and student tickets are $5. A family pass can be purchased for $15. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $5. FSU students are admitted free of charge by showing their student identification card. Tickets for Saturday’s game at GVSU can be obtained by calling the Grand Valley State Athletics Ticket Office at (616) 331-8800.

Another Split: The Bulldogs split a pair of outings to open the New Year Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 3-4) in the Fairmont State (W.Va.) New Year’s Classic at Fairmont, W.Va. FSU defeated Concord (W.Va.) Monday (Jan. 3) 101-67 and then fell to the host Falcons 73-62 Tuesday (Jan. 4). Five Ferris players reached double-figure scoring versus Concord led by senior guard/forward Lucie Cenkova’s (Prague, Czech Republic) personal career-high 17 points. Freshman forward Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) added a career-best 15 points. Senior forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie) compiled a team-high 14 points against Fairmont State with Cenkova recording 12 points.

A Split For FSU: Ferris State split two games to close out the calendar year last Thursday and Friday (Dec. 30-31) in the GLIAC/Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Classic hosted by Northwood at Midland, Mich. Ferris posted a 67-54 non-conference triumph over perennial Great Lakes Region power Northern Kentucky Thursday (Dec. 30) before dropping a 82-81 decision Friday (Dec. 31) to Southern Indiana. Sophomore guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) spearheaded the Bulldog attack with a game-high 21 points versus NKU. Senior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) chipped in 15 points for FSU and Lucie Cenkova scored eight points. Horwitz and Reinhart both netted a game-high 20 points against USI.

A Look At The Bulldogs: FSU returns three starters and eight letterwinners from last season. 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 made their fifth consecutive conference tournament berth and recorded the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign last season. Ferris has posted seven-straight winning seasons to date.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk: Seventh-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 110-70 (.611) career record at Ferris State. A 1996 graduate of Western Michigan, Fisk guided FSU to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. Prior to Ferris, Fisk spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at the University of Indianapolis (1997-98). She needs eight victories to match Pat Dolan’s (1977-89) school-record total of 118 wins at Ferris State.

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program, which is midst its 31st season of varsity competition, has compiled a 363-395 (.479) 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 eight consecutive seasons to date.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 41-15 (.732) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 33-13 (.717) 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 147-110 (.572) overall since 1995-96 and sports an 86-75 (.534) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 47-37 (.560) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 33-23 (.589) record in GLIAC play.

The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ 2004-05 roster includes three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen. Five of the 13 players are guards while the remaining eight are frontcourt players. Eleven players hail from Michigan with one each from Indiana and the Czech Republic.

Academic Success: The 2003-04 Bulldog squad was honored for having the nation’s 17th-highest 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 fifth consecutive season, compiled a 3.384 grade point average in 2003-04. FSU, which previously compiled the nation’s highest gpa (3.534) in 1999-00, also finished 21st (3.313) in 2001-02 and was 20th (3.388) for the 2000-01 academic year. Ferris’ 3.604 gpa in 2002-03 placed tied for second.

Between The Lines: FSU head coach Tracey Fisk will make periodic appearances throughout the season on “Between The Lines,” a weekly half-hour television show devoted to Ferris State Athletics. The program, which is hosted by Shannon Vesper and produced by FSU’s media productions department, airs each Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) and 8 p.m. (ET), respectively, on FSU’s Cable Channel 7.

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 teams including rosters, statistics and more.

Up Next: Ferris begins a four-game GLIAC road swing Saturday, Jan. 15, at Wayne State. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. (EST) in WSU’s Matthaei Complex at Detroit, Mich. The Bulldogs will then play six of their final eight regular-season games at home during the month of February.

Bulldog Bites: FSU concludes a 10-game road swing Saturday at GVSU. Tuesday’s home game versus Hillsdale represents FSU's only home contest during the first month of the New Year ......... Ferris State improved to 3-1 all-time against West Virginia schools following its split in the Fairmont State New Year’s Classic. Both of FSU’s previous victories had came over West Virginia Wesleyan ......... Sophomore forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) tallied a personal career-high 13 points versus Concord ......... Bridget Horwitz needs 16 points to garner her 1,200th career point while Kristin Reinhart is 33 points shy of notching her 500th career point.

GLIAC Player Of Week: Bridget Horwitz has been selected this week's (Jan. 3) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for her performance in the Bulldogs' five outings over the holiday break. Horwitz is the second FSU women's player to attain league weekly award accolades this season, joining Kristin Reinhart who earned the honor on Dec. 6. Horwitz totaled 81 points, 38 rebounds and 10 assists in Ferris State's five games over the holiday break. The 6-2 Horwitz, who totaled two double-double performances during the stretch, averaged 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds. Presently, Horwitz ranks as FSU's leading rebounder (7.8 rpg) and second-leading scorer (14.8 ppg) to date this season. She has posted 11 double-digit scoring performances and four double-double (points & rebounds) efforts in 12 outings to date this campaign.

FSU Picked Second: Ferris was picked to finish second in the 2004-05 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs totaled 32 points along with three first-place votes in the balloting conducted by the conference's head coaches. Lake Superior State was selected as the North Division favorite as the Lakers recorded 33 points and four first-place votes. Ashland took the top spot in the South Division with 24 points. 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.

A Look At The Opponents:

Grand Valley State: GVSU holds a 42-21 advantage heading into this Saturday’s 64th encounter although FSU has won three straight series’ contests and posted a 72-66 victory in the last meeting (2/16/04) at Allendale, Mich. Grand Valley State is currently 8-4 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC entering this Thursday’s (Jan. 6) conference road game at Findlay following Monday’s (Jan. 3) 85-64 non-league home win over Lewis (Ill.). GVSU, which was picked to finish tied for fourth place in the 2004-05 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by junior guard/forward Niki Reams (15.7 ppg). The Lakers have won their last three outings to date under third-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. GVSU was 11-15 overall during the 2003-04 campaign and placed sixth in the GLIAC North Division with a 8-10 mark after previously reaching the NCAA-II Tournament in 2002-03. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently has a 9-4 career coaching record against the Lakers. Ferris, which holds a 7-24 all-time mark versus GVSU in Allendale, swept the Lakers last season as the Bulldogs also registered a 76-72 home win (1/10/04) at Big Rapids, Mich.

Hillsdale: Ferris holds a 30-16 series edge entering Tuesday’s 47th encounter and recorded a 70-67 triumph (1/15/04) in last season’s only meeting at Hillsdale, Mich. However, the Chargers have managed to win four of the last eight series’ contests. HC, which is coached by third-year head coach Claudette Charney, is presently 11-0 overall and 2-0 in league play after last Wednesday’s (Dec. 29) 91-55 non-league home victory over Michigan-Dearborn. The Chargers, who compiled a 10-16 overall record and a fourth-place 7-10 GLIAC mark in 2003-04, will host Northern Michigan Thursday (Jan. 6) and Michigan Tech Saturday (Jan. 8) prior to visiting FSU. Sophomore forward Nikki Wustman presently ranks as Hillsdale’s leading scorer (12.6 ppg) this campaign. Fisk currently has a 4-4 career coaching mark versus HC, which was picked to finish fourth in the 2004-05 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Hillsdale earned its highest national ranking in school history this week (Jan. 4) by being listed 12th in the USA Today/ESPN/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Top 25 National Poll.