FSU At A Glance: The Bulldogs will officially open the 2004-05 campaign by hosting Lewis (Ill.) Tuesday, Nov. 16, at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The non-league contest is set to begin at 6 p.m. (EST) prior to the Bulldog men’s basketball team’s season-opening game against Cornerstone beginning at 8 p.m. (EST).

Ticket Info: 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.

Ferris Basketball Fan Fest: FSU has announced plans for the first-ever Ferris Basketball Fan Fest slated to be held in conjunction with the school’s men’s and women’s basketball regular season-opening contests Tuesday, Nov. 16, at Wink Arena. As part of the Fan Fest activities, the athletics department will also unveil its new student section in the west end of the 2,400-seat facility dubbed the “Ferris Fanatics.” The first 500 students entering the contest will receive official group t-shirts. The FSU Alumni Relations Office has provided over 1,000 free tickets to local alumni and will have an alumni section while the Ferris Student Leadership and Activities Department will offer contests along with prizes throughout the evening for campus students involved in greek organizations, club sports and those living in residence halls. FSU students will be admitted free to both games by showing their identification card and free pizza will be offered to them between games while supplies last courtesy of Papa John’s.

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 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (GLIAC) North Division and advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship game during the 2003-04 campaign.

FSU Drops Second Exhibition Game: Despite holding a two-point halftime advantage and leading by eight points late in the opening period, Ferris State suffered an 81-72 setback Thursday (Nov. 11) in exhibition play to NCAA Division I Central Michigan at CMU's Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Senior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) led FSU with a game-high 27 points as she sank 10-of-14 field goal attempts and all seven of her shots from the charity stripe. Senior guard/forward Lucie Cenkova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnasium Pripotocni) chipped in 11 points off the bench. The Bulldogs led 31-23 with 3:58 remaining in the first half before CMU cut the FSU advantage to 34-32 at the break. The Chippewas outscored Ferris 49-38 in the final half to notch the win.

Exhibition Opener: Ferris dropped an 81-65 exhibition decision to Athletes In Action on Oct. 24 at Wink Arena. Junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) compiled a game-high 24 points in the loss.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk: Seventh-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 106-61 (.635) 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 12 victories to match Pat Dolan’s (1977-89) school-record total of 118 wins at Ferris State.

GLIAC Coach Of The Year: Ferris’ Tracey Fisk was honored as the GLIAC’s 2003-04 Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to their fifth consecutive conference tournament berth and the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign last season. The Bulldogs also recorded their seventh-straight winning season.

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program has compiled a 359-386 (.482) all-time mark entering its 31st season. 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 40-13 (.755) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 32-12 (.727) 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.

A Look At The 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 were 20th (3.388) for the 2000-01 academic year. Ferris’ 3.604 gpa in 2002-03 placed tied for second.

GLIAC Games On The 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.

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.

Bulldog Bites: Three of FSU’s initial four regular-season games are at home. The lone exception is a non-league tilt at NCAA-I Western Illinois (Nov. 22). Last season, the Bulldogs played 12 of their first 13 contests away from home ...... Erin Miller and senior forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Area) have been named team captains for the 2004-05 campaign ....... FSU’s biggest graduation loss was guard Lucy DeMartin, who concluded her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,721 career points. DeMartin was a 2003-04 Division II Women’s Basketball Bulletin Honorable Mention All-America selection ...... Ferris State will open its 31st season against Lewis. The Bulldogs, who have won four of their last six season openers, have an all-time mark of 13-17 in opening games. FSU defeated the Flyers 67-62 in last season’s (11/15/03) opener at Romeoville, Ill. The Bulldogs have won seven of their past nine openers, including a 4-2 mark (.667) under head coach Tracey Fisk ....... Ferris was picked to finish second in the 2004-05 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Wednesday (Nov. 10) by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 32 points along with three first-place votes in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Lake Superior State was selected as the North Division favorite as the Lakers recorded 33 points along with 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. 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, second place took four points, etc.

Miller Back For Bulldogs: Erin Miller, who was named a co-recipient of FSU’s 2003-04 Most Valuable Player Award, reached double-figure scoring in 28 of her 31 contests last campaign and ranked as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer (17.0 ppg). The 5-7 Miller was the recipient of the GLIAC’s 2002-03 Freshman of the Year Award after being the team’s third-highest scorer (12.5 ppg) in her initial season. Miller earned first-team 2003-04 WBCA All-Great Lakes Region and All-GLIAC North Division, second-team Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region honors along with being among 40 finalists for the NCAA-II Kodak/WBCA All-America Team. She was also a 2003-04 Verizon Academic All-District IV Third Team selection.

Horwitz Returns To Lineup: Bridget Horwitz, who missed all of last season with an injury, was a two-time (12/9, 2/17) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week in 2002-03. She totaled 420 points (16.8 ppg) and a team-leading 210 rebounds (8.4 rpg) in 25 appearances in 2002-03. The 6-2 Horwitz scored 10 points or more in 22 games while notching nine double-double (scoring & rebounding) performances. She is a two-time (2002-03) All-GLIAC North Division Second-Team honoree.

A Look At The Opponent:

Lewis: Ferris State and Lewis will square off for the sixth time Tuesday with the Bulldogs holding a 4-1 series advantage. FSU recorded a 67-62 win in the most recent (11/15/03) series’ contest at Romeoville, Ill. Lewis, which is coached by third-year head coach Lynn Plett, capped off one of its most successful seasons ever with a 16-12 overall record and a fourth-place (13-7) finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) last season. It was the Flyers’ highest league finish in four years. Sophomore forward Darcee Schmidt is the Flyers’ top returning scorer (13.9 ppg) from last season. Lewis, which opens regular-season action Saturday (Nov. 13) at Lake Superior State, dropped an 86-62 exhibition contest at NCAA-I Indiana State Wednesday (Nov. 10). FSU is 2-0 all-time versus LU in Big Rapids while head coach Tracey Fisk holds a 3-1 career coaching mark against the Flyers.