FSU At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team, which is presently 0-2 overall this campaign, will open Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action Thursday, Dec. 2, versus Findlay at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (EST). FSU will then host Ashland Saturday, Dec. 4, in a 1 p.m. (EST) league home contest.

Ferris Falls At WIU: Ferris State dropped a 95-67 non-league decision last Monday (Nov. 22) to NCAA Division I Western Illinois in WIU's Western Hall at Macomb, Ill. The Westerwinds increased their home court winning streak to 28 games with the victory, which is the third-longest active streak in NCAA-I play. FSU jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half and trailed 39-38 at halftime. However, WIU outscored FSU 56-29 in the final half while improving to 1-1 overall this season.

Leading The Way: Senior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) led the Bulldogs with a game high 22 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists for Ferris State. Senior forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie) and sophomore guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) each added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

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.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk: Seventh-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 106-63 (.627) 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, which is midst its 31st season of varsity competition, has compiled a 359-388 (.481) 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 40-14 (.741) 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.

On The Road: Ferris State is 143-103 (.581) overall since 1995-96 and sports an 83-69 (.546) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 46-32 (.590) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 32-22 (.593) record in GLIAC play.

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.

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.

Moving Into GLIAC Play: The Bulldogs have won three of their last four league-opening games including last season’s (12/4) 78-76 road win at Findlay. However, FSU has posted only a 4-7 (.364) mark in its last 11 initial conference tilts. Ferris currently is 5-11 (.313) in its first GLIAC contest since the 1988-89 campaign. FSU is 11-5 (.688) over the last 16 seasons in its second conference outing of the year and has won five of its last six such games.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State will visit Lake Superior State Thursday, Dec. 9, for a 5:30 p.m. (EST) league tilt at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. FSU will then face Saginaw Valley State Saturday, Dec. 11, in a 1 p.m. (EST) conference contest at University Center, Mich.

Bulldog Bites: Erin Miller and Sarah Duesing have been named team captains for the 2004-05 campaign. Miller is 132 points away from becoming the 12th player in school history to score 1,000 career points while Duesing needs 29 points to record her 400th career point ..... Junior forward Kelly McLaughlin (Clare) needs three points and nine rebounds to register her 100th career marks in both categories ...... Kristin Reinhart is four points shy of notching her 300th career point ..... Bridget Horwitz needs 12 rebounds to match Sandy Davison’s (1983-86) 10th-place career mark of 543 boards at FSU. She is 14 points away from tying Debbie Killips (1998-02) for 10th place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Horwitz presently has 1,028 career points while Killips compiled 1,042 points during her playing career.

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, 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.

At The Next Level: The Bulldogs fell to 2-1 all-time under head coach Tracey Fisk in regular-season games against NCAA-I opponents following their loss at Western Illinois. FSU previously posted an 85-84 triumph at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) in 2002-03 (11/27) and also defeated Central Michigan 67-60 in 1999-00 (12/29).

A Look At The Opponents:

Findlay: The Oilers maintain a 4-3 series edge heading into Thursday’s meeting although Ferris has won the last two matchups to date including a 78-76 win in the last meeting (12/4/03) at Findlay, Ohio. UF is presently 2-2 overall heading into this Monday’s (Nov. 29) non-conference road contest at Siena Heights after dropping a 60-46 non-league decision last Tuesday (Nov. 23) at Indianapolis. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently has a 3-3 career coaching record versus Findlay, which was picked to finish third in the 2004-05 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Oilers, who are coached by fourth-year head coach Carolyn Mair, compiled a 14-13 overall mark in 2003-04 and a fifth-place 6-11 GLIAC South Division finish. Junior forward Michelle Vorst is UF’s leading scorer (14.8 ppg) to date. Ferris is 2-1 all-time versus the Oilers in Big Rapids, Mich.

Ashland: The Bulldogs hold an 8-6 series advantage entering Saturday’s meeting. FSU won two of three series’ meetings last season, but dropped an 82-69 decision to the Eagles in the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament (3/12/04) at Quincy, Ill. AU compiled a school-record 23-8 overall record in 2003-04 after finishing first in the league’s South Division with a 12-5 mark. Fisk presently has a 6-2 career coaching record against the Eagles, who are currently 3-2 overall this campaign after Sunday’s (Nov. 28) 79-72 non-league home triumph over Indiana (Pa). Ashland, which is led in scoring by sophomore guard Amber Rall (20.0 ppg), is slated to open league play at Grand Valley State Thursday (Dec. 2). The Eagles, who are coached by 10th-year head coach Sue Ramsey, were picked first in the 2004-05 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll. AU is 3-3 all-time versus FSU in Big Rapids. Ferris recorded an 85-81 regular-season win at Ashland (12/6/03) last season and posted an 86-80 overtime triumph in the GLIAC Tourney semifinals (3/12/03) at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.