FSU At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team, which is presently 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action this campaign, will travel West for three non-league road contests. FSU visits North Dakota Saturday, Dec. 18, for a 6 p.m. (EST) outing in Grand Forks, N.D. Ferris will then face Minnesota State-Moorhead Sunday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. (EST) in Moorhead, Minn., before concluding the trip Tuesday, Dec. 21, with an 8 p.m. (EST) tilt at South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D.

Ferris Beats SVSU: The Bulldogs recorded a 77-62 GLIAC victory over Saginaw Valley State last Saturday (Dec. 11) in University Center, Mich. Ferris led 40-34 at halftime and outscored SVSU 37-28 in the final half while notching its 12th consecutive series’ triumph. Sophomore guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) and senior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) both totaled 15 points for Ferris State. Senior guard Lucie Cenkova (Prague, Czech Republic) chipped in a personal-best 10 points off the bench.

FSU Edged By Lakers: Ferris dropped a 74-68 decision to nationally-ranked Lake Superior State last Thursday (Dec. 9) in league play at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Bulldogs were led by Kristin Reinhart's game and personal career-high 25 points. Bridget Horwitz added 13 points and 11 rebounds in her second consecutive double-double performance. LSSU was ranked 11th in the latest (Dec. 7) USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top 25 Division II Coaches Poll.

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 108-65 (.624) 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 10 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 361-390 (.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 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 145-105 (.580) overall since 1995-96 and sports an 84-70 (.545) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 47-33 (.588) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 33-23 (.589) 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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Looking Ahead: Ferris State will take part in the GLIAC/Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Classic Thursday and Friday, Dec. 30-31, at Midland, Mich. FSU will face Northern Kentucky Thursday, Dec. 30, and then battle Southern Indiana Friday, Dec. 31. Both non-league games begin at 1 p.m. (EST) inside Northwood University’s Bennett Sports Center.

Bulldog Bites: Bridget Horwitz currently has 1,082 career points and needs 16 more to match Julie Anthony’s (1994-98) ninth place career mark of 1,098 points at FSU. She has 571 career rebounds to date and is 12 away from tying Darlene Vondrasek (583; 1989-93) for ninth place on the all-time list ........ FSU is presently midst a 10-game road swing. The Bulldogs' next home game will be against Hillsdale Tuesday, Jan. 11, at FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The game represents FSU's only home contest during the first month of the New Year ....... Freshman guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) netted a personal career-high seven points at LSSU while freshman forward/center Rachel Folcik's (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) eight points in the same contest also was a personal career-best ..... Lucie Cenkova needs nine points to garner her 100th career point ..... The Bulldogs have totaled 20 or more turnovers in four of their last five outings this campaign after having done so only eight times all of last season ....... Kristin Reinhart ranked tied for second place among the GLIAC’s latest (Dec. 13) overall statistical leaders in scoring (19.3 ppg) and second in assists (5.83 apg). Bridget Horwitz was listed as the conference’s fourth-leading rebounder (9.4 rpg) and seventh-highest scorer (15.2 ppg) while senior forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Area) leads the GLIAC in free throw percentage (.867) ...... Ferris’ loss at Lake Superior State was its ninth consecutive series’ setback ..... Ferris tallied 10 or more steals in 13 games last campaign but has presently done so only once this season ...... Sarah Duesing notched her 250th career rebound at Saginaw Valley State ....... Bridget Horwitz is four assists away from recording her 100th career assist while Kristin Reinhart needs 19 points to register her 400th point.

A Look At The Opponents:

North Dakota: Ferris and North Dakota will square off for the first time ever this Saturday. UND, which is currently midst a 10-game homestand, is presently 10-2 overall this campaign and has won nine of its last 10 contests to date. The Fighting Sioux suffered a 74-72 home exhibition loss (Oct. 28) to Athletes In Action while Ferris fell to the same team 81-65 (Oct. 24) at Big Rapids, Mich. UND is guided by 18th-year head coach Gene Roebuck, who led the Sioux to three national titles in the late 1990’s. North Dakota, which is ranked 10th in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top 25 Division II Coaches Poll, compiled a 27-6 overall record in 2003-04 and placed third (10-4) in the North Central Conference (NCC) prior to winning the NCC’s Wells Fargo Tournament Championship. UND, which was picked first in the 2004-05 NCC Preseason Coaches Poll, has posted 15 consecutive 20-win campaigns to date and is currently led in scoring by freshman center Ashley Langen (17.6 ppg). The Sioux beat Minnesota-Crookston 96-65 at home Monday (Dec. 13).

Minnesota State-Moorhead: The Bulldogs and Dragons have never faced each other entering Sunday’s meeting. MSU-Moorhead, which is currently 8-2 overall this season, has won three consecutive contests to date under fifth-year head coach Karla Nelson and recorded an 80-42 non-conference road triumph at Northwestern (Minn.) in its most recent contest. MSUM finished 16-13 overall last season, including a third-place tying 8-8 mark in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Dragons were picked to finish second in the 2004-05 NSIC Preseason Poll. Senior guard Dana Weibel (14.9 ppg) is the Dragons’ leading scorer this campaign to date.

South Dakota State: FSU holds a 1-0 all-time series’ advantage following its 64-56 win neutral site win (11/28/97) at Turlock, Calif. SDSU is presently midst its first season as a NCAA Division I independent. The Jackrabbits, who are currently 6-3 overall this campaign, will host Wisconsin Eau-Claire and Loras (Iowa) this Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 18-19) prior to facing the Bulldogs. SDSU has won two of its last three outings to date, but dropped a 66-59 decision last Saturday (Dec. 11) at Southern California in its most recent contest. South Dakota State is guided by fourth-year head coach Aaron Johnston, who has directed SDSU to three consecutive NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances and the school’s first national title in 2002-03. SDSU, which is currently led in scoring by senior forward/center Shannon Schlagel (15.8 ppg), was 26-7 overall last season and compiled a first-place 11-3 record in the NCAA-II North Central Conference (NCC).