FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will square off against the Hillsdale Chargers Saturday, Jan. 7, in a 1 p.m. (EST) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) encounter at HC’s Jesse Philips Arena in Hillsdale, Mich. The contest will be the first game of a women’s and men’s league doubleheader. The men’s game starts at 3 p.m. (EST).

Media Coverage: Saturday’s game will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Rob Bentley will handle the play-by-play duties for Saturday’s coverage. No Ferris webcast will be available due to limited staff on campus over the semester break.

Ticket Info: Tickets for Saturday’s game will be available at the door or can be obtained by contacting the Hillsdale College Athletics Department at (517) 437-7364.

FSU Wins Two In Florida: Ferris State won a pair of games in the Barry (Fla.) Buccaneer Holiday Classic last Thursday and Friday (Dec. 29-30) in Miami Shores, Fla. FSU posted an 83-68 triumph over Nova Southeastern (Fla.) in Thursday’s opening game and then recorded a 65-58 victory against host Barry in Friday’s nightcap. Junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) tallied a game-high tying 22 points versus Barry while junior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) paced Ferris with a team-high 25 points against Nova Southeastern.

Ferris Splits Two At Home: Ferris split two outings prior to the holiday break in its own FSU Holiday Classic (Dec. 20-21) held in Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 64-57 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 20) opening game before falling to Lewis (Ill.) 95-85 in Wednesday’s (Dec. 21) finale. Junior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) recorded a team-high 17 points against SIUE and then Erin Miller had a team-best total of 20 points in the loss to the Flyers.

Last Season: Ferris State finished the 2004-05 season with an 11-17 overall record. FSU placed fourth in the GLIAC North Division with a 9-9 conference ledger and advanced to the league's postseason tournament for the sixth consecutive year. The Bulldogs also recorded their ninth-straight season with 10 or more victories.

Head Coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk: Eighth-year FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 124-83 (.599) 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).

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program, which is midst its 32nd season of varsity competition, has compiled a 377-408 (.480) 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 nine consecutive seasons to date.

Looking Back At 2003-04: 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 two seasons ago.

The Bulldog Roster: Ferris’ 2005-06 roster includes one senior, three juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen. Five of the 14 players are guards while the remaining nine are frontcourt players. All 12 players on the roster hail from Michigan. Forward Kelly McLaughlin (Clare) is the only senior on the roster.

The Team Captains: FSU’s Kelly McLaughlin, Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart have been named the Bulldogs’ team captains for the 2005-06 campaign.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 46-21 (.687) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 37-18 (.673) 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 161-123 (.567) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 95-82 (.537) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 54-42 (.563) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 38-27 (.585) record in GLIAC play.

Miller Hits Century Mark: Ferris’ Erin Miller became the 12th player in school history to notch her 1,000th career point against Grand Valley State (Dec. 8). Miller returned to the lineup this season after missing all but the first two games of the 2004-05 campaign due to injury. She previously reached double-figure scoring in 28 of her 31 contests in 2003-04 and ranked as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer (17.0 ppg). 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.

Ferris School Records: Ferris’ made 17 three-pointers and 39 attempts beyond the arc versus Lewis (Ill.) in the FSU Holiday Classic (Dec. 21) both surpassed previous school records ......... The Bulldogs also set a new school record with 31 assists at home against Northwood (Dec. 1).

GLIAC Games On The Air: FSU’s 2005-06 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN (News Talk 1460 AM). Selected contests can also be accessed via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports. Jason DaDay will handle play-by-play duties for the GLIAC home games while Ferris State Assistant Athletics Communications Director Rob Bentley will be in front of the microphone for all league road contests.

Live Stats: “Live Stats” of all 2005-06 Ferris State home basketball games will be provided in progress via the internet. Visit www.ferris.edu/sports and click on the “Live Stats” icon to access the “Live Stats” feature.

National Statistics: FSU’s Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart are both found in the latest NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Miller currently ranks 30th in three-point field goal percentage (.425), 38th in made three-pointers (2.6 pg) along with 44th in scoring (17.1 ppg). Reinhart is listed 38th overall in assists (5.3 apg). As a team, Ferris ranks 26th in scoring offense (76.5 ppg), 35th in three-point percentage (.368) and 40th in free throw percentage (.729) among the nation’s leaders. FSU presently leads the GLIAC in scoring offense and is second in assists (18.0 apg) according to the league’s statistical rankings (as of Jan. 5th). Miller is the conference’s second-leading scorer while Reinhart ranks third in assists.

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 including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more.

At The Top: Ferris head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk became the school’s all-time victory leader with two wins in the Aquinas College Classic (Nov. 18-19). Bloodworth-Fisk, who also ranks as FSU’s all-time winningest coach, surpassed Pat Dolan’s (1977-89) previous school-record total of 118 wins at FSU. Both of FSU’s two all-time NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances have came under Bloodworth-Fisk. She was honored as the GLIAC’s 2003-04 Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign.

GLIAC Preseason Poll: Ferris State was picked to finish fourth in the 2005-06 GLIAC Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll released by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 23 points in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. A year ago, Ferris State took second place in the conference's preseason coaches poll with 32 points and three first-place votes. Grand Valley State was selected as the North Division favorite as the Lakers recorded 36 points along with six first-place votes. Gannon and Hillsdale tied for the top spot in the South Division with 21 points and three first-place votes apiece. The league's 13 head coaches voted for the division in which they play, but were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Players To Watch: FSU’s Kristin Reinhart and Erin Miller were chosen among the top 10 West Michigan collegiate players to watch this year by the Grand Rapids Press in the Nov. 15 edition. The women’s rankings honored Reinhart as the second overall selection while Miller came in seventh. Grand Valley State tallied four of the top 10 picks, including the number one honoree in 2004-05 GLIAC Player of the Year Niki Reams. Ferris placed second with two nominations followed by Calvin, Aquinas, Hope and Davenport with one apiece.

Florida Homecoming: Ferris State’s trip to the Barry (Fla.) Buccaneer Holiday Classic was a homecoming of sorts for fourth-year FSU assistant coach Justin Rees. Rees, who previously served for three seasons (1999-02) as an assistant coach at NCAA-II Teikyo Post (Conn.), played collegiate basketball at Barry (Fla.) from 1993-97 and prepped at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

Academic Success: The Bulldogs have ranked among the nation’s top academic programs six consecutive seasons, according to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list. FSU placed 14th overall in 2004-05 with a 3.432 grade point average. Ferris had the nation’s highest gpa in 1999-00 and placed second in 2002-03.

Bulldog Bites: The Bulldogs’ meetings against both Nova Southeastern (Fla.) and Barry (Fla.) in the Buccaneer Holiday Classic represented the program’s first-ever matchups versus both institutions ......... Erin Miller averaged 17 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in the Bulldogs’ five games over the holiday break ........ Audrey Thwing totaled a personal career-high 18 rebounds versus Nova Southeastern. Thwing compiled four double-figure scoring outings along with two double-doubles (points & rebounds) in FSU’s five outings over the break ...... Kristin Reinhart needs five points to notch her 750th career point ...... Erin Miller has scored 20 points or more six times to date this season.

GLIAC Honoree: FSU’s Erin Miller was selected as the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week on Dec. 5th for her performance in Ferris’ two outings against Northwood and SVSU (Dec. 1 & 3). She is the only FSU women's player to attain league weekly award accolades this season.

Fall Recruits: Ferris head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk recently announced the addition of prep guard Stephanie DeNoyelles (Mt. Pleasant/Sacred Heart) and prep forward/center Andrea Clancy (Port Austin/North Huron), who both plan to attend and compete in women's basketball at FSU beginning with the 2006-07 academic year. They inked national letters-of-intent with the Bulldogs during the fall signing period. The 5-7 DeNoyelles attained both first-team Detroit Free Press and honorable mention Detroit News Class D All-State kudos this campaign while Clancy was chosen to the Associated Press Class D All-State Girls Basketball Team.

What’s On Tap: Ferris begins a five-game homestand by hosting Marygrove College Monday, Jan. 9, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. (EST) in Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. Marygrove, which is located in Detroit, is a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) member. The Bulldogs then will play the first of four consecutive league home contests against Northern Michigan Thursday, Jan. 12. The contest will begin at 6 p.m. (EST). Eight of FSU’s remaining 15 regular-season games are at home this season.

A Look At The Opponent:

Hillsdale: Ferris holds a 31-16 series edge entering Saturday’s 48th encounter and recorded a 79-65 triumph (1/11/05) in last season’s only meeting at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs have won five of the last nine series’ matchups overall. HC, which is coached by fourth-year head coach Claudette Charney, is presently 11-3 overall and 4-0 in league play after last Friday’s (Dec. 30) 76-45 non-league win at Saint Joseph’s (Ind.). The Chargers compiled a 18-9 overall record and a third-place 9-8 GLIAC mark in 2004-05. Junior guard Jenn Carlson presently ranks as Hillsdale’s leading scorer (12.4 ppg) this campaign. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 5-4 career coaching mark versus HC, which was picked to finish tied for first place in the 2005-06 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Charney previously spent seven seasons (1995-02) as the head coach at Grand Valley State along with 10 seasons at Saginaw Valley State and is the wife of former FSU Faculty Athletics Representative Mark Kosciuszko.