FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball team will host Wayne State Thursday, Feb. 16, in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action with tipoff set for 6 p.m. (EST) inside FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. FSU then squares off against Michigan Tech Saturday, Feb. 18, in its regular-season home finale beginning at 1 p.m. (EST). Saturday’s contest represents FSU’s annual Senior Day outing and will also includes special activities and giveaways as part of the NCAA’s “Take a Kid To The Game” promotion.

Media Coverage: Both Thursday’s and Saturday’s outings will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Jason DaDay will handle the play-by-play duties for both contests. The games are tentatively slated to be webcast at www.ferris.edu/sports.

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 general admission tickets are $7. Student tickets are $5. A family pass with two adult and two youth tickets can be purchased for $15. Ferris faculty/staff ticket prices are also $5. FSU students are admitted free of charge by showing their student ID card.

GLIAC Standings: Ferris presently ranks third in the GLIAC North Division with a 10-5 mark .... Grand Valley State is first (13-1) and Michigan Tech second (13-2) in the division entering this week’s play .... GVSU still has four regular-season games remaining while FSU and MTU have three left apiece ..... Lake Superior State is one half-game behind Ferris at 10-6 with two games remaining.

GLIAC Tourney: FSU has clinched its seventh-straight GLIAC Tournament berth ..... The top two teams in each division will host quarterfinal-round play Tuesday, Feb. 28th ........ The semifinals/finals will be held March 3-4 at the site of the highest remaining seed .... Ferris has posted a 5-7 overall record in seven previous tournament appearances ..... FSU fell last campaign to Ashland 71-70 in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/1/05) at Ashland, Ohio.

FSU Wins In Marquette: Ferris State registered a 92-81 GLIAC road win over Northern Michigan last Saturday (Feb. 11) in NMU's Berry Events Center at Marquette, Mich. The Bulldogs led 46-42 at halftime and outscored NMU 46-39 in the final half to clinch at league tourney berth. Ferris was led in scoring by junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) with 19 points. Junior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) and sophomore forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) both added 16 points, sophomore guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) had 13 points and junior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) along with freshman forward/center Jenna Guay (Escanaba) both chipped in 10 points.

FSU Falls At MTU: Ferris suffered a 66-52 league loss last Thursday (Feb. 9) to Michigan Tech in MTU’s Student Development Complex Gymnasium at Houghton, Mich. MTU jumped out to a 36-23 halftime lead in the victory. Erin Miller led FSU with 14 points while Jenna Guay notched 10 points in the setback for the Bulldogs.

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.

Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk: Eighth-year FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 133-86 (.607) 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 Tourney appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at 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 386-411 (.484) 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 league 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 51-22 (.699) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 41-19 (.683) 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 170-126 (.574) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 99-84 (.541) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 58-44 (.569) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 42-29 (.592) record in GLIAC play.

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.

GLIAC Honors: Ferris State has received the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award three times overall this campaign. Kristin Reinhart was honored as the Jan. 23 selection, which represented the second-straight week the Bulldogs had claimed the honor. Reinhart joined Erin Miller, who previously was honored Dec. 5, along with Audrey Thwing, who was the honoree Jan. 16, as Bulldog players to pick up the award this year. The selection also represented the second time Reinhart has picked up the honor in her career as she was also chosen once (12/6/04) last campaign.

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.

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).

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 Stats: FSU’s Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart are both found in the latest (Feb. 6) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Miller ranks 16th in three-point field goal percentage (.424) while Reinhart is 28th overall in assists (5.3 apg). As a team, Ferris ranks ninth in free throw percentage (.756), 26th in scoring offense (75.4 ppg), 32nd in field goal percentage (.444) and 38th in three-point percentage (.356).

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.

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 have won 13 of their last 17 games overall this campaign, including 11 of the last 14 .... This season marks the 10th consecutive year the Bulldogs have won 10 or more games in a season ......... Two of FSU’s three remaining regular-season outings this season are at home ........ Kristin Reinhart currently has 890 career points and is 110 shy of notching her 1,000th career point ......... Audrey Thwing needs two points to record her 350th career point ......... Erin Miller has recorded 10 points or more in eight of her last 10 games this year. Overall, she has a team-best 19 double-figure scoring efforts this campaign ...... Jenna Guay tallied 10 points apiece in each of her two outings last weekend. She has scored exactly 10 points in all four of her double-figure scoring performances this season .......... Saturday’s (Feb. 18) game against Michigan Tech represents FSU’s final regular-season home outing this season and will also be the school’s annual Senior Day contest. Forward Kelly McLaughlin, who is the squad’s lone senior this season, will be honored following her final appearance in Jim Wink Arena .......... Erin Miller recorded her 300th career assist at Northern Michigan. Miller was recently (Feb. 9) named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Women’s Basketball First Team and is now eligible to be considered for Academic All-America accolades.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed 10th in this week’s (Feb. 15) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) held the top two positions in the poll with Grand Valley State the highest ranked GLIAC school at number three. Michigan Tech is fourth, Lake Superior State fifth, Ashland seventh and Hillsdale eighth among the six league schools featured in the rankings. Drury (Mo.) heads the regional poll, which will be used to help determine the eight-team field for the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships (March 10-13) at the end of the campaign.

A Look At Thursday's Opponent:

Wayne State: The Bulldogs maintain a 27-24 series’ advantage entering Thursday’s 52nd meeting and defeated WSU 84-67 in the last meeting (1/15/05) at Detroit, Mich. WSU is presently 8-14 overall and 5-9 in GLIAC action after last Saturday’s (Feb. 11) 82-69 league home setback versus Gannon. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently has a 7-1 career coaching record against the Warriors, who have lost five of their last six games to date this season. Wayne State, which is led in scoring by junior guard Cherita Smith (12.9 ppg), was 6-20 overall in 2004-05 and placed sixth (3-14) in the GLIAC’s South Division. The Warriors, who are coached by sixth-year head coach Gloria Bradley, were picked to finish sixth in the 2005-06 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Ferris has won seven of the last eight series’ encounters to date.