FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball squad will visit archrival Grand Valley State for its regular-season finale this Saturday, Feb. 25, with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tipoff set to begin at 6 p.m. (EST) inside GVSU's Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich. The men’s game will follow the women’s contest starting at 8 p.m. (EST).

Media Coverage: Saturday’s outing will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Rob Bentley will handle the play-by-play duties for the contest. The game is tentatively slated to be webcast at www.ferris.edu/sports.

Ticket Info: Tickets for Saturday’s doubleheader can be obtained from the GVSU Athletics Ticket Office. Their phone number is (616) 331-3200. Tickets can also be ordered online at www.starticketsplus.net.

GLIAC Standings: Ferris presently ranks third in the GLIAC North Division with a 12-5 mark .... Grand Valley State is first (16-1) and Michigan Tech second (13-4) in the division entering Saturday’s final day of regular-season play .... Lake Superior State, which has no regular-season games remaining, is one half-game behind Ferris at 12-6 in GLIAC action.

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 year to Ashland 71-70 in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/1/05) at Ashland, Ohio.

League Tourney Scenario: Grand Valley State has claimed the division’s top seed and will host a GLIAC Tourney quarterfinal round game Tuesday (Feb. 28) at 6 p.m. (EST) ........ The division’s other three spots won’t be determined until after Saturday’s play .... If Ferris loses to GVSU Saturday, the Bulldogs will be the division’s fourth seed based on the league’s tiebreaker formula and head right back to Allendale to face the Lakers again Tuesday (Feb. 28) in the GLIAC Tourney ..... If Ferris wins Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs will earn either the division’s second or third seed and square off against Michigan Tech on Tuesday ...... FSU needs a win Saturday along with a Michigan Tech loss the same day at Northern Michigan in order to play host to the Huskies in the quarterfinal-round at Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids ...... A Bulldog win over GVSU combined with a MTU victory at NMU would require the Bulldogs to travel to Michigan Tech for Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.

Senior Day Triumph For FSU: Ferris State sent senior forward Kelly McLaughlin (Clare) off in style with a 70-61 win over Michigan Tech last Saturday (Feb. 18) in league action inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs won the annual Senior Day tilt and captured a win in their final regular-season home outing while avenging a 66-52 setback at Michigan Tech the week prior (Feb. 9). Junior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) led Ferris State with a game-high 19 points. Junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) added 13 points while both sophomore guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) and junior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) chipped in 10 points apiece. McLaughlin, who is FSU's lone senior this season and honored following the contest, tallied eight points and three rebounds in her final home game.

Ferris Beats Wayne State: Ferris State used a solid rebounding effort and a 48.6% (36-74) shooting performance to beat Wayne State 90-71 in league action last Thursday (Feb. 16) evening in Wink Arena. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Warriors 55-42 for the contest. Audrey Thwing led four Bulldog players in double-figure scoring with a game-high 20 points. Erin Miller added 17 points, Kelly McLaughlin netted 11 points and sophomore forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) contributed 10 points along with 10 rebounds for FSU.

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 135-86 (.611) 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 388-411 (.486) 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 10 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 is the only senior on the roster.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 53-22 (.707) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 43-19 (.694) 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.

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 (Jan. 23), Erin Miller (Dec. 5) along with Audrey Thwing, who was the honoree Jan. 16, have all picked up the award this year. Reinhart’s most recent selection represented the second time she has received 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.

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

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. 20) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Miller ranks 17th in three-point field goal percentage (.413) while Reinhart is 24th overall in assists (5.3 apg). As a team, Ferris ranks 10th in free throw percentage (.755), 23rd in scoring offense (75.8 ppg), 28th in field goal percentage (.446) and 35th 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 15 of their last 19 games overall this campaign, including 13 of the last 16 .... This season marks the 10th consecutive year the Bulldogs have won 10 or more games in a season ......... Kristin Reinhart currently has 918 career points and is 82 shy of notching her 1,000th career point ......... Audrey Thwing recorded her 350th career point in last Thursday’s (Feb. 16) win over Wayne State ......... Erin Miller has recorded 10 points or more in 10 of her last 12 games this year. Overall, she has a team-best 21 double-figure scoring efforts this campaign ...... Erin 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 for Academic All-America consideration ..... Saturday’s game at GVSU will be the school’s 800th all-time contest.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed ninth in this week’s (Feb. 22) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) holds two of the top three positions in the women's poll with Grand Valley State leading the GLIAC schools in second place. Lake Superior State is fourth, Michigan Tech sixth, Ashland eighth and Hillsdale 10th as six league schools are included in this week's listing. Drury (Mo.) remains on top of the women's 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. The official bracket and site for the respective regional tournaments will be announced late Sunday evening, March 5th. The winners of both the GLIAC and GLVC postseason tournaments receive automatic bids into the regional field.

A Look At Saturday's Opponent:

Grand Valley State: GVSU holds a 45-21 advantage heading into this Saturday’s 67th encounter. FSU has won three of the last six series’ contests, but dropped a 75-55 decision in the most recent meeting (12/8/05) at Big Rapids, Mich. Grand Valley State is currently 23-3 overall and 16-1 in the GLIAC following Wednesday’s (Feb. 22) 66-58 league home win over Saginaw Valley State. GVSU, which was picked to finish first in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by senior forward Niki Reams (15.8 ppg). The Lakers, who are guided by fourth-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, were 28-6 overall during the 2004-05 campaign and placed tied for first in the GLIAC North Division with a 16-2 mark. The Lakers, who are presently ranked 14th nationally, also advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight last campaign. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 9-7 career coaching record against the Lakers. Ferris, which holds a 7-25 all-time mark versus GVSU in Allendale, dropped both meetings to the Lakers last year. Grand Valley State has currently won its last 12 outings to date this season.