FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State women’s basketball team will host its West Michigan archrival in nationally-ranked Grand Valley State Thursday, Dec. 8, for a 6 p.m. (EST) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) encounter in FSU’s Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. GVSU currently holds a 2-0 league mark while the Bulldogs are 1-1 in conference play. The first 1,000 students attending the games will receive a free FSU "Beat Valley" t-shirt.

Media Coverage: Thursday’s game will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Jason DaDay will handle the play-by-play duties for Thursday’s coverage. No Ferris webcast is slated to be available due to other programming conflicts.

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 identification card.

Ferris Wins Opener: Ferris State sprinted out to a nine-point halftime edge and totaled 61 points in the final period to defeat Northwood 102-85 last Thursday (Dec. 1) evening in FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The contest was Ferris' 2005-06 home opener as well as the initial GLIAC encounter of the season for both teams. Junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) scored a game-high 27 points and had seven assists for FSU while junior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) added 23 points along with seven assists. FSU also received a personal career-high 20 points from junior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison).

FSU Falls On The Road: FSU dropped a 76-67 decision to Saginaw Valley State in league action last Saturday (Dec. 3) at University Center, Mich. The Cardinals, who had lost the previous 13 series' meetings to Ferris, led 38-28 at halftime and held on for the victory. FSU fell to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the GLIAC while SVSU improved to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Cardinals received a game-high 24 points from Kali Briggs while Kara Kinzer chipped in 21 points. Audrey Thwing led the Bulldogs with 16 points, Erin Miller netted 15 points and Kristin Reinhart totaled 13 points. Ferris shot only 29.1% (23-79) from the floor and allowed the Cardinals to convert 30-of-66 (45.5%) field goal attempts.

FSU Wins Tourney: Ferris opened the season with a 2-0 mark capturing the McCarthy & Sons Aquinas College Classic (Nov. 18-19) in Grand Rapids, Mich. FSU defeated Indiana-South Bend 72-47 in Friday’s (Nov. 18) opener before defeating host Aquinas 90-83 in Saturday’s (Nov. 19) title contest. Three Bulldog players were named to the McCarthy & Sons Aquinas College Classic All-Tournament Team. Kristin Reinhart earned tournament Most Valuable Player Award recognition while Erin Miller and sophomore forward/center Rachel Folcik (Powers/Carney-Nadeau) both attained all-tournament team kudos.

FSU Drops Exhibition: Nationally-ranked NCAA Division I power Notre Dame forced 31 turnovers in a 96-45 exhibition game victory over visiting Ferris State on Nov. 10 before a crowd of 5,421 in the Joyce Center at South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish, who were ranked 15th in the Associated Press Division I Preseason Poll, jumped out to a 41-24 halftime advantage and outscored the Bulldogs 55-21 in the final half. FSU scored the game's opening five points and remained within striking distance for most the of the opening half before Notre Dame went on a 29-6 run to begin the final period.

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 120-81 (.597) 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 will open its 32nd season of varsity competition, has compiled a 373-406 (.479) 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 team captains for the 2005-06 campaign.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 45-19 (.703) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 37-17 (.685) 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 157-121 (.565) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 92-82 (.529) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 52-42 (.553) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 37-27 (.578) record in GLIAC play.

School Record: Ferris set a new school record with 31 assists in last Thursday’s win over Northwood. The previous school record of 30 assists was set against Olivet in 1988-89 (12/3).

Ferris Quick Notes: Ferris tied a school record this year with 13 made three-point field goals against St. Mary’s (Texas) in the Texas A&M-Kingsville Holiday Inn Emerald Beach Turkey Day Shootout (Nov. 25). The Bulldogs previously hit 13 treys at Westminster (Pa.) in 1998-99 (12/3) ........... The game versus Northwood represented head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk’s 200th contest at the Bulldog helm ........... Ferris has won 12 of its last 15 home-opening outings to date following the win over Northwood. The Bulldogs previously lost their home opener in both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns.

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.

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.

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.

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 their fifth consecutive conference tournament berth and 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.

The Staff: Head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk returns her top assistant coach for the fourth year in 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.

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: Prior to the win over Northwood, Ferris had not scored 100 or more points at home since registering a 110-73 victory over Saginaw Valley State in the 1999-00 campaign (2/5/00) ......... FSU’s Erin Miller has totaled 19 points or more in four of her last five outings to date this campaign, including two 27-point efforts during the stretch ......... The Bulldogs have presently won five of their last six league-opening games following last Thursday’s victory. FSU also improved to 6-7 (.462) overall in its last 13 initial conference tilts ............ Saturday’s loss at Saginaw Valley State ended FSU’s 13-game series’ winning streak over the Cardinals ............. The Bulldogs matched a school-record with 29 three-point attempts in Saturday’s loss at Saginaw Valley State.

GLIAC Player Of The Week: FSU’s Erin Miller was selected this week's (Dec. 5) GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for her performance in the Bulldogs' two outings last week. She is the first FSU women's player to attain league weekly award accolades this season. Miller averaged 21 points, 6.5 assists, five rebounds and two steals as the Bulldogs split two league outings.

Nearing The Mark: Ferris’ Erin Miller has tallied 983 career points to date and is 17 shy of notching her 1,000th career point. Miller returned 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.

A Look At Thursday's Opponent:

Grand Valley State: GVSU holds a 44-21 advantage heading into this Thursday’s 66th encounter. FSU has won three of the last five series’ contests, but dropped a 68-56 decision in the most recent meeting (2/7/05) at Big Rapids, Mich. Grand Valley State is currently 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the GLIAC following Saturday’s (Dec. 3) 75-54 league home win over Northwood. GVSU, which was picked to finish first in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by senior guard/forward Niki Reams (13.1 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 ninth nationally, also advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight last campaign. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 9-6 career coaching record against the Lakers. Ferris, which holds a 13-18 all-time mark versus GVSU in Big Rapids, dropped both meetings to the Lakers last year.