FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will visit the Gannon Knights this Thursday (Dec. 5) for a 6 p.m. (EST) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest at GU’s Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. The Bulldogs will then battle the Mercyhurst Lakers this Saturday (Dec. 7) in a 1 p.m. (EST) league encounter at MC’s Athletic Center in Erie.

Ferris Wins Two More Games - Ferris defeated NCAA Division I Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne 85-84 last Wednesday (Nov. 27) at IPFW’s Hilliard Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. FSU then handed Findlay a 72-57 setback in its 2002-03 GLIAC home opener last Saturday (Nov. 30) at Ferris’ Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Junior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) totaled a game-high 30 points and nailed the winning three-point basket with nine seconds remaining in the win at IPFW. She also led Ferris with 21 points versus Findlay while freshman guard Erin Miller (Niles) added a career-high 18 points. Junior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) posted her third consecutive double-double performance against the Oilers with 11 points and 12 rebounds after registering 23 points at 10 rebounds at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Last Season - Ferris State finished the 2001-02 campaign with a 14-12 overall mark, including a fourth-place 10-8 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. The Bulldogs advanced to the GLIAC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Ten letterwinners and three starters return this season.

The Bulldog Tradition - The Ferris State women’s basketball program has compiled a 326-365 (.472) all-time mark in its 28 previous campaigns. The Bulldogs won the GLIAC North Division crown, advanced to the 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 ranked among the nation’s top 25 academic teams four consecutive seasons.

Ferris Picked Fifth In Preseason Poll - Ferris State was picked to finish fifth in the 2002-03 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs tallied 16 total points. The league's 13 head coaches participated in the balloting, but were not allowed to vote for their teams. The first-place team on each ballot received six points while the second received five points, etc.

On The Road Again - Ferris State is 110-81 (.576) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 62-53 (.539) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 30-19 (.612) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 20-16 (.556) record in conference play.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk - Fifth-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk has a current career coaching record of 73-40 (.646) at Ferris State. A 1996 graduate of Western Michigan, Fisk guided Ferris State to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. Prior to FSU, Fisk spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at the University of Indianapolis (1997-98).

Horwitz 10 Blocks Shy - Bridget Horwitz presently has 60 career blocked shots and needs 10 more to tie Heather Rosneck (70; 1995-99) for second place on Ferris’ career blocks leaders list. The 6-2 Horwitz posted the school’s third-best single-season scoring average (15.0 ppg) by a Bulldog sophomore during the 2001-02 campaign. She also placed fifth among the program’s sophomores in single-season rebounds (8.8 rpg) while compiling a team-best eight double-double (scoring & rebounding) performances. Horwitz, who currently ranks eighth (.474; 264-557) on FSU’s career field goal percentage chart, recorded her 11th career double-double performance against Findlay. She has an active 11-game double-figure scoring streak.

DeMartin Needs Three Points - Lucy DeMartin presently has 697 career points and is three points shy of notching her 700th career point. The 5-9 DeMartin needs 25 points to move into a tie for 20th place with Amy Pickard (722; 1996-00) on the school’s career scoring list. DeMartin, who currently ranks second (.833; 170-204) on the school’s career free throw percentage chart, recorded the program’s fifth-best single-season free throw percentage mark (.853; 93-109) and sixth-best made free throw total (93) in 2001-02. She ranks seventh (.348; 39-112) among Ferris’ career three-point field goal percentage leaders to date and is three treys short of tying Jill Thayer (42; 1994-98) for 13th place on the school’s career made three-point field goal chart. DeMartin, who presently ranks as FSU’s leading scorer (22.7 ppg), has scored 10 points or more in eight consecutive games dating back to last season. She has 177 career rebounds to date and is 23 shy of attaining her 200th career rebound.

Great Start For Ferris - The 2002-03 campaign marks the first time since 1993-94 and only the second time in school history FSU has opened a season 3-0. The 1993-94 Bulldogs won their first eight games before finishing the year with a 15-11 record.

Bulldog Bites - Ferris head coach Tracey Fisk surpassed Lori Hyman (72-86; 1989-95) for second place on the school's career coaching victory list with two wins last week ...... Bridget Horwitz, a 2001-02 All-GLIAC Second-Team North Division honoree, has 351 career rebounds to date and is 52 shy of tying Terri Fraser (403; 1978-82) for 18th place among the school’s career leaders .... Junior forward Stephanie Benear (Howell) needs four points to garner her 150th career point ........ Lucy DeMartin tied a personal career-high with 30 points against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. The 5-9 DeMartin also totaled 30 points in last season’s 70-64 win at Grand Valley State (2/11). She registered her 150th career assist in the win over Findlay ........ Erin Miller was 10-of-10 from the free throw line versus Findlay and was three short of tying Bonnie Fetterley’s school-record performance (13-13) against Michigan Tech (2/12/87) ...... Sophomore forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) is two rebounds shy of notching her 75th career board ....... Ferris’ 21 steals versus the Oilers were its most since totaling 23 against Ashland (12/2/00) ....... FSU’s top three season scoring leaders (DeMartin, Horwitz and Miller) have accounted for 156 of the squad’s 232 total points (67%) this season ....... The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 in regular-season action under Fisk versus NCAA-I opponents with the win at IPFW. Ferris also registered a 67-60 win at Central Michigan in 1999-00 (12/29). FSU dropped an 89-64 exhibition decision earlier this season (11/16) at Kent State (Ohio) after holding a 31-30 halftime advantage ....... Fisk’s sister, former FSU volunteer assistant coach Andrea Bloodworth (1998-99), is in her first season as Gannon’s top assistant coach. Bloodworth spent the 2001-02 campaign as an assistant coach at Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) before joining the Knights this past summer. Fisk guided Ferris to a 76-65 win last season (11/17) over Bloodworth’s Armstrong Atlantic State squad at AASU’s Chatham Orthopaedics Tipoff Classic in Savannah, Ga. ...... Second-year Mercyhurst head coach Kevin “Bo” Kuntz formerly served as a Bulldog assistant coach under Lori Hyman and Dana Munk from 1993-96.

Against The Opponents - Ferris State will visit Gannon and Mercyhurst for two league games this week.

Gannon: Ferris holds a 6-2 series edge entering this Thursday’s meeting at Gannon and has won five of the last six contests. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk currently has a 4-1 career coaching record against the Knights and led the Bulldogs to an 83-73 home win in the last meeting (12/6/01). Gannon, which is coached by first-year head coach Cleve Wright, is presently 3-2 overall entering this Thursday’s league opener after last Sunday’s (Dec. 1) 69-67 win over Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) at the FirstMerit Classic in Ashland, Ohio. The Knights, who compiled a 20-8 overall record in 2001-02, were picked to finish fourth in the 2002-03 GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll despite their second-place 11-6 league finish a season ago. Junior guard Kelly Irwin presently ranks as GU’s leading scorer (13.2 ppg). Ferris is 2-2 all-time against Gannon at the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa.

Mercyhurst: The Bulldogs maintain a 6-2 series advantage heading into this Saturday’s meeting and defeated Mercyhurst 90-69 in the last meeting (12/8/01) at Big Rapids. MC is presently 1-3 overall going into this Monday’s (Dec. 2) non-conference contest at Edinboro (Pa.) and this Thursday’s (Dec. 5) GLIAC home opener versus Grand Valley State as a result of dropping a 73-63 decision last Saturday (Nov. 30) to California (Pa.) at MC’s Athletic Center. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently has a 3-1 career coaching record against the Lakers. Mercyhurst, which is led in scoring by junior forward Krista Ross (15.3 ppg), was 6-20 overall in 2001-02 and placed sixth in the GLIAC’s South Division. The Lakers hold a 2-2 all-time mark versus Ferris in Erie and were picked to finish sixth in this season’s league coaches poll.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will take part in the Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) Classic at SJC’s Richard F. Scharf Gymnasium in Rensselaer, Ind., next weekend (Dec. 14-15). FSU will battle the Wisconsin-Parkside Lady Rangers Saturday, Dec. 14, in a 4 p.m. (EST) non-league contest. The Bulldogs then face the Saint Joseph’s Pumas Sunday, Dec. 15, starting at 4:15 p.m. (EST).

Ferris 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, schedules and the latest results.