FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will open the 2002-03 campaign this Saturday (Nov. 23) versus Saint Francis (Ind.) in a 1 p.m. (EST) non-league contest at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

The Season Ahead - 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. Senior forward Patti Larson (Kalkaska) and sophomore forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) will serve as the Bulldogs’ 2002-03 team captains. The biggest graduation loss was 2001-02 First-Team All-GLIAC North Division selection Debbie Killips. Killips, the school’s career assists leader with 322 total, led the Bulldogs in scoring (15.5 ppg) last season.

The Bulldog Tradition - The Ferris State women’s basketball program has compiled a 323-365 (.469) 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.

FSU Drops Exhibition Game - Ferris dropped an 89-64 exhibition contest last Saturday (Nov. 16) to NCAA Division I Kent State at KSU’s Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio. Junior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) tallied a game-high 26 points to lead the Bulldogs while junior forward Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) added 11 points and freshman guard Erin Miller (Niles) had 10. FSU held a 31-30 halftime advantage before the Golden Flashes responded with 59 second-half points.

Ferris Picked Fifth In Preseason Poll - Ferris State was picked to finish fifth in the 2002-03 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released last Wednesday (Nov. 13). The Bulldogs tallied 16 total points. Lake Superior State, the defending league champion and NCAA-II Tournament participant, was the North Division favorite with 36 points and six first-place votes. Northern Michigan finished second (30 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. Hillsdale was selected to repeat in the South Division with four first-place votes and 24 points.

A Look At The Bulldogs - The return of eight letterwinners from last season’s 14-12 squad, the debut of five promising freshmen and the addition of co-captains Patti Larson and Molly Potvin, both of whom missed the majority of last season with knee injuries, provide FSU head coach Tracey Fisk with numerous options heading into the 28th season of Bulldog women’s basketball. Ferris’ interior attack is expected to be keyed by returning second-team 2001-02 All-GLIAC North Division center Bridget Horwitz, who tallied 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. In the backcourt, the Bulldogs will rely heavily on sophomore Lucy DeMartin, a second-team 2001-02 Verizon Academic All-District IV pick. She scored 14.2 points and grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game last year while starting 24 contests. The Bulldogs will play eight of their first 10 outings away from home, including a seven-game stretch covering the entire month of December. Twenty-three of Ferris’ 25 regular-season contests are against Great Lakes Region opponents with the exceptions being this Saturday’s home opener versus NAIA member Saint Francis and next Wednesday’s, Nov. 27, trip to NCAA Division I Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Tough Place To Play - Ferris State is presently 26-8 (.765) overall in three seasons at Jim Wink Arena. 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. The Bulldogs compiled a 127-125 overall mark in 24 seasons of action at the Old Jim Wink Arena (1974-98). FSU, which won its first 14 games in the new arena and was 9-0 at home during the inaugural 1999-2000 campaign, is currently 5-2 (.714) in non-league outings and 21-6 (.778) in GLIAC play at the new Jim Wink Arena.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk - Fifth-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk has a current career coaching record of 70-40 (.636) 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 1999-2000 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).

Bulldog Bites - Ferris head coach Tracey Fisk needs two more wins to tie Lori Hyman (72-86; 1989-95) for second place on the school's career coaching victory list ...... Lucy DeMartin currently ranks second (.837; 159-190) on the school’s career free throw percentage chart. DeMartin 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 .......... Senior center Ann Platz (Benton Harbor/Watervliet Grace Christian) has 16 career blocks to date and is seven shy of tying Jeanette Banach (23; 1988-92) for 10th place on Ferris’ career blocks leaders list ........... Justin Rees, who spent the past three seasons (1999-02) as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Teikyo Post (Conn.), will serve as Fisk’s assistant coach this campaign. He replaced Brent Brown, who accepted an assistant coaching position at NCAA-I Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis (IUPUI) ..... Ferris placed 21st nationally in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 2001-02 Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list with a 3.313 team grade point average.

Horwitz Climbing Up List - Bridget Horwitz presently has 58 career blocked shots and needs 12 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 currently ranks eighth (.475; 244-514) on FSU’s career field goal percentage chart.

29th Season Opener - Ferris State will open its 29th season this Saturday against Saint Francis. The Bulldogs, who have split their last four season openers, have an all-time mark of 11-17 in opening games. FSU last won its first game in 2000-01 (11/18) when the Bulldogs defeated Missouri-St. Louis 87-68 at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena. The win represented Ferris’ first opening day home victory since the 1997-98 campaign. The Bulldogs have won five of their past seven openers, including a 2-2 mark (.500) under head coach Tracey Fisk. FSU has emerged victorious in 10 of its last 11 initial home games and has won three consecutive home debuts.

Saint Francis Preview - Ferris State holds a 1-0 series advantage heading into this Saturday’s meeting with Saint Francis. In the only previous meeting (12/15/01) between the two teams, the Bulldogs captured a 72-67 win at USF’s Hutzell Athletic Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. Debbie Killips tallied a game-high 19 points while Bridget Horwitz added 12 points and 11 rebounds for FSU. The Cougars are presently 4-3 overall heading into this Wednesday’s (Nov. 20) 7 p.m. (EST) home game against Cornerstone after registering an 80-70 win over Robert Morris (Ill.) in the Power Sports Border Tournament Championship last Saturday (Nov. 16) in Chicago, Ill. USF, which has won four consecutive outings to date, is coached by second-year head coach Gary Andrews. Saint Francis has advanced to the NAIA-II Elite Eight the last six seasons and was the 1998-99 NAIA National Runner-up.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will battle the Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons next Wednesday (Nov. 27) in a 7 p.m. (EST) non-league contest at IPFW’s Hilliard Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. FSU then hosts the Findlay Oilers next Saturday (Nov. 30) in its GLIAC opener at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Start time is 1 p.m. (EST).

FSU Ticket Prices - Individual game tickets to all FSU home basketball games can be obtained at the door or by calling the Bulldog ticket office at (231) 591-2888. Adult tickets are $5 and student tickets are $3. A family pass can be purchased for $10. Ferris State faculty/staff ticket prices are $4. Special group pricing is available for groups of 20 or more.

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.