FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance - FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will take part in the Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) Classic this weekend (Dec. 14-15) at SJC’s Richard F. Scharf Gymnasium in Rensselaer, Ind. The Bulldogs will battle the Wisconsin-Parkside Lady Rangers this Saturday (Dec. 14) in a 4 p.m. (EST) non-league tilt. FSU will then face the Saint Joseph’s Pumas in non-conference action this Sunday (Dec. 15) at 4:15 p.m. (EST). Ferris, which is presently 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action, is in the midst of a seven-game road stretch.

Ferris Splits Two Games - Ferris dropped an 82-74 league decision to the Gannon Knights last Thursday (Dec. 5) at GU’s Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. The Bulldogs then defeated the Mercyhurst Lakers 74-68 last Saturday (Dec. 7) in league play at MC’s Athletic Center in Erie. Junior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) tallied a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds against the Lakers while junior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) netted 21 points. DeMartin recorded a game-high 21 points at Gannon. Freshman guard Erin Miller (Niles) added a personal career-high 19 points versus the Knights while Horwitz totaled 13 points and 13 rebounds.

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 327-366 (.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.

Hitting The Road Again - Ferris State is 111-82 (.575) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 63-54 (.538) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 31-20 (.608) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 21-17 (.553) record in conference play.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk - Fifth-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk has a current career coaching record of 74-41 (.643) 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).

GLIAC Player Of The Week - Bridget Horwitz has been selected this week's GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for her performance in FSU’s two outings last week. Horwitz joins Lucy DeMartin as the second Bulldog player to earn the honor this season. DeMartin claimed the award last week (Dec. 2). The 6-2 Horwitz led Ferris with 38 points, 26 rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocked shots. She averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds in the two games while shooting 56 percent (15-27) from the floor. Horwitz, a 2001-02 All-GLIAC Second-Team pick, totaled a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds at Mercyhurst while adding 13 points and 13 rebounds at Gannon. Horwitz has posted five consecutive double-double (scoring and rebounding) performances to date this campaign and has an active 13-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to last season. She is averaging a team-high 12.6 rebounds per game and ranks second among Ferris' scoring leaders at 18.2 points per game.

DeMartin Notches 700th Point - Lucy DeMartin notched her 700th career point at Gannon and currently needs 24 points to move into a tie for 19th place with Andi Fron (763; 1982-86) on the school’s career scoring list. DeMartin, who presently ranks third (.824; 182-221) 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 eighth (.342; 41-120) among Ferris’ career three-point field goal percentage leaders to date and is one trey 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 (22.0 ppg), has scored 10 points or more in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season. She has 189 career rebounds to date and is 11 shy of attaining her 200th career rebound.

Bulldog Bites - Junior forward Stephanie Benear (Howell) garnered her 150th career point at Gannon while sophomore forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) notched her 75th career rebound versus the Knights ... Ferris improved to 3-2 all-time versus the Lakers at Erie with last Saturday's victory ...... The Bulldogs are 11-3 in Saturday games since the start of the 2001-02 campaign ......... Lucy DeMartin has scored 21 points in each of her last three outings and is averaging 23.3 points per game during her last four contests ........ FSU's top three season scoring leaders (DeMartin, Bridget Horwitz, & Erin Miller) have accounted for 264 of the squad's 380 total points (69%) this season ........ FSU head coach Tracey Fisk is 1-1 overall versus her sister, first-year Gannon assistant coach Andrea Bloodworth. Fisk guided Ferris to a 76-65 win (11/17/01) over Bloodworth's former school, Armstrong Atlantic State, at the Chatham Orthopaedics Tipoff Classic in Savannah, Ga. Bloodworth served as a Bulldog volunteer assistant coach during the 1998-99 campaign ..... The 2002-03 campaign marks the fourth time in school history FSU has won at least four of its first five games. The Bulldogs also accomplished the feat in 1987-88 (4-1), 1993-94 (5-0), 1998-99 (4-1) and 2000-01 (4-1) ....... Sophomore forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Area) needs five points to garner her 50th career point .... Sophomore guard Lindsey Kohn (Belding) has scored 76 career points to date and is 24 shy of attaining her 100th career point.

Horwitz 10 Blocks Shy - Bridget Horwitz currently has 62 career blocked shots and needs eight more to tie Heather Rosneck (70; 1995-99) for second place on Ferris' career blocks chart. She has 377 career rebounds to date and is 26 shy of tying Terri Fraser (403; 1978-82) for 18th place among the school’s career leaders. 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 (.478; 279-584) on FSU’s career field goal percentage chart, recorded her 13th career double-double performance at Mercyhurst. Horwitz has presently led Ferris in rebounding in all five games this campaign.

Against The Opponents - Ferris State will take part in the Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) Classic this weekend in Rensselaer, Ind.

Wisconsin-Parkside: Ferris holds a 3-0 series edge entering this Saturday’s meeting with Wisconsin-Parkside and defeated the Lady Rangers 63-51 in the last meeting (12/13/96) at Kenosha, Wis. UWP, which is coached by first-year interim head coach Jenny Knight, is presently 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play after last Saturday’s (Dec. 7) 65-46 win at Missouri-St. Louis. The Lady Rangers, who compiled a 9-16 overall record and a seventh-place 9-11 GLVC mark in 2001-02, have dropped two of their last three outings and haven’t posted a winning season since 1990-91 (14-12). Senior forward Sammy Kromm presently ranks as UWP’s leading scorer (15.7 ppg). Two of Ferris’ series wins came at Big Rapids, Mich.

Saint Joseph’s: The Pumas maintain a 2-1 series advantage heading into this Sunday’s meeting. However, FSU defeated Saint Joseph’s 77-61 in the last meeting (12/20/01) at Big Rapids. MC is presently 4-2 overall and 2-2 in GLVC action going into this Saturday’s (Dec. 14) non-conference home contest versus Lake Superior State as a result of dropping a 93-69 decision last Saturday (Dec. 7) at Southern Indiana. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently has a 1-0 career coaching record against the Pumas, who have dropped two consecutive games to date. SJC, which is led in scoring by junior forward Heather Allen (18.0 ppg), was 9-18 overall in 2001-02 and placed eighth (8-12) in the GLVC. The two teams have never faced each other in Rensselaer, Ind.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will square off against the Lewis (Ill.) Flyers Wednesday, Dec. 18, in a 4:30 p.m. (EST) non-league encounter at LU’s Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill.

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.