FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will take part in the fourth annual Quincy/Subway Tipoff Tourney this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 21-22) in QU’s Pepsi Arena at Quincy, Ill. The Bulldogs are slated to face Missouri Western State in Friday’s (Nov. 21) tournament opener at 6 p.m. (EST) while host Quincy squares off against Rockhurst (Mo.) in the 8:15 p.m. nightcap. Saturday’s (Nov. 22) consolation and championship games are set for 3 and 5:15 p.m., respectively.

Season Opener: FSU, which is currently 1-0 overall this season, opened its 30th anniversary campaign with a 67-62 win over Lewis last Saturday (Nov. 15) in LU’s Neil Carey Arena at Romeoville, Ill. Senior forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) paced Ferris with a personal career-high 17 points, sophomore guard Erin Miller (Niles) added 15 points and senior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) chipped in 11 points. FSU improved to 13-17 all-time in season-opening outings with the win.

Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2002-03 campaign with a 15-11 overall mark, which included a fourth-place (tie) 10-8 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. FSU reached the GLIAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and posted its seventh straight 10-win campaign a year ago.

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program has compiled a 339-376 (.474) all-time mark in its 29 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.

Head Coach Tracey Fisk: Sixth-year FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 86-51 (.628) career record 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).

On The Road: Ferris State is 123-92 (.572) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 71-60 (.542) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 38-25 (.603) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Fisk, including a 25-20 (.556) record in conference play.

FSU Picked Third: Ferris State was picked to finish third in the 2003-04 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs totaled 26 points and one first-place vote in the balloting by the GLIAC’s head coaches. Each of the league’s 13 head coaches ranked the teams in their respective divisions, but were not allowed to vote for their own team. The first-place team in the North Division received six points while the second-place team earned four points, etc. The first-place squad in the South Division picked up five points, the second-place team took four points, etc. Grand Valley State was selected as the GLIAC North Division favorite with three first-place votes and 33 points while Wayne State took the top spot in the South Division with 22 points and two first-place votes.

A Look At The Roster: Ferris’ 2003-04 roster includes four seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. Eleven players hail from Michigan with one each from Indiana and the Czech Republic.

Between The Lines: “Between The Lines”, a weekly television program profiling Ferris State University Athletics, airs across northern Michigan on WFQX-Fox 33 every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The 30-minute program is hosted by Phill Mooney and produced in the studios of the University’s cable Channel 7. FSU women’s basketball head coach Tracey Fisk will make appearances throughout the season. The show is also aired locally on the University's cable Channel 7 every Tuesday (7 p.m.) and Wednesday (8 p.m.).

FSU 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 and more.

GLIAC Games On The Air: Ferris’ 2003-04 league games will be carried live by local radio station WBRN-1460 AM. Selected contests can also be accessed live via the internet by clicking on the Bulldog Athletics Webcasts icon at www.ferris.edu/sports.

Glancing At The Bulldogs: Ferris returns eight letterwinners and five starters from last season, including senior captains Lucy DeMartin, Stephanie Benear (Howell), Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) and Molly Potvin. The Bulldogs’ also added five newcomers.

Preseason All-America Pick: Ferris’ Lucy DeMartin has been named to the 2003-04 Women’s Division II Bulletin Preseason Super 16 All-America Team. DeMartin, a 2002-03 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team selection, was also chosen as the publication’s preseason GLIAC Player of the Year. DeMartin's team-leading 20.2 points per game scoring average last season ranked first among the school’s all-time leaders and placed second in the GLIAC’s overall statistical rankings. The two-time (2002-03) GLIAC All-Academic Team pick compiled a school-record 525 points while earning 2002-03 Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Basketball First Team accolades. She posted 26 double-figure scoring outings, including 13 20-plus point performances en route to claiming All-GLIAC North Division First-Team honors a year ago.

Tough Way To Go: Ferris is in the midst of a seven-game season-opening road swing. Twelve of FSU’s first 13 outings are away from home. Ferris has nine home contests this campaign, including its Dec. 11 home opener vs. Lake Superior State at Big Rapids High School.

Bulldog Bites: Sophomore forward/center Darcie Philp (Ubly) grabbed a personal career-high eight rebounds at Lewis which topped her previous best of six versus Saginaw Valley State (2/15/03) ....... Ferris has currently won four of its last six season-openers following Saturday’s victory .......... Lucy DeMartin currently has 1,165 career points and needs 408 more to match Monta Ware’s (1979-83) school-record output of 1,573 points ....... Freshman guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) contributed seven points, seven rebounds and six assists in her collegiate debut at Lewis ........ Molly Potvin’s team-high 17 points at Lewis marked the first time in 30 games Lucy DeMartin, Bridget Horwitz or Erin Miller didn’t lead the Bulldogs in scoring. The last player to accomplish the feat was Debbie Killips (1998-02) with 20 points at Saginaw Valley State (2/16/02) ...... Molly Potvin is 28 points shy of notching her 300th career point and eight rebounds away from attaining her 200th career board ..... Erin Miller needs two rebounds and 14 assists to garner her 100th career marks in both categories ....... Bridget Horwitz did not play at Lewis due to a thumb injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage.

Bulldog Achieve Academic Success: The 2002-03 Bulldog squad was honored for having the nation’s second-highest (tie) cumulative grade point average in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll list. The Bulldogs, who placed among the top 25 teams for the fourth consecutive season, compiled a 3.604 grade point average and shared runner-up kudos with Dowling (N.Y.). Ferris, which previously compiled the nation’s highest gpa (3.534) in 1999-00, also finished 21st (3.313) in 2001-02 and was 20th (3.388) for the 2000-01 academic year.

Up Next: Ferris will take part in the Ashland FirstMerit Classic Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29-30, in AU’s Kates Gymnasium at Ashland, Ohio. FSU will face Slippery Rock (Pa.) in Saturday’s (Nov. 29) opening game and then battle Kentucky Wesleyan Sunday (Nov. 30). Both non-league games are slated for 1 p.m. (EST) starts.

A Look At The Tournament Field:

Missouri Western State: Ferris and Missouri Western State will square off for the first time this Friday. The Griffons compiled a 23-8 overall record in 2002-03 and advanced to the NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament for the seventh consecutive season after posting a third-place 13-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) mark. MWSC, which was picked to finish fourth in the 2003-04 MIAA Preseason Poll, is directed by ninth-year head coach Dave Slifer. Junior guard Carly Lee (9.0 ppg) is the Griffons’ leading returning scorer entering Friday’s season opener. Eldra Paixao, a junior guard, scored a game-high 25 points in an 85-79 home exhibition loss to St. Louis Goldstar last Saturday (Nov. 15).

Quincy: The Bulldogs won the only previous series’ meeting 72-61 in the FSU Clarion Classic (12/4/92). Quincy, which is guided by seventh-year head coach Larry Just, registered a 23-8 mark last season and tied for second place (15-5) in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The Lady Hawks, who were both picked to finish first in the 2003-04 GLVC Preseason Poll and are ranked eighth in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll, opened the season with a 79-51 home win over Truman State (Mo.) last Saturday (Nov. 15). Senior center Courtney VonderHaar (12.2 ppg) is the leading returner from last season. QU reached the 2002-03 NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament.

Rockhurst: FSU has never faced Rockhurst. The Hawks, under head coach Rebecca Morrisey, posted a 6-21 overall record last season including a fifth-place 2-8 Heartland Conference ranking. Senior guard Martina Mihailovic (10.4 ppg) is the squad’s leading returning scorer entering this Tuesday’s (Nov. 18) season-opener at Missouri-Rolla.