FSU Basketball At A Glance: FSU Basketball At A Glance: The Ferris State University women’s basketball team opens the 2005-06 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with a quarterfinal round game this Tuesday (Feb. 28) at archrival Grand Valley State inside GVSU’s Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (EST). Ferris is seeded fourth in the division with GVSU first.

Media Coverage: Tuesday’s outing will be carried live locally by News Talk 1460 AM (WBRN). Jason DaDay will handle the play-by-play duties for the contest. The game is tentatively slated to be webcast at www.ferris.edu/sports. Additional postseason coverage beyond Tuesday’s contest will be announced later in the week.

Ticket Info: Tickets for Tuesday’s outing can be obtained from the GVSU Athletics Ticket Office. Their phone number is (616) 331-3200. Tickets can also be ordered online at www.starticketsplus.net. The Grand Valley State men’s team will also host a quarterfinal round game Tuesday against Michigan Tech following the women’s contest.

FSU Record: The Bulldogs enter postseason play with an 18-9 overall mark and placed tied for third in the GLIAC North Division with a 12-6 conference regular-season record. FSU and Lake Superior State tied for third place in the division, but the Bulldogs lost the tiebreaker to LSSU in terms of seeding for the league tournament.

Tournament Notes: Ferris has clinched its seventh consecutive and eighth overall GLIAC Tournament berth ......... FSU has posted a 5-7 (.417) record in seven previous tournament bids, including runner-up finishes in 1999-00 and 2003-04 ........ The Bulldogs have reached the semifinal round three different times ....... Ferris is 1-0 all-time versus GVSU in GLIAC Tournament play ...... The Bulldogs fell last year to Ashland 71-70 in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals (3/1/05) at Ashland, Ohio ....... The tournament remains on campus sites this season for the fourth year in a row. Prior to the 2002-03 season, the four previous tournaments were held at a neutral site location, with the final three taking place at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids, Mich ....... The winner of this season’s GLIAC Tournament will receive the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament slated for March 10-13 at a site to be determined.

GLIAC Tourney Field: The other quarterfinal round games include Lake Superior State (#3 seed North) at Michigan Tech (#2 seed North), Wayne State (#4 seed South) at Ashland (#1 seed South) along with Gannon (#3 seed South) at Hillsdale (#2 seed South). The WSU-AU game will take place Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. (EST) with the other two games set for 7 p.m. (EST) starts. The highest remaining seed following Tuesday’s quarterfinals will be selected to host the semifinals/finals Friday and Saturday, March 3-4. GVSU is the top seed overall in the event.

Another Meeting: Ferris State’s trip to Allendale will be its second in four days as the Bulldogs suffered a 69-53 setback to the nationally-ranked Lakers in their regular-season finale Saturday (Feb. 25) evening in GVSU's Fieldhouse Arena. The 14th-ranked Lakers jumped out to a 34-20 halftime edge. FSU cut the lead back to eight points in the final half but could get no closer. Ferris State was paced by junior forward Audrey Thwing (Davison) with 13 points. FSU shot only 37.3% (22-59) from the floor and totaled 18 turnovers in the outing. Ferris was four-of-13 (62.5%) behind the three-point stripe. Erika Ryskamp led GVSU with a game-high 21 points as the Lakers won their 13th-straight contest. Niki Reams added 19 points. GVSU shot 42.3% (22-52) from the floor in the outing and nailed eight-of-18 (44.4%) three-point field goal attempts.

Senior Day Triumph For FSU: Ferris State sent senior forward Kelly McLaughlin (Clare) off in style with a 70-61 win over Michigan Tech last Saturday (Feb. 18) in league action inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs won the annual Senior Day tilt and captured a win in their final home outing. Junior guard Kristin Reinhart (East Lansing) led Ferris State with a game-high 19 points. Junior guard Erin Miller (Niles) added 13 points while both sophomore guard/forward Sam Johns (Allendale) and Audrey Thwing chipped in 10 points apiece. McLaughlin, who is FSU's lone senior this season, tallied eight points and three rebounds in her final home game.

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.

Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk: Eighth-year FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk presently ranks as Ferris’ all-time winningest coach with a current 135-87 (.608) 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 Tourney appearance during the 1999-00 campaign. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at Indianapolis (1997-98).

The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women’s basketball program, which is midst its 32nd season of varsity competition, has compiled a 388-412 (.485) 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 10 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 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 is the only senior on the roster.

Jim Wink Arena: Ferris has recorded a 53-22 (.707) overall record to date in games at Jim Wink Arena, including a 43-19 (.694) 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 172-127 (.575) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 99-85 (.538) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 58-45 (.563) overall in road games under head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk, including a 42-30 (.583) record in GLIAC play.

GLIAC Honors: Ferris State has received the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week Award three times this campaign. Kristin Reinhart (Jan. 23), Erin Miller (Dec. 5) and Audrey Thwing (Jan. 16) have all picked up the award once each this year.

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.

The Team Captains: FSU’s Kelly McLaughlin, Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart have been named the Bulldogs’ team captains for the 2005-06 campaign.

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 the program’s second-ever 20-win campaign.

Ferris School Records: Ferris’ made 17 three-pointers and 39 attempts beyond the arc versus Lewis (Ill.) in the FSU Holiday Classic (Dec. 21) both surpassed previous school records ......... The Bulldogs also set a new school record with 31 assists at home against Northwood (Dec. 1).

National Stats: FSU’s Erin Miller and Kristin Reinhart are both found in the latest (Feb. 20) NCAA-II National Statistical leaders. Miller ranks 17th in three-point field goal percentage (.413) while Reinhart is 24th overall in assists (5.3 apg). As a team, Ferris ranks 10th in free throw percentage (.755), 23rd in scoring offense (75.8 ppg), 28th in field goal percentage (.446) and 35th in three-point percentage (.356).

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.

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: The Bulldogs have won 15 of their last 20 games overall this campaign, including 13 of the last 17 .... This season marks the 10th consecutive year the Bulldogs have won 10 or more games in a season ......... Kristin Reinhart currently has 924 career points and is 76 shy of notching her 1,000th career point ......... Erin Miller has recorded 10 points or more in 10 of her last 13 games this year. Overall, she has a team-best 21 double-figure scoring efforts this campaign ...... Erin Miller was recently (Feb. 9) named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Women’s Basketball First Team and is now eligible for Academic All-America consideration ..... Saturday’s game at GVSU was the school’s 800th all-time contest.

Regional Rankings: FSU was listed ninth in last week’s (Feb. 22) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) held two of the top three positions in the women's poll with Grand Valley State leading the GLIAC schools in second place. Lake Superior State is fourth, Michigan Tech sixth, Ashland eighth and Hillsdale 10th as six league schools are included in the latest listing. Drury (Mo.) remains on top of the women's poll, which will be used to help determine the eight-team field for the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championships (March 10-13) at the end of the campaign. The official bracket and site for the respective regional tournaments will be announced late Sunday evening, March 5th. The winners of both the GLIAC and GLVC postseason tournaments receive automatic bids into the regional field.

A Look At Tuesday's Matchup:

Series Information: GVSU holds a 46-21 advantage heading into this Tuesday's 68th encounter. FSU has won three of the last seven series’ contests, but dropped a 69-53 decision in the most recent meeting Saturday (Feb. 25) in Allendale, Mich. FSU also fell to the Lakers 75-55 earlier this season (12/8/05) at Big Rapids, Mich. FSU head coach Tracey Bloodworth-Fisk currently has a 9-8 career coaching record against the Lakers. Ferris holds a 7-26 all-time mark versus GVSU in Allendale.

About The Lakers: Grand Valley State is currently 24-3 overall and 17-1 in the GLIAC following Saturday’s triumph. GVSU, which was picked to finish first in the 2005-06 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll, is led in scoring by senior forward Niki Reams (15.8 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 14th nationally, also advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight last campaign. Grand Valley State has currently won its last 13 outings to date this season. GVSU also beat FSU twice during the 2004-05 campaign.