FSU Women’s Basketball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s basketball team will take part in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)/Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Challenge, Dec. 28-29, at Southern Indiana’s Physical Activities Center in Evansville, Ind. The Bulldogs will battle the Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Cougars Saturday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m. (EST). FSU will then face the host Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles Sunday, Dec. 29, with tipoff slated for 5 p.m. (EST). Ferris, which is presently 5-3 overall and 2-1 in league action, is in the midst of a seven-game road stretch.

Ferris Falls At Lewis - Ferris dropped a 72-67 non-league road decision to the Lewis (Ill.) Flyers last Wednesday (Dec. 18) at LU’s Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, Ill. Junior forward/center Bridget Horwitz (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) tallied a game-high 35 points while junior guard Lucy DeMartin (Mason) added 13 points along with a personal career-high 10 assists. Freshman guard Erin Miller (Niles) added 10 points.

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. Senior forward Patti Larson (Kalkaska) and sophomore forward Molly Potvin (Lansing/Catholic Central) are Ferris’ 2002-03 team captains. Ten letterwinners and three starters return this season.

The Bulldog Tradition - The Ferris State women’s basketball program has compiled a 328-368 (.471) 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 112-84 (.571) overall since 1995-96 and sports a 64-56 (.533) record in road/neutral site contests during that span. The Bulldogs are 32-21 (.604) 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 75-43 (.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 1999-00 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).

DeMartin Registers 800th Point - Lucy DeMartin, who has been selected the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week twice this campaign, registered her 800th career point at Lewis. DeMartin, who has scored 10 points or more in 13 consecutive games dating back to last season, currently ranks as FSU’s leading scorer (21.4 ppg). She has led Ferris in scoring in five of the last seven outings to date.

Great Outing For Horwitz - Bridget Horwitz, a 2001-02 All-GLIAC Second-Team pick, totaled a personal career-high 35 points at Lewis. Her previous career-best of 28 points was recorded last season at Wayne State (1/5/02). The 6-2 Horwitz currently has an active 16-game double-figure scoring streak dating back to last season. She is averaging a team-high 10.1 rebounds per game and ranks second among Ferris' scoring leaders at 18.6 points per game. Horwitz’s 35 points at Lewis were the most recorded by a FSU player since Jodi Raab totaled a school-record output of 46 points against Wayne State (2/6/93). The only other player in school history to score 35 points or more in a single-game was Tanya Johnson, who had 37 versus Wayne State (2/7/76).

DeMartin Eight Points Shy - Lucy DeMartin presently has scored 800 career points and needs eight more to move into a 16th-place tie with Carrie Roys (808; 1996-00) on FSU's career scoring leaders list. DeMartin, who attained her 200th career board against the Flyers, presently has scored 20 points or more in five of her last seven outings and is averaging 22 points per game during that span. She ranks seventh (.353; 47-133) among Ferris’ career three-point field goal percentage leaders to date and is one three-point basket shy of tying Lori Young (48; 1992-94) for 12th place on Ferris' all-time chart. DeMartin, who currently ranks third (.820; 191-233) on the school’s career free throw percentage chart, presently has 178 career assists and needs 14 more to tie Marian Glanza (192; 1987-91) for 11th place among FSU’s career leaders. She has 94 career steals to date and is 31 short of matching Jill Thayer’s (125; 1994-98) 10th-place career total. Bulldog Bites - Bridget Horwitz totaled 13 made field goals at Lewis, which was three shy of matching the school record (16) set by Ola Earvin versus Florida Southern (12/31/93) ....... The Bulldogs’ top three season scoring leaders (Lucy DeMartin, Horwitz, & Erin Miller) have accounted for 427 of the squad's 606 total points (71%) this season. No other Bulldog player has reached double-figure scoring this season ........... Sophomore forward Sarah Duesing (Sault Ste. Marie/Sault Area) is one point shy of notching 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 ........ Junior forward Stephanie Benear (Howell) needs eight more rebounds to notch her 150th career board and 33 points to garner her 200th career point ....... Sophomore forward Molly Potvin posted a personal career-high four steals at Lewis ........ Lucy DeMartin’s 10 assists at Lewis were the most recorded by a Bulldog player since Debbie Killips totaled the same figure against Lake Superior State (1/26/02).

Horwitz Needs Five More - Bridget Horwitz currently has 65 career blocked shots and needs five more to tie Heather Rosneck (70; 1995-99) for second place on Ferris' career blocks chart. She has 395 career rebounds to date and is eight 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 (.476; 299-628) on FSU’s career field goal percentage chart, recorded her 13th career double-double performance at Mercyhurst (12/7). Horwitz has presently led Ferris in rebounding in all eight games this campaign.

Miller Ranks Third - Erin Miller, who presently ranks as FSU’s third-leading scorer (13.4) this campaign, has posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games. The 5-7 Miller currently is shooting 52-percent (14-27) from three-point range and has started all eight games this campaign. She has scored 10 points or more five times this season.

Against The Opponent - Ferris State will face Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Southern Indiana at the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge in Evansville, Ind.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville: Ferris holds a 2-1 series edge and defeated the Cougars 64-55 in the last meeting (12/19/99) at Edwardsville, Ill. SIUE, which is coached by 24th-year head coach Wendy Hedberg, is presently 4-3 overall and 2-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play after this past Thursday’s (Dec. 19) 91-57 non-league home win over Illinois-Springfield. The Cougars, who compiled a 14-13 overall record and a fourth-place 12-8 GLVC mark in 2001-02, have won three consecutive outings to date. Senior forward Ruth Kipping presently ranks as Southern Illinois-Edwardsville’s leading scorer (22.4 ppg).

Southern Indiana: The Screaming Eagles maintain a 4-0 series advantage heading into the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge. USI defeated Ferris 83-78 in the last meeting (12/30/01) at Big Rapids. USI is presently 4-4 overall and 2-2 in GLVC action going into this Friday’s (Dec. 20) non-conference contest at Michigan Tech as a result of winning a 93-70 home decision this past Tuesday (Dec. 17) against Illinois-Springfield. FSU head coach Tracey Fisk presently has a 0-2 career coaching record against the Screaming Eagles, who have won three consecutive games to date. USI, which is led in scoring by junior forward Shajuan Lindsey (15.3 ppg), was 27-6 overall in 2001-02 and placed second (16-4) in the GLVC.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will host the Hillsdale Chargers in GLIAC action Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. (EST) at FSU’s Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. FSU will then face the Wayne State Warriors in a 1 p.m. (EST) home league outing Saturday, Jan. 4, 2003.

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.