March 27, 2024

‘Just getting rolling’: Ferris State women’s basketball team reflects on season, tough loss in NCAA DII National Tournament semifinals

The Ferris State University women’s basketball team members say they’re proud they reached the NCAA DII Final Four for the first time – but say they believe the team has the potential to return to the upper echelons of the tournament in the years to come.

The Bulldogs fell to Texas Women’s University in the NCAA DII National Semifinals on Wednesday. TWU, the tournament’s second seed, moved out to a 25-16 lead by the end of the first quarter, then was in front 39-22 at the half, finishing the game 68-52 to advance to the national finals.

Bulldogs went into the contest with a 26-6 record and celebrated a historic run that included the Ferris State men’s and women’s teams reaching the Elite Eight round of the tournament for the first time together. The men’s team fell to Minnesota State University on Tuesday in Evansville, Indiana.

“We hoped to do more and hoped to get the win. But this program is just getting rolling,” said senior forward Chloe Idoni, a Fenton native. “We’re happy we are a part of starting it, and hopefully we’re starting a legacy that is the new standard.”

Head Coach Kurt Westendorp said that’s the kind of determination and commitment he grew to expect from his team.

“The chemistry and the way they bought into each other, that’s not something you always see,” he said after the game. “It’s March 27 and we’re still playing basketball games. We are as energized as ever.  That’s a sign of group that likes to be around each other and brings out the best in each other.

“I feel that they’ve made be a better coach. It’s fun to coach kids who want to be pushed and coached hard. They have great character as well.  The fans here in this building get to see how hard they play and how tight they are, but they don’t get to see the character behind the scenes. That’s probably where I get a little more emotional. I see them as great young women.”

Westendorp said TWU played “an awesome game” and said the players were “incredibly talented and well-coached.”

“I feel we played good spurts in this game, but we didn’t play a good enough 40 minutes to be on the better end of it,” he said. “I knew we’d give them a run, and we absolutely gave them some runs. But we were never able to get it down quite enough to get them nervous.”

The Bulldogs made the seventh NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament appearance in the program's history and third in the past four full seasons. Ferris State advanced to the tourney in 2019-20 before it was cancelled due to COVID and fell in a first-round tournament thriller at Ashland two years ago before claiming the program's first regional championship this year.

“These kids mean the world to me,” Westendorp said. “I’m really happy I got to coach them. I’m going to try and smile a little bit more. I’m really proud of my team and how they represented Ferris.”