The women’s basketball team split its two home games this weekend
The Ferris women’s basketball team won their first conference game on Thursday with a 75-67 victory over the Ashland Eagles.
Junior guard Becci Houdek led all scorers with 20 points and five assists. Junior forward Tiara Adams recorded a double-double with 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 46.7 percent from the court, including 36.8 percent from the three-point line. Ferris had 22 second-chance points and held the Eagles to only 10. Sophomore guard/forward Kelsey DeNoyelles said the team’s primary focus has been on defense and rebounding.
“We never back down or hang our heads,” said DeNoyelles.
The Bulldogs took a 20-19 lead with eight minutes left in the first half and never trailed the rest of the way. The game was close throughout, however, as the largest lead for either team was just eight points. Head coach Tracey Dorow said the team sent a new message to other teams.
“I don’t think any team can really prepare for us because we have so many different players that can contribute at any given time,” said Dorow.
Ferris lost 74-65 to Tiffin University on Saturday, their second home loss of the season. The team led by two at halftime and built a 13-point lead eight minutes into the second half.
Tiffin rallied for a 15-0 run to erase the Bulldog lead and swung momentum back in favor of the Dragons.
Tied at 57, Tiffin hit back-to-back three-pointers to take a six-point lead and Ferris never recovered. Tiffin made eight free-throws over the final 3:48 to seal the victory. Dorow said the team needs to work on containing penetration and reducing turnovers.
“We didn’t attack as hard as Tiffin did, so I have to give them credit for that,” said Dorow.
Ferris committed 11 of the game’s final 12 fouls and Tiffin made 24 of its 29 free-throw attempts in the game. Ferris shot 50 percent from the charity stripe, making seven of 14 attempts. In addition, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 21 times, while forcing only nine Dragon turnovers.
Freshman Katy Fox had a career high 11 points, and added four rebounds for the Bulldogs. Fox had averaged just three points and 1.8 rebounds per game entering Saturday’s contest. Dorow was pleased with Fox’s effort and said she continues to improve.
“She’s getting better and better every day and she is one of the hardest workers we have,” said Dorow.
The Bulldogs fell to 1-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and 2-4 overall this season following the games this weekend.
Ferris hits the road this week for its first road conference contests. The Bulldogs play the 5-1 Findlay Oilers tomorrow and then the 2-4 Hillsdale Chargers on Saturday. Findlay lost its first game of the season on Dec. 5 to Lake Superior State. Hillsdale is 2-0 in the GLIAC this season and Findlay
is 1-1.