ST. JOSEPH, Mo.– The Ferris State women’s basketball team fell in the DII Final Four versus Texas Women’s University.
The No. 3 seeded Bulldogs failed to reach the DII National Championship, as they fell to the No. 2 seeded Pioneers on Wednesday, March 27 by a score of 68-52.
Ferris started out shooting well from the field as they led by as much as four mid-way through the first quarter which was their biggest lead for the entire game. After the Bulldogs jumped out to their lead, the Pioneers closed the first quarter on an 11-3 scoring run and would lead 25-16 after one.
The second quarter was all Pioneers as Ferris shot just 3 of 15 from the field in the second and were outscored 14-6.
“We can’t really have a cold stretch against a quality opponent in the final four,” head coach Kurt Westendorp said.
The Pioneers took a commanding 17-point lead into halftime and led the Bulldogs 39-22.
Ferris cut the lead down to as much as eight mid-way through the third quarter thanks to eleven third-quarter points from senior guard Mallory McCartney.
The Bulldogs were unable to retake the lead at any point in the second half and ultimately dropped this one.
Although the season did not end how the team would have liked but still the players know what a successful season they had.
“It is clearly good for the program.” senior forward Chloe Idoni said. “We are proud that we can be a part of the team to lead this program to where it is at right now.”
The Bulldogs reached new heights this year, setting a program record for wins in a season with 26 and being the only team in program history to reach a Final Four.
“We hoped to do more but this program is just getting started,” McCartney said. “Hopefully we have created a legacy and are making this the new standard for this program.”
Westendorp recognizes how special his team was this season not just on the court but off the court as well
“I have coached some teams that won a lot of games but didn’t have that kind of chemistry they had,” Westendorp said. “They have such great character, this is the type of team that does reunions and they will see each other for the rest of their life.”