Battling for a berth

FSU women’s basketball fights to keep postseason dream alive

The Ferris State University women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 65-58 GLIAC loss to Ashland University on Feb. 12.

Despite holding a five point advantage early in the game, the visiting Bulldogs trailed the Eagles 27-23 at halftime.

Although the lead changed five times, the score was never tied. AU went on to build a 15 point lead early in the second period which FSU could not overcome.

“We didn’t execute our defensive plan and didn’t hit shots the way we needed to,” said freshman guard Sarah Deshone.

The Bulldogs fell to 7-9 in conference play and 11-11 overall. The team continues to fight for a spot in the GLIAC Tournament. With just three games left in the regular season, FSU is tied with Tiffin University for the eighth and final tournament berth.

“We have a lot of pressure to win the next three games,” Deshone said. “We need to win if we want to play in the tournament.”

Senior guard Becci Houdek led the Bulldogs with 18 points and junior guard Tricia Principe contributed 14 points. However, Houdek and Principe were the only FSU players to reach double-digit scoring figures.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot just 33.3 percent from the floor compared to the Eagles’ 51 percent effort.

With the victory, AU has now captured nine of the last 11 contests between these two GLIAC rivals.

Saturday’s loss was preceded by FSU’s 69-55 road win in the first-ever matchup with Lake Erie College on Thursday.

The Bulldogs utilized 50 percent first half shooting for a 42-30 halftime edge over the Storm. Ferris outscored Lake Erie 27-25 over the final period to clench the victory.

FSU was paced by Principe’s game-high 20 points. Senior forward Tiara Adams added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulldogs will return home for their final three regular-season games. FSU will face off against Wayne State University Feb. 17, University of Findlay Feb. 19 and Grand Valley State University Feb. 26.

“They will all be tough games. There’s not one game we can slack off on,” Deshone said. “But I really want to beat Grand Valley since they beat us in the 131 Showdown.” n