Ferris women’s basketball clinched a first-place finish in the GLIAC North Division for the third time in program history.
The Bulldogs have been red hot in 2020 with a 13-3 record since the New Year. This stretch of strong play fueled the Dawgs to their first conference title since 2012.
“It means everything,” Ferris freshman guard Mallory McCartney said. “It’s a great feeling but we’re not done yet. We look at it and get excited, but we still have work to do.” McCartney expressed “a lot of confidence” in her team moving forward and was hungry to show how far her team can go.
With their 57-50 victory over Purdue-Northwest University Thursday, Feb. 20, the Bulldogs secured at least a share of the North Division Title and home court advantage for their quarterfinal-round game in the GLIAC tournament.
The Dawgs then set their eyes on clinching sole possession of the North Division title with their matchup against second-place Wisconsin-Parkside University Saturday, Feb. 22 and secured it with an 89-87 win over the Rangers. Junior guard Adrienne Anderson led the Dawgs in scoring with 22 and McCartney poured in 19 of her own points.
Ferris senior guard Riley Blair loved the success that her team found this year, but most appreciated the relationships she built with her teammates and expressed excitement about the future of the program.
“I’m just really excited for this group and what they’re going to continue to do even when this senior class is graduated,” Blair said. “Obviously, we focus on the basketball aspect but it’s the relationships that we build here that are going to last way longer than our time on the court.”
As of their victory Saturday, Feb. 22, the Bulldogs were positioned as a seven seed in the NCAA DII Midwest regional rankings. At the end of the season, the top eight teams from each region will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA DII tournament.
The Bulldog’s rank could change depending on their performance in their final game of the regular season Thursday, Feb. 27, against Lake Superior State University (LSSU) and in the GLIAC tournament. Official selections into the NCAA DII tournament will be chosen Sunday, March 8 following the conference championship games.
With a selection into the NCAA DII tournament, the Bulldogs would make their first appearance in the national tournament since 2012 and just the fifth in school history.
Before Selection Sunday approaches, the Bulldogs look to close the regular season with a home court win against LSSU and head into the GLIAC tournament with as much momentum as they can muster.