The Ferris State women’s basketball team split their GLIAC road trip with a loss to the Grand Valley State Lakers on Thursday, Feb. 22, and then followed the loss up with a win on Saturday, Feb. 25 against the Davenport Panthers.
The No. 2 nationally ranked Lakers (24-2, 15-1 in the GLIAC) got the best of the No. 10 nationally ranked Bulldogs (19-4, 13-3 in the GLIAC) with a score of 63-38. Ferris would bounce back however with an 84-63 win versus the Panthers (3-23, 1-15 in the GLIAC).
In front of a 1,037-person crowd, the Bulldogs and Lakers entered into a rivalry battle for the first-place spot in the GLIAC, with Ferris State looking for an upset victory.
Senior forward Kadyn Blanchard and the team knew what kind of battle they were entering.
“Our coach told us pre-game that he doesn’t have to ramp us up for a game like this,” Blanchard said. “We all just know the type of energy a rivalry game like this brings.”
The Bulldogs were able to keep it close the entire first half, going into the break only down eight. Ferris was ultimately outscored 28-11 in the second half, which led to them dropping the game to its archrival.
The turnover battle was the main catalyst for the loss as the Bulldogs gave up the ball 22 times compared to just nine Lakers turnovers. The Lakers turned the turnovers into points on the other side of the floor and led the points generated off turnovers battle 25-8.
In addition to the turnovers, Ferris shot just 34% from the field and went 2-for-15 on shots from beyond the arc.
Head coach Kurt Westendorp had to remind his team that the season isn’t over yet.
“I told our kids in the huddle, that was not the fatal game,” Westendorp said. “This didn’t end your season, but the next one might. We have to make sure we keep getting better as a team.”
The Bulldogs got back on track with an 84-63 blowout win over the Davenport Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The Panthers made it a game in the first half and Ferris went into halftime up 44-41. Senior forward Chloe Idoni put up an aggressive team-high 21 points in the first half and helped the Bulldogs stick it out during a 60% shooting half from Davenport.
Westendorp knew they had to make adjustments to pull away in the second half.
“We knew we had to buckle down on the defensive end of the court.” Westendorp said, “It was their senior day. They played with a lot of energy, it was not a lack of effort from us, as much of a lack of focus.”
Ferris was aggressive in the third quarter, outscoring Davenport 21-5. The Bulldogs won the turnover battle 16-8 and played solid defense in the second half.
“We did a better job of keeping them out of the paint and put more pressure on them on the perimeter,” Westendorp said. “We were able to get the stops we needed and turned our defense into offense in the third quarter.”
Four out of five starters finished in double figures in points for the Bulldogs. Idoni led both teams with 25 points.
“After they had a response to every shot we made I knew it was important for me to make myself present in the post and dominate,” Idoni said. “I give my teammates credit for giving me the ball in great spots.”
The Bulldogs will close out the regular season with two more home games on Thursday, Feb. 29 against the Wisconsin Parkside Rangers at 5:30 p.m. and the final regular season game will be Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. versus the Purdue Northwest Pride.