Ferris men’s and women’s basketball have a full week of tough matchups, with both teams welcoming the Wayne State Warriors and the Purdue Northwest Pride.
Men’s looks to gain some momentum in the final month of the season, while women’s looks to keep up the momentum they have.
Women’s
Ferris women’s basketball has had a successful month up to this point, having a 7-1 record with their only loss coming on Jan 19 to No.1-ranked and reigning national champions in the Grand Valley State Lakers.
Throughout January, Ferris has outscored its opponents 485-386 in their six victories. In the seven games this month, the team is converting 44.5% of its shots, while shooting 36.9% from beyond the arc.
This week, the No.19-ranked Bulldogs (15-4, 8-2 in GLIAC) will take on the Wayne State Warriors (13-5, 8-2 in GLIAC) in the first of two matchups this coming week. The Warriors come into the game 6-2 in the month of January while holding a one-game lead on second place in the division on the Bulldogs.
Wayne State is led by one of the better players in the GLIAC, junior guard McKenna Ferguson. Ferguson does her damage from beyond the three-point line, having a GLIAC leading 45.9% three point percentage, while averaging 16.1 points per game.
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by senior Kadyn Blanchard. Blanchard is averaging 15.9 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and 2.1 steals per game. She is also now the all-time career Ferris women’s basketball scorer.
Blanchard spoke about the upcoming game against the Warriors, and the challenges that she expects to face.
“Wayne State is a tough matchup for us,” Blanchard said. “I think the keys for us are to play together and get the looks we want. Also, we have to make sure we are dictating what they do on the offensive end with our defense and to be the stronger team, as it’s always a battle with them.”
The second matchup of the week comes against the Purdue Northwest Pride (3-15, 1-9 in GLIAC), who come into the game riding a seven-game losing streak.
Purdue Northwest is led in scoring by senior forward Alyssa Cole, who is averaging 13.4 points per game on 40% shooting, 6.9 rebounds per game, and 1.5 steals per game.
Men’s
Men’s comes into their week with a 5-3 record in January after a rocky start to their season, where they started 4-5. They look to pile up some wins coming into the final month of the season. Senior Brandon Claerbaut spoke about the season up to this point.
“I feel good about our season so far,” Claerbaut said. “We started off slow, but as a team we’ve definitely gotten closer and have been getting better each day. It’s nice having three straight home games that we need to build on. If we continue to stay confident and build together, I believe we can string together a strong finish to the season.”
Men’s first matchup will also come against the Warriors (8-8, 5-5 in GLIAC), with the Warriors coming into the game on a two-game losing streak.
Wayne State’s leading scorer coming into their game is junior guard Jordan Briggs. Briggs is averaging 16.7 points per game on 43% shooting, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
One of the Bulldogs’ standout players is the junior transfer from Melbourne, Australia, Justin Asi. Asi did not play his first full game until Dec 6, since then he’s averaged 9 points per game on 48.6% shooting, while shooting 51.5% from beyond the three-point line.
Then, Purdue Northwest (7-10, 3-7 in GLIAC) comes to Wink Arena for the two teams’ second matchup of the season, with the last game resulting in a 73-68 Bulldogs victory.
A standout player for the Pride would be senior forward Kyle Ross, who is averaging 15 points per game on 57.8% shooting, while averaging 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Ferris women’s basketball will take on the Wayne State Warriors on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 pm at Jim Wink Arena, then the men’s team has a tip-off scheduled for 3 pm. Then women’s will face off against the Purdue Northwest Pride on Monday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m., with the men’s tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.