WOMEN'S BB NOTES: GANNON, EDINBORO

BIG RAPIDS, Mich., Nov. 19 -- Ferris State University issued the following press release:

* The Game: The Ferris State women's basketball team officially opens the 2009-10 season by visiting former Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member Gannon for a non-conference game on Friday, Nov. 20, inside the Hammermill Center in Erie, Pa. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. (ET). The Bulldogs then square off against Edinboro (Pa.) on Saturday, Nov. 21, with opening tip at 5 p.m. (ET) in Edinboro, Pa. Both are non-league games.

* Ticket Information: Tickets for both games will be available prior to the contest. For more information on ticket sales, please call either the Gannon Ticket Office at (814) 871-7664 or Edinboro Ticket Office at (814) 732-1835, respectively.

* Media Coverage: There will be no FSU local radio coverage available for either non-league game. However, a live video pay-per-view webcast is slated to be available for both games. Gannon will also provide live audio and live internet statistics. Please visit FSU's Athletics Website at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com to find links for all available coverage in the "upcoming events" tab.

* Follow On Twitter: Bulldog basketball fans can follow all FSU games this year via Twitter. To access the service, please visit www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics to follow the tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring updates.

* Last Time Out: Ferris fell behind early, but battled back late in dropping a 60-50 exhibition decision to NCAA Division I Oakland in its lone preseason game (Nov. 1) at the Athletics Center O'Rena in Rochester, Mich. The Golden Grizzlies sprinted out of the gates quickly and led by as many as 29 points in the opening half. In the second half, however, Ferris State rallied. The Bulldogs whittled the lead down to as few as four points (52-48) with 3:38 to play, but could get not closer as Oakland answered with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. FSU held a slim 31-26 rebounding edge, but turned the ball over 28 times compared to only 18 for Oakland. Junior guard Becci Houdek (Canton) paced FSU with 13 points while sophomore guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) added 10 points. The Bulldogs played only eight players in the contest with junior forward Tiara Adams (Lansing/Waverly) narrowly missing double-digits with nine points.

* Coming Up Next: The Bulldogs open up the home portion of the 2009-10 campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 24, versus Lewis (Ill.) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Tipoff for the non-conference encounter is set for 6 p.m. (EST).

* The Records:

Ferris State (0-0, 0-0 GLIAC) concluded the 2008-09 season with a 13-15 overall record after winning seven of their final nine contests. The Bulldogs made their 10th consecutive and 11th overall berth in the GLIAC Tournament where they advanced to the semifinals for the third-straight year in 2008-09.

Gannon, ranked 19th nationally in the preseson rankings, recorded a 26-5 record last campaign and was second in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division play with a 12-2 league record.

Edinboro was 13-14 overall a season ago and placed tied for sixth in the PSAC West Division with a 4-10 conference mark.

* The Coaches:

Ferris State - Tracey Dorow (Western Michigan, 1996), 12th season, 188-124 (.603) - (10-2-0 vs. Gannon, 0-0-0 vs. Edinboro). Dorow presently ranks as Ferris' all-time winningest coach. She guided FSU to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tourney appearance in 1999-00. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at Indianapolis (1997-98). She also directed FSU to an NCAA Tourney berth in 2003-04 and the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07.

Gannon - Cleve Wright (Berea, 1989), 8th season, 135-74 (.646). Wright is GU's all-time winningest coach and led the Knights to a GLIAC title in 2006-07 before helping them reach the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen last season. Previously, he served as a NCAA Division I assistant at Northwestern & Butler.

Edinboro - Stan Swank (Purdue, 1976), 23rd season, 373-243 (.606). The winningest coach in program history, Swank has posted 16 winning seasons with six teams advancing to the NCAA-II National Tournament and 14 reaching the PSAC Postseason Tournament.

* Welcome Back: Ferris State welcomes back eight letterwinners to its official roster this season from a year ago, including four players who started at least one contest last season.

* The Injury Factor: The Bulldogs have battled injuries and illness through the preseason with two veteran players now sidelined for the forseeable future in junior guard Stephanie DeNoyelles (Mt. Pleasant/Sacred Heart) and senior center Andrea Clancy (Port Austin/North Huron). DeNoyelles was injured in the offseason while Clancy played four minutes in FSU's exhibition at Oakland before likely being lost for the year. Another returning veteran player in junior forward Amy Joostberns (Nashville/Lakewood) also did not play due to injury, leaving the Bulldogs with only eight healthy players for that contest.

* Good Start For Gannon: The nationally-ranked Knights are already off to a 5-0 start this campaign after earning three consecutive wins in the Disney Division II Tip-off Classic (Nov. 6-8) in Orlando along with back-to-back victories over Bowie State and Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) in the Clarion (Pa.) Classic on Sunday and Monday (Nov. 15-16). Two of the wins have came by five points or less. Senior guard Carrie Nolan is presently leading the squad in scoring (13.8 ppg.).

* About The Knights: Gannon has opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 1996-97. Head coach Cleve Wright's squad has won 15 consecutive regular-season games. The Lady Knights won their final 10 regular-season games last season and haven't tasted defeat in the regular season since a 65-52 loss at Indiana (Pa.) on January 24, 2009. The squad has also won 12 consecutive regular-season home games. Gannon is ranked 19th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Preseason Top 25 and 21st in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25.

* FSU-Gannon Facts: Gannon was formerly a member of the GLIAC until prior to last season ........ FSU head coach Tracey Dorow's sister, Andrea Bloodworth, served as an assistant coach at GU under Cleve Wright before advancing to the NCAA Division I level ........ FSU recorded a 80-61 win in the 20007 NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament semifinals held at Romeoville, Ill., en route to a NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen appearance ....... The Bulldogs posted a 76-61 home win over the Knights in the most recent game in 2007-08 (1/17/08) held at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

* Gannon Series Information: Ferris has won each of the last six meetings against Gannon and leads the all-time series by a 12-3 count. GU's last series' win came in 2002-03 by an 82-74 count. Gannon is 3-4 all-time versus FSU at the Hammermill Center while Ferris head coach Tracey Dorow owns a 10-2 career coaching record versus the Knights.

* Looking At Edinboro: The Fighting Scots opened the 2009-10 season with a 102-73 home win Tuesday (Nov. 17) over NAIA member Daemen at McComb Fieldhouse in Edinboro, Pa. Seniors Kelsey Conklin and Samantha Reimer combined for 46 points in the outing as five players reached double-figure scoring. Edinboro was 13-14 overall a season ago and placed tied for sixth in the PSAC West Division with a 4-10 conference mark. Head coach Stan Swank welcomes back all five starters this season from the program's first losing campaign since 2001-02. The Scots were picked to finish fourth in the PSAC West Preseason Poll with forward Kelsey Conklin being named to the All-PSAC West Preseason Team after earning first team status at the conclusion of last season.

* Edinboro Series Information: Saturday's game represents the Bulldogs' first-ever series meeting against Edinboro.

* Great Mark: FSU owns an all-time record of 29-5 versus Pennsylvania schools entering this weekend's season-opening trip. The Bulldogs are 12-3 all-time versus Gannon, 12-2 against Mercyhurst, 2-0 versus Clarion, 2-0 against Westminster and 1-0 versus Slippery Rock to date. Twenty-four of the 29 wins (24-3) have came under current head coach Tracey Dorow.

* FSU Picked Second: Ferris was picked to finish third in the 2009-10 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll in conjunction with the league's annual media day teleconference. The Bulldogs totaled 74 points in the balloting and trailed Michigan Tech's 142 points and second place Grand Valley State's 122 points in the North Division. The preseason nationally top-ranked Huskies earned 22 of a possible 24 first-place votes with GVSU earning the final two top votes. Northwood received 16 first-place votes in being selected the South Division favorite by a group of 24 media members.

* Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2008-09 season with a 13-15 overall record after winning seven of its final nine contests. The Bulldogs made their 10th consecutive and 11th overall berth in the GLIAC Tournament where they advanced to the semifinals for the third-straight year in 2008-09.

* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris' current 2009-10 roster includes one senior, four juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen. Seven of the 13 players are guards while the remaining six are frontcourt players. Eleven players on the roster hail from Michigan with one each from Ohio and Indiana.

* GLIAC Opener: The Bulldogs' 2009-10 GLIAC opener will be on Monday, Nov. 30, when archrival Grand Valley State comes to town for an 6 p.m. (ET) tilt at FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids. The contest will be the first game of a women's and men's league doubleheader.

* Two Make Debut: Two Bulldog players made their debut in the Oakland exhibition, including freshman guard Kylie Muntz (Dayton, Ohio/Wayne) and freshman forward/center Katy Fox (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer). Muntz tallied six points while Fox scored two in the game with neither missing a shot from the floor.

* The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women's basketball program, which will embark on its 36th season of varsity competition, has compiled a 441-449 (.496) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their only GLIAC crown, advanced to their first NCAA-II Regional Tournament and recorded the nation's highest grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which claimed GLIAC Tourney runner-up honors in 1999-00 and 2003-04, has posted 10 or more victories 13 consecutive seasons.

* Great Season: Ferris State advanced to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship Game for the first time ever in 2006-07 and was ranked 25th nationally in the final 2006-07 USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll. The Bulldogs, who prior to 2006-07 had never won a NCAA Tournament game, recorded back-to-back wins in their first two national tournament contests en route to the regional runner-up finish. Ferris also compiled a second-place tying 13-5 GLIAC regular-season finish and earned the program's eighth consecutive GLIAC Tournament bid in the historic campaign.

* Season Openers: Ferris State will officially open its 36th season on Friday night at Gannon. The Bulldogs, who have won eight of their last 11 season openers, have an all-time mark of 17-18 in opening day games. FSU posted a 83-77 triumph over host Kentucky Wesleyan in last year's opener (Nov. 15) at the KWC Lady Panther Classic in Owensboro, Ky. The Bulldogs have won 11 of their past 14 openers, including a 8-3 mark (.727) under head coach Tracey Dorow. Ferris' last opening-day loss came five years ago (11/16/04) with a 76-71 home loss to Lewis (Ill.) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

* Coaching Staff Changes: Ferris head coach Tracey Dorow put the finishing pieces of her coaching staff together for the 2009-10 campaign with the appointment of Mark DeNoyelles, who served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs in 2008-09, to the assistant coaching post following the departure of former assistant Crystal Harris, who left earlier this summer for a NCAA Division I assistant coaching position in her home state at Cal-State Fullerton. Former Bulldog standout Rachel Folcik has also returned to the program as a student assistant coach for this year. Folcik wrapped up her stellar Bulldog career in 2007-08 and spent last year playing overseas, but has returned to FSU to pursue a Master's degree. The Bulldogs' staff this season will also include Dorow's father, Rick Bloodworth, as a volunteer assistant coach for the fourth season and current FSU student Miles Prendergast in a student coaching role.

* Bulldog Notes: FSU will play a 27-game regular-season schedule this year with 22 league contests. Twelve games are at home ....... Junior Tiara Adams enters the season needing 17 points to notch her 200th career point ....... Ferris has won nine or more home games three of the last four years to date ...... Assistant coach Mark DeNoyelles is the father of both Stephanie and Kelsey DeNoyelles and served as their prep head coach at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com.