Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State outscored Mercyhurst 17-4 over the final 5:04 in Saturday's GLIAC women's basketball game to defeat the Lakers 81-70. The Bulldogs helped their cause by grabbing 26 offensive rebounds.

With the score tied at 66-66, GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Rachel Folcik, who finished with 36 points, hit a jumper that gave the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish. Mandy Yoder followed with a jumper and Ashley Fleming knocked down a pair of free-throws. Two more freebies from Folcik put Ferris State up 74-66 with 2:58 to play. Mercyhurst got two free-throws from Paris Pugliese and a bucket by Achesinski down the stretch but it was not enough to get back into the contest.

Folcik made 15-of-22 shots to help Ferris State overcome a five-point halftime deficit. Mercyhurst got 17 points and 12 rebounds from her counterpart, freshman Amy Achesinski.

Ferris State was the prohibitive favorite, sporting a 6-1 mark in conference play heading into the contest. Mercyhurst, on the other hand, entered the day at just 1-6 in the GLIAC. But the Lakers jumped out to a nine-point lead less five minutes into the contest and still led 40-35 at the break. Achesinski had 11 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Ferris State went on a 15-5 run to start the second half and took a 50-45 lead but Stevie Spetoskey hit a three-pointer and followed that with a jumper that sparked a 10-0 run for the Lakers to regain the lead. Ferris State slowly worked its way back, getting a 60-59 lead on a Becci Houdek three-pointer with 8:30 to play.

After Folcik had a steal and lay-up to make it 62-59, Paris Pugliese knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game up again. The two teams failed two score over the next two minutes until Stephanie Prischak's lay-up put Mercyhurst on top 64-62. Folcik tied it back up with a jumper and Achesinski knocked down a lay-up to put the Lakers back ahead. Folcik's jumper with 5:04 to play tied the game and began the run that gave Ferris State the win.

Ferris State held a 53-36 advantage on the boards, with almost half of those coming on the offensive glass. That helped the Bulldogs overcome a poor shooting performance in which the team was just 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range.

Spetoskey tied Achesinski for team-high scoring honors with 17 points as she made 3-of-6 three-pointers. Pugliese added 13 points and five assists and Samantha Loadman scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Mercyhurst was only 39 percent shooting for the game but had just 11 turnovers.

Ferris State improves to 12-5 and 7-1 in the GLIAC as Mercyhurst falls to 6-12 and 1-7 in conference play. The Lakers will be back on the road Thursday when the team head back to Michigan to play at Hillsdale at 6 p.m.