The NMU women’s basketball team allowed Ferris State to get off to a red-hot start Thursday night and couldn’t recover, as they dropped their fourth straight game by a score of 81-66.
Ferris State shot 73.3 percent from the field as they scored 50 points in the first half. With the loss, the ‘Cats fell to 7-11 overall, with a 2-8 record in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
“I thought we were ready to play when we came out but I’ve got to give Ferris all the credit, they really played well,” NMU head coach Troy Mattson said. “I thought we really got after them but they were still making every shot.”
The ‘Cats were led by senior forward Allison Carroll who scored 16 points in the contest. Also scoring in double figures for the Wildcats were junior guard Kelsey Deacon, with 12 points, and freshman guard Steffani Stoeger, who had 13.
Deacon, who entered Thursday’s game in a 2-17 three point shooting slump over the past two games, appeared to remedy her problems as she shot 33 percent from beyond the arc.
“Nobody likes to lose,” Carroll said. “We played hard. We shot around 34 percent in the first half. But when you’re playing a team that shoots 74 percent you won’t win many games.”
Pre-season GLIAC Player of the Year Rachel Folcik led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points. Folcik, the conference’s leading scorer, entered the contest averaging more than 20 points per game.
“I thought we did an OK job with [Folcik] in the first half; they didn’t play her a lot in the second half.” Mattson said. “She had a bunch early that really got them going. She had a tough three that if she would have missed it then this would have been a whole different game.”
The Bulldogs controlled the boards in the game out-rebounding Northern 39-22. Caitlin Hutchinson and Jenna Guay led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds each. Senior LaShawn Lambert, freshman Hillary Bowling and Stoeger led the ‘Cats in boards with four each.
The Wildcats continue their home stand this Saturday when they take on the Findlay Oilers. The Oilers (8-9 overall, 2-6 GLIAC) come into Saturday’s game off of a non-conference victory over Ohio Valley that snapped a five game losing streak.
“They got a lot of potential. They’re kind of like us, they just haven’t found consistency throughout the season,” Mattson said. “I think we need to go back to getting Angie (Leckson) inside as much as we can and slow the games down a bit to keep up with them”
Saturday’s game is at 11:00 a.m. in the Berry Events Center. This weekend is Family Day, adults bringing a kid in eighth grade or younger to the game receive free admission for both the adult and child.
“We’re at a must win, we can’t lose any more. I’ve seen us play really well this year but we just can’t get out offense going,” Mattson added.
