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Printer-Friendly ModeLady Cards fall to Ferris on the road
December 4, 2006 —
The Lady Cardinals controlled Saturday night's game at Ferris State for the first 26 minutes. But the Bulldogs decided to control the last 14.
Playing its fourth consecutive game on the road to open the season, SVSU could not overcome a 17-6 FSU run and poor shooting in the second half and lost 82-71.
"We just can't put it together for 40 minutes," coach Vonnie Killmer said.
SVSU took a 44-41 lead into the half, but was held to just 27 points in the second stanza as the team shot an anemic 8-for-30.
"We've struggled all season offensively," Killmer added. "We cannot stay within the offense. We're not patient and we're not focused."
The Bulldogs went on their run after SVSU junior Brittany Burns picked up her fourth foul. Burns had 14 points at the time of the foul, a little less than seven minutes into the second half.
"The foul hurt," Killmer conceded. "But we have some kids on the bench that should be able to go in and produce."
Burns came back into the game with eight and a half minutes left, but the damage had already been done: the Bulldogs took ahold of a back-and-forth game that they led 54-52 and made it a 71-58 game that was all but over.
Killmer said her team's poor shooting in the second half had less to do with the Bulldogs' defense and more with the Lady Cardinals' inability to play together.
"We go through a lot of 1-on-5 ball," said Killmer, who explained that often times four of her players will simply stand and watch while another plays. "We just keep working on it in practice. That's all we can do. They'll get it."
SVSU played effective team ball in the first half, shooting 17-of-36 from the field, or 47 percent. Junior guard Jenna Schroeder led the way, scoring 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Burns added 12 points and three assists in the half.
Additionally, the Lady Cardinals were able to keep the Bulldogs' leading scorer, senior guard Erin Miller, at bay in the half. Miller, who came in averaging just below 22 points a game, scored a quiet 10 points in the half.
She did her damage in the second half, though, shooting 4-of-6 in adding 13 points. Miller added nine rebounds and five assists, while junior center Rachel Folcik added 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Kristin Reinhart scored 12 and added six assists for the Bulldogs, which had 20 assists.
The Lady Cardinals, meanwhile, dished out just seven assists, five of which came in the first half, and turned the ball over 19 times.
Schroeder finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds for SVSU, while junior forward LaTille Ross added 13 and 9.
As a team, SVSU shot almost 38 percent from the field, while the Bulldogs connected on 45 percent of their tries. FSU shot 13-of-26, 50 percent, in the second half as it matched its first half point total.
The loss dropped SVSU to 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in GLIAC play. The Bulldogs improved to 5-1 and 2-0 in the conference.