On this episode of Ferris Sports Update, host Rob Bentley chats with Women’s Basketball coach Kurt Westendorp about the team’s recent road matchups with Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State. Coach Westendorp also discusses their next two games at home this weekend against Northern Michigan this coming Thursday, and Michigan Tech the following Saturday. Next, Rob talks with assistant Men’s Basketball coach Josh Fleming about the team’s road games against Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State. Fleming also talks about next weekend’s home series against Northern Michigan on Thursday, noted as an important one by coach Fleming, as well as their matchup with Michigan Tech on Saturday. Lastly, Rob talks with Stepan Pokorny, one of the seniors and captains on the hockey team. Pokorny talks about the team’s road series last weekend at Augustana, which was the first ever matchup between the two teams. Pokorny also discusses the team’s series at home next weekend against Bowling Green, who Pokorny describes as the Bulldogs’ chief rival within the conference. Pokorny also reflects on his time as a Bulldog as the regular season nears it’s end.
Women’s Basketball
First up on this week’s episode of Ferris Sports Update, host Rob Bentley talks with Women’s Basketball head coach Kurt Westendorp about the teams most recent games against Wayne State and Saginaw Valley. After walking away with the victory in both games the Bulldogs are now 14-2 and ranked 7th in the national rankings.
On January 25th the bulldogs traveled to Detroit to face off against the Wayne State Warriors, the Bulldogs had a slow start but after the first 3 minutes they had a very strong first half with the halftime score being 37-17 in favor of the Bulldogs. Ferris was able to keep that momentum throughout the rest of the game winning the game 80-46.
Feeling good after the win over Wayne State, on January 27th the bulldogs traveled to Saginaw to face off with the Saginaw Valley Cardinals, the game against the Cardinals was a fight throughout the entire game keeping a close score with the score at halftime being 26-29 in favor of the Cardinals, within the last 25 seconds Kenzie Bowers was able to score putting the Bulldogs in the lead ending the game 59-57.
Next week, the Bulldogs will be at home starting round two of GLIAC play against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.
Men’s Basketball
Ferris Sports Update: Mens Basketball 1-31-2023
Ferris Sports Update sees assistant coach for men’s basketball Josh Fleming as a guest this week. The Bulldogs are 16-4 overall this season, adding both a win and a loss to their record this past weekend. They played two tough games, the first against Wayne State, and the second against Saginaw Valley State.
This past Thursday we saw the Bulldogs travel to Detroit to play against Wayne State. Both teams played great, and the first half was a close battle throughout, ending in a 39-29 lead for Ferris. We saw another close battle in the second half, Ferris starting off with a 17 point lead, which was quickly closed by Wayne State. Ferris was facing the challenge of different lineups due to two injuries on the team, but managed to pull the game back with a very close 79-75 win. Great performances from the entire team, namely Ben Davidson, who scored 20 points in the contest.
Moving onto the second game of the week, Ferris moved over to Saginaw to face off against Saginaw State. The first half was played great by both teams, resulting in a 35-57 lead for Saginaw State. Saginaw State kept up the lead throughout the second half, closing out the game at 99-89. Coach Fleming mentioned Ferris’ ability to get a lot of great shots in, but struggles to make stops against Saginaw. Ferris played hard throughout the game, never giving up and fighting the entire time. This was noticed by the coaches and mentioned by Fleming, admiring the teams ambition and drive.
We now see Ferris returning home this coming weekend to play Northern Michigan on Thursday, and Michigan Tech this coming Saturday. Both are teams that the Bulldogs have faced before, resulting in great games.
Hockey
Ferris Sports Update Hockey 1.31
In the last segment of Ferris Sports Update, Rob Bentley is joined by senior Stepan Pokorny as they discuss how Ferris’ hockey team has been doing. The two talk about the games at Sioux Falls, the upcoming home games against Bowling Green State, and the end of this year’s hockey season.
First, Bentley and Pokorny discuss the highlights of the games this past weekend at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first game was against Augustana, a team Ferris hasn’t played against before. Pokorny said that the previous win against Lake Superior State gave them a confidence boost and they really wanted to build on that. Ferris had a great start on Friday night by leading with two goals; the score being 2-0 going into the second period. The game was sold out and the crowd was giving great vibes; Pokorny stated “I believe we were just as excited as they were. It’s always fun playing in a full arena in front of a ton of fans.” By the end of the second period, Ferris was still leading the game with the score being 2-1. Ferris would score 3 more times in the 3rd period, winning the game with a final score of 5-2.
Going over the second game highlights, Bentley asks Pokorny if they decided to change anything going into the second game after winning the first. Pokorny said that nothing really changed going into the second game, but they wanted to play like they did with the previous game. Augustana had the first goal of the night; however, that didn’t waiver Ferris’ confidence. At the end of the first period, the score was tied at 1-1. The game was constantly back and forth, and Pokorny gave praise to their goalies. By the end of the second period, Ferris scored one more goal and pulled into the lead with the score being 2-1. The game was tied in the third period with the score being 3-3, and they went into overtime. Ferris has a history of winning the games that go into overtime, and they were fortunate enough to score another goal within the last few minutes of overtime. The final score ended up being 4-3.
The upcoming games against Bowling Green State are home games, and Pokorny commented that they’re our biggest rival in the conference. The past four wins have given the team a confidence boost, so the team is looking forward to playing against Bowling Green State. The hockey season is coming to a close with only seven games left of the regular season. Ferris hopes to get a few more wins to climb the standings, and they’re starting to get ready for the CCHA tournament.
Be sure to tune in next week for another episode of Ferris Sports Update!