It finally clicked. After struggling for most of the season the Lady Bulldogs came out and defeated the nationally 12th ranked Michigan Tech Huskies 67-62.

Ferris topped off the weekend defeating the Northern Michigan Wildcats 57-50 on Saturday.

Two weeks after the first meeting, the Bulldogs and Huskies faced off again.

“Two weeks later, I hate playing that close. It’s tough to play so close,” head coach Tracey Dorow said.

The Huskies looked stunned on Thursday night, as they met a pumped up Bulldog club that began the game with a 5-0 run.

The Huskies grabbed their first lead with 12:43 left to play going up 10-9. Michigan Tech utilized the screen to give their guards open looks from beyond the arch.

Michigan Tech went on a 9-0 run before the Bulldogs could answer. The Huskies answered back and capped off a 15-6 run with a three-point jumper from NBA range that had the Michigan Tech broadcaster stuttering over the distance.

The Huskies looked in control for the remainder of the first half, but with seconds left in the half, the Huskies missed a shot.

Rebounded by Ferris and dished out to guard Becci Houdek, who launched the ball from behind half court. The ball bounced off the front of the rim, hit the backboard, then the rim and fell out. The Huskies went into the locker room breathing a sigh of relief, up 31-27.

The second half started with the Bulldogs on the hunt, who took their first lead of the half, 41-40, with 14:32 to go.

The refs played a large part in neither team getting hot, as fouls slowed down the game. The fans were more than happy to help the refs on what was, and was not, a foul.

When a foul was called on forward/center Jenna Guay, it caused Bulldog supporters to get on their feet and attempt to help the ref, yet again.

It was the spark that the Bulldogs needed, as guard Teghan Thelen got hot and began knocking down everything that came her way, it became contagious as every Bulldog caught fire and executed on both sides of the floor.

“We came out and played like we believed in ourselves, we did a great job positioning and repositioning the post to alter a lot of their shots,” Dorow said.

The Huskies got flustered on defense and broke down several times allowing forward/ center Ashley Fleming to do major damage under the basket.

The Michigan Tech defense allowed an average of 57 points in the GLIAC prior to meeting the hot Ferris State offense.

The Huskies could not keep their composure with a 55-48 deficit, and the Bulldogs showed no signs of slowing down.

Dorow didn’t utilize her bench as much as she did in previous games because the core on the floor was working so well together.

“We showed what we are capable of on any given night. Subbed some, but not much, the unity was there. The depth is still really strong,” Dorow said.

With 3.4 seconds remaining, and Ferris State up 65-62, Tech’s Katie Zimmerman’s three point attempt was blocked. Thelen grabbed the ball and was quickly fouled sending her to the charity stripe to attempt a one and one. She made both, and secured the upset.

Thelen led the way in scoring for both sides with 22 points, Fleming added a double-double effort with 15 points and 13 boards. “Flem rebounded like crazy,” Dorow said.

Forward/center Andrea Clancy finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

“We have to believe we can. We were doubting it earlier because we weren’t reaping the benefits of all the hard work we were putting in,” Dorow said.

The Wildcats grabbed a 27-20 halftime lead, finishing out the half with a 7-0 run. The Huskies led 47-43 with 1:55 left in the game, but a layup by Fleming and a jumper by Thelen tied the game up at 47 all with 1:08 left to play.

Houdek stripped the ball from the Wildcats’ Kelsey Deacon and passed it inside to Fleming who turned it over to the Wildcats’ Cassie Hegbloom.

The Wildcats called a timeout with 10 seconds remaining, to set up the potential game winning shot. The Wildcats’ Angie Leckson missed the potential game winning jumper and the game was sent into overtime where the Bulldogs dominated.

A layup by Guay put the Bulldogs up by two, and they never lost the lead. The Wildcats got it down to five, but Thelen put it out of reach with two free throws with 29 seconds left.

Both Fleming and Thelen needed overtime to reach double-digit scoring with 13 points, and Fleming recorded her second consecutive double- double with 11 rebounds.

The Bulldogs will host Saginaw Valley State at 6 p.m. tomorrow and Lake Superior State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The men’s basketball team split a pair of home games with a 73-63 victory against Northern on Feb. 14, and a 58-66 loss against Michigan Tech on Feb. 12.

“We played a lot better defensively; we shot the ball better, played the ball better. We got back after the tough losses, two on the road and one home against Michigan Tech. I’m very happy with how we played,” said head coach Bill Sall.

The basketball team was able to improve its record to 12-11, 10-8 GLIAC with its victory against Northern. The Bulldogs had an impressive 90.5 percent free throw average and had a shooting average of 47 percent from the floor during the Northern game.

Center Justin Keenan scored 28 points for Ferris State, keeping his spot of lead scorer for the conference. Keenan also had eight rebounds, one assist and a block.

Guard Josh Young and guard Darien Gay both scored 11 points. Young had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Gay had three assists, a rebound and a steal. Senior forward, Jason Holder contributed four total points, but matched his points with four impressive blocks.

The game against Michigan Tech was less than pleasant, with a 58-66 defeat. The Bulldogs were kept to only a 36 percent shooting average for the game, while Michigan Tech saw four players reach double digits in total points.

Ferris had a two point lead with 5:54 remaining in the second half, but Michigan Tech scored eight straight points. Keenan answered back with two baskets, but in the last minute the Huskies scored six free throws to hand Ferris the loss.

Keenan scored 20 total points for the game, as well as having five rebounds, three steals and an assist. Gay also reached double figures for the game by scoring 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

“Well our season is going a lot better than last year; we have a lot more experience and we have had some big wins this year against Grand Valley and Lake Superior State and we hope to make a run in the GLIAC tournament,” said center Jim Boylan.

The men’s basketball team has an opportunity to move up in the rankings at next week’s home games against Saginaw Valley State on Thursday at 8 p.m. and against Lake Superior State on Saturday at 3 p.m.

On Friday night, Ferris State and Bowling Green traded goals back and forth, but the Bulldogs came out on top with the 3-2 victory.

The Falcons would bounce back strong at home on Saturday as they pulled out the 3-1 win.

"It's never bad to split on the road," Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels said. "We played well on a tough rink and in a tough environment."

The Bulldogs hold destiny in their hands with four games remaining to try and move up in the CCHA standings. Last weekend the Bulldogs earned two points in the series split with the Bowling Green Falcons.

Ferris State travels to Fairbanks, Alaska and then splits a home and home series with the Michigan Wolverines to end out its regular season.

Sitting between the Bulldogs and a fourth place bye are University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), Ohio State, and Alaska. UNO has two conference games remaining but the CCHA’s best, Notre Dame, travels west into Omaha.

The road for the Buckeyes doesn’t get any easier as they host the Wolverines and face a home and home series with the Red Hawks of Miami. Both teams are currently sitting a top the conference.

Alaska only has two conference games left, and the Bulldogs will look to sweep up in Fairbanks to gain those four crucial points. Ferris State will have to dig deep however as it hasn't had much luck on the Olympic sized sheet of ice inside the Carlson Center. The Bulldogs have however had luck with the Wolverines as they battled them to a split last season.

Ferris State started last weekend off right as it came into BGSU Ice Arena and gave the fans a third period show as four of the five goals were scored in the last frame.

Bulldogs’ center Jordie Johnston recorded his third goal of the season as he was the lone goal scorer inside the second period. Johnston’s goal came at 18:14 at even strength with assists credited to center Brendan Connolly and defenseman Zach Redmond.

Bowling Green countered the Ferris State lead with the game tying goal just 30 seconds into the final period. The Bulldogs took the lead back as rightwinger Todd Pococke scored his first goal of the season while at even strength.

Pococke’s goal, midway through the first period, came with assists going to defenseman Matt Case and left winger Blair Riley. Two minor penalties saw Ferris State in a big hole as the Falcons would strike again, this time on the five verse three power play to tie the game at two.

Defenseman Scott Wietecha’s shot reached the back of the net giving the Bulldogs the 3-2 lead less than two minutes later. Wietecha’s fifth goal of the season came at 14:08 in the third with assists contributed to Redmond and center Justin Menke.

The Bulldogs were blanked on the power play, going 0-5, but received a strong outing from goaltender Pat Nagle. Nagle’s 34 saves got him the game's first star honors.

Center Aaron Lewicki’s 10th goal of the season wasn’t enough on Saturday as the Falcons put up a goal per period to earn the 3-1 victory and split. Lewicki’s goal came at even strength with an assist coming from right winger Corey Couturier. The Bulldogs received a good effort from Taylor Nelson as he made 19 saves in the contest and helped hold off four Falcon power plays.

"It'll be an interesting weekend with the travel, time change and olympic sheet of ice. These points are also important to us," Dainels said when asked about playing Alaska this weekend.

Running on the ice in tennis shoes with their straight-lined sticks holding small triangles on the end, they pass a bright red, round ball, aiming for a square goal.

This festival of shapes gives way to the sport of broomball. Ferris Students from all over campus join together and do battle at the Ewigleben Sports Complex for a little competition and fun.

“This is my third year playing broomball and it is really fun. I wanted to get involved in some sport at Ferris and that one is for me,” said pharmacy student Brandon Beaver, who plays for the Legal Drug Pushers.

For those who are unfamiliar with the sport, broomball originated in Canada in the early 1900s.

In a way, broomball is the cousin of hockey. The game is played on ice and the line-up is the same, both broomball and hockey have three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie.

The purpose of the game is to score the most points by hitting the ball/puck into the traditional hockey net.

Some of the rules are the same too. Broomball has icing, high “brooming,” checking, and similar reasons for penalties, such as improper conduct towards a referee.

Unlike hockey, broomball has two halves, a ball, and a broom, or rather a stick with a triangular piece of plastic stuck to the end.

Overall, broomball is an easy sport to learn and the intramural sports program at Ferris offers this opportunity to interested players.

“My team lost the first game, but we played pretty good and I am the only that has played before. It is not whether you win or lose, it’s about having fun. It’s a way to get to know people from other places on campus too,” said junior Amanda Langlois, who is captain of Team Langlois.

The amount of fun that players of all skill levels have is evident as they slip and slide, and occasionally stay on their feet to make plays and score goals.

The Ferris State men’s and women’s tennis teams were back in action this weekend in Indianapolis, Ind.

The men defeated Bellarmine University 7-2 on Friday and shutout the University of Indianapolis 9-0 on Saturday. The Bulldog men improved to 2-1 on the season. The women dropped their match on Friday by score of 3-6, but rebounded with a 6-3 victory on Saturday.

The Ferris State men’s team finished the 2008 season with a 10-11 record overall. However, it went 6-1 in the conference and finished second in the GLIAC. Alex Palladino, coach of both the men and women’s teams, believes that is probably where it will finish again this season.

“I’m hoping that we’ll finish second again,” he said. The Bulldogs are poised to have a strong conference record once again. “There are a few tough teams in the conference, but I don’t think any of them have gotten strong enough to beat us,” said Palladino.

The men are led by returning 2008 All-GLIAC player Lewis DeGeneault. He and Tyler Shelly are the two senior captains on the squad. The 11-man roster entering the 2009 season consists of two freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and three seniors. The preseason ranking placed Ferris State fourth out of the 25 teams in the NCAA-II Midwest Region.

The women finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 6-6 and a 5-4 record in conference play. They tied with Wayne State and Michigan Tech for fourth place in the GLIAC. The conference championships were played in the fall, but their overall record will include the matches that they play this spring.

“Our main season is in the fall,” said senior Jessie Conklin. The women play eight matches this spring. “The spring season for the ladies is primarily preparation for the Regional Championships because the Regionals and Nationals are still held in the spring,” said Palladino.

Overall, the women’s team consists of 12 members. There are four freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and three seniors on the squad. The team is led by senior captain Jessie Conklin and sophomore captain Amy Ingle. Seniors Ann Grant and Jennifer Prisner are also instrumental in the team’s success. Prisner finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 8-5 in singles competition and Ann Grant also posted a winning record of 6-4.

The women’s next match is Friday against Albion College, which is the first of a three match home stand. The men do not compete again until Feb. 27 when they host Aquinas College.