March 9, 2007

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Teghan Thelen gathered a loose ball under the basket and hit a layup at the buzzer to give No. 7 seed Ferris State (22-8) a 70-69 victory over No. 2 Northern Kentucky (21-8) Friday in a Division II Great Lakes Regional first-round game.

After NKU took a 69-68 lead on a basket by Angela Healy with 9 seconds left, Ferris chose not to call a timeout. Thelen missed a driving layup, then scooped up the ball following a scramble and scored the game-winner.

NKU built a 10-point lead on two occasions in the first half before settling for a 37-34 halftime edge. The frantic second half featured nine ties and nine lead changes.

Ferris State's Kristin Reinhart led all scorers with 22 points. Rachel Folcik had 19 points and a team-high 8 rebounds, Thelen tallied 14 points and Sam Johns grabbed 7 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who earned a 42-35 advantage on the glass.

Katie Butler's 15-point effort led NKU. The Norse also got 14 points from Cassie Brannen, 11 points and a game-high 6 assists from Healy, 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Nicole Chiodi and 7 rebounds from Brittany Winner.

Ferris State will face fellow GLIAC member Gannon Saturday in a 5 p.m. semifinal.