COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Dominican women's basketball team ran into an upstart Ferris State (Mich.) squad on Saturday afternoon in Alumni Hall and dropped its first game of the season, 69-56, to the Bulldogs.

After Thursday's emotional come-from-behind win over Grand Valley State (Mich.), the Panthers struggled to match Ferris State's fire-power as the Bulldogs moved to 3-2 on the year and 1-1 in the GLIAC. ODU now stands at 5-1 overall and .500 in conference action at 1-1. 

Ferris State opened with the game's first four points and gradually extended the advantage to nine, 15-6, with 12:51 left in the half. The Panthers climbed to within four at the 8:35 mark, but the Bulldogs steadily pushed the lead to double-digits thanks to a 16-6 run over the ensuing 6:45. 

ODU closed the 37-26 halftime gap to 39-32 just over four minutes in as senior Abby Glover (Centerville, OH) followed a pair of free throws and lay-up by sophomore Katelyn Stuckey (Millersburg, OH) with a lay-in of her own. However, that was as close as the Panthers would get as Ferris State put together spurts of 10-2 and 13-2 to seal the win with its largest lead of the day at 65-45 with 3:19 left to play. 

A three-pointer and jumper by freshman Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, OH) and two triples from sophomore Christina Pentaudi (Dayton, OH) over the closing minutes resulted in the final score. 

For the third straight outing, Stuckey set a new collegiate-best points total as she led the Panthers with 18, including a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line. Pentaudi added a season-high off 11 off the bench on 3-of-7 from three-point land and 4-of-9 overall. Glover, the GLIAC's leading rebounder entering the day, chipped in nine points and nine rebounds, while Hockenberry added nine and a career-high five assists.

Sarah DeShone and Christina Branch led the Bulldogs with 18 and 16 points, respectively, on a combined 14-of-24 effort from the floor.

ODU steps away from home for the next seven contests, beginning next Thursday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. as the Panthers head to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to battle defending national runner-up and current No. 8, Michigan Tech.

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu