BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Senior Kayla Cook (Westerville, Ohio) buried a trio of three pointers at the start of the third quarter as Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team defeated Ferris State 77-59 in the GLIAC opener.

Cook's outburst was part of a 23-3 run to start the third quarter as ODU broke loose from a game it led by just four (35-31) at the half.

The Panthers (5-2, 1-0 GLIAC) drilled 6-of-11 three-point attempts in outscoring Ferris State (0-6, 0-1 GLIAC) 28-6 in the third quarter. Cook's third triple of the quarter came at the 7:26 mark, and senior Lauren Bates (Hilliard, Ohio) followed with a layup to cap an 11-0 run that put ODU in front 46-31 after intermission.

Senior Tori Beth Leader (West Portsmouth, Ohio) canned another three to make it 49-32, and sophomore Alexis Overly (Chillicothe, Ohio) stuck a triple with three minutes left in the quarter to extend the lead to 58-34. Junior Darian Rose (Fort Loramie, Ohio) knocked down a three-pointer with less than a minute left in the quarter gave ODU a 63-37 cushion, its largest of the game, and the lead remained at 20 or above until the game's waning moments.

Junior Sarah Futscher (Wilder, Ky.) scored a game-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds. Bates finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Cook went 4-of-5 from the three-point line to account for her 12 points.

Rose tallied 10 points with four assists, Overly scored eight points and freshman Jessica Boerger (Fort Loramie, Ohio) also had seven points off the bench.

The Panthers had a sluggish start to the first quarter and found themselves tied 13-13 through the first 10 minutes before finding an offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Trailing 23-18, Futscher and senior Lindsey Blanford (Xenia, Ohio) each hit threes to put ODU in front 24-23 with 6:03 to play. Then, down 29-26, ODU used a 9-2 run to close the half, as Boerger hit a three, junior Megan Eyre (Fayetteville, Ohio) and Bates made layups, and Leader stuck a jump shot, to make it 35-31 at the half.

The Panthers scored 21 fastbreak points and turned 22 Ferris State turnovers into 20 points.

Ohio Dominican remains on the road to take on No. 17 Grand Valley State at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu