Team of the Week: Ferris State women’s basketball makes historic Final Four run
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (WLNS) – The Ferris State women’s basketball team made program history this season, reaching the NCAA D-II Final Four for the first time ever.
The Bulldogs competed in the Final Four last week in St. Joseph, Mo., falling to Texas Woman’s University 68-52 in the national semifinal.
Ferris State had never even reached the Elite Eight before, and this season’s historic run included a dramatic 49-46 win over the Bulldogs biggest rival, Grand Valley State, in the Sweet 16.
Ferris State’s roster includes a player from right here in mid-Michigan, Fowler alum Mia Riley.
Riley led Fowler to back-to-back state championships in 2021 and 2022 and was named the AP Div. 4 Player of the Year both years.
She is a sophomore at Ferris State and scored two points late in the Final Four loss.
“It was such a great experience, it’s something that I’ll never forget,” she said. “I remember when I got in, my teammate and friend Mallory [McCartney], she is one of my biggest role models. She looked at me right in the eyes and said ‘just shoot it!’ So I was like okay, if Mallory’s telling me to!”
Riley said she thinks the significance of what the team just did is still sinking in.
“It’s still setting in, going around campus it feels like everybody kind of realizes it,” she said. “Like I have professors and classmates that I don’t really talk to telling me congrats and just saying what a huge thing it is for the athletic program and Ferris women’s basketball. So it’s just really nice to see a lot of people rallying around a women’s sport like that.”
The Bulldogs had four seniors this year in McCartney, DeShonna Day, Chloe Idoni and Amaka Unobagha. Those seniors helped lay the foundation, and the team believes this year was just the start of what’s to come for the program.
“I would say that loss in the Final Four will really propel us for next year,” Riley said. “We know we can make it to the Final Four and we know that we’re capable and we have the talent, so we can definitely win a national championship and I think this is just the motivation that we need for next year.”
Riley added that a lot of people from Fowler have reached out in the last week and she’s grateful for their support.
“It’s amazing just to have all those people reach back out to me. People that I haven’t talked to in years, old classmates, old teachers and old coaches. Even like some little girls that would come to our games if they were close enough. It’s just crazy to see the people that look up to me. You never really realize that until it’s right there looking at you in the face.”
She hopes younger girls in Fowler are encouraged through her story to chase lofty goals.
“Nothing is too big to dream of and being from a small town doesn’t stop you from anything. Just because you don’t have the same opportunities and experiences as everyone else doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”
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