February 13, 2008 - Pink will be a prominent color throughout Thursday night's home basketball games between Hillsdale College and Ferris State University. But the most appropriate color to apply to the Charger women's team lately has been red-hot.

Hillsdale College's women's basketball team, now ranked 22nd in the nation, will host Ferris State at 6 p.m. Thursday in a marquee matchup in the GLIAC this season. The men's game will tip off at 8 p.m.

Saturday, both teams will travel south to Tiffin, Ohio, for a non-league doubleheader against Tiffin University. The games will start at 2 and 4 p.m.

Thursday night, Hillsdale College will recognize the WBCA's "Think Pink" program in several ways. "Think Pink" is a nationwide initiative to help raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. Hundreds of schools from all divisions around the country have celebrated Think Pink week since Feb. 7.

The game programs Thursday will be printed in all-pink, and all of the proceeds from program sales will go to the WBCA's Think Pink program. In addition, Hillsdale's Student Athlete Activities Committee will be selling pink ribbons througout Thursday's doubleheader, and will be "selling" Valentine's Day messages people may wish to put up on the videoboard inside the gym.

Amid all of the Think Pink programs in place, there is a very big game on tap between the Charger and Bulldog women's teams. Ferris State is tied for second place in the GLIAC North Division with an impressive 10-4 conference record. The team is led by preseason GLIAC Player of the Year Rachel Folcik, who is one of the most talented players in the conference.

Hillsdale has won seven in a row and clinched its first GLIAC South Division title since 2002-03 with Saturday's 90-55 win at Mercyhurst. The Chargers are 19-3 overall and 12-2 in the GLIAC, and hold a one-game lead over Michigan Tech for first place overall in the conference. If Hillsdale maintains first place in the conference through the end of the regular season, and it wins its first-round tournament game on March 1, Hillsdale will host the semifinals and finals of the 2008 GLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time in program history.

The matchup of Folcik and Hillsdale's Katie Cezat will be a matchup of two strong GLIAC Player of the Year candidates. Folcik was the preseason choice for the conference's top player, but Cezat has had the type of season that also makes her a contender for the award.

Cezat has been named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week an unprecedented four straight times. She leads the conference in scoring (22.9) and rebounding (12), and ranks second and fourth in the nation in those categories. She needs one blocked shot to become Hillsdale's single-season leader in that category. She is also is rapidly climbing up the school's single-season top 10 lists for points and rebounds.

She is just the fourth player in school history to score at least 500 points in a season, and her 274 rebounds this season rank fifth on the Charger single-season list.

But Hillsdale's great success this season isn't due only to Cezat's incredible play. Hillsdale ranks as one of the toughest defensive teams in the GLIAC, ranking near the top of the league in points allowed, field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal defense.

That defense will undergo a stiff test at the hands of Ferris State. The Bulldogs are the GLIAC's highest scoring team, and is the best free throw shooting team in the conference. The Bulldogs lead the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.464), and will match up against the Chargers' top-ranked field goal defensive unit (.369).

Both Hillsdale and Ferris State are in the top eight in the Great Lakes Regional rankings. The Chargers are second in the latest regional rankings, while FSU is fifth. If the regional tournament were to begin tomorrow, both teams would make the regional tournament.

The last time Hillsdale played Ferris State, the site was Gannon Univesity, and the occasion was the 2007 GLIAC Tournament Semifinals. In an instant classic of a game, the Chargers prevailed 90-87 in overtime to advance to the GLIAC Tournament Championship Game. Ferris State would go on to make the regional tournament, and advanced all the way to the regional finals last year.

On the men's side, the Chargers will try to end a two-game losing skid by taking on Ferris State for the second time this season, but the first meeting that will count for each team's league record.

The Chargers beat the Bulldogs 84-72 on Nov. 17 in a non-league game in Big Rapids. That was the first win at Hillsdale for first-year head coach John Tharp.

The Bulldogs are coached by Bill Sall, a former assistant coach at Hillsdale College. This will be the first meeting between these two teams in Hillsdale since Jan. 7, 2006.

Hillsdale stands at 12-11 overall and 6-8 in the GLIAC. The Chargers are in strong contention for a wild card spot for the GLIAC Tournament. Four teams in the North Division are tied with a 5-9 record, and it's likely a team with a 7-11 record will qualify for this season's conference tournament. If Hillsdale wins just one of its final three conference games, it will finish with a 7-10 conference ledger.

Tiffin, Hillsdale's Saturday opponent, will join the GLIAC next season as a full-time member. The Dragons will be in the South Division, and will play home-and-home games against the Chargers each season starting in 2008-09. Hillsdale's men's team defeated the Dragons on Jan. 29, 87-62.

Click on the links below for more information on the basketball teams from Ferris State and Tiffin.

Ferris State Men's Basketball

Ferris State Women's Basketball

Tiffin Men's Basketball

Tiffin Women's Basketball