Statesman

Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Joe Olivieri

Media Credit: Tom Cariveau Lindsay Miller shoots over a defender.

Media Credit: Joe Olivieri Ryan Rasmussen pulls up for a jump shot.

Last Sunday the UMD men's basketball team opened their season at home in Romano Gymnasium against Michigan Tech University. The Bulldogs boasted a small lead throughout the game, but with only a few seconds left they came down to the wire with a 70-68 victory over the Huskies.

Sophomore Ryan Rasmussen led the Bulldogs with 18 total points. Senior captain Ron White and freshman Jake Hottenstine each put up 13 points, adding to the Bulldogs total. Freshman Dylan Rodriguez also made his Bulldog debut with nine points, three rebounds, a block and a steal.

"This team is young in experience and I'm glad we were able to gut out a win," Head Coach Gary Holquist said. "I always say 'process over product.' We have to improve and get good at the process in order to produce wins."

After their loss in exhibition against the U of M they have improved.

"I think that when you play against a team that is so good your weaknesses show that much more," Holquist said. "They really pressured us defensively and they made us understand that we have to take care of the ball."

In the last few minutes of the second half, Michigan Tech battled their way back into the ball game and achieved a small lead for a few minutes. Returning senior Jordan Schade fired back with a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs back up 68-66. When the Huskies responded with a basket of their own, the ball was given to senior Captain Ron White in hopes to sink the ball for a two-point victory. He did just that with only 2.3 seconds left on the clock and from 18 feet back.

"After the layup that I missed it couldn't get much worse, so this one had to go in for me," White said. "We are very dedicated to defense physically and offensively we try to grind it out and be unselfish. We played very hard, competed well and were able to get our first win of the season."

The Bulldogs will head to Mankato next weekend to take on Nebraska-Kearney and Maryville University-St. Louis.

The UMD's women's basketball team struggled against top-ranked Michigan Tech University, in their season opener last Sunday. The Bulldogs fell to the Huskies 68-85 on home court in Romano Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs held tight to the Huskies in the first half, but at the half were trailing 37-45. Despite being behind, senior Jheri Booker was able to put in 21 points.

Booker put up a career-high of 30 points in Sunday's game, surpassing her previous record by three points. Booker also put up four blocks and six rebounds.

"We should have won but, we need to play a full game not just one half," Booker said. "We need to learn how to put those two halves together."

UMD shot 39.4 percent from the field compared to Michigan Tech's 46.4 percent on the floor and 47.8 percent with three-point attempts. Junior forward Kelsey Hewitt led the Bulldogs with 10 out of the 34 rebounds.

"Last year the Bulldogs beat us on our home court," Michigan Tech University Head Coach John Barnes said. "They are a tough team and I would have been happy whether we won by one point or 20 points. We just wanted to come out on top."

This weekend the Bulldogs will head down to Warrensburg, M.O., to go play with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Central Missouri State on Saturday.

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