Football at Illinois Tomorrow, 3:30 p.m. (ABC) Champaign SPORTS Volleyball vs. Northwestern Tonight, 7:30 Cliff Keen Arena OThe Michigan Daily Friday, November 15, 1991 Page 13 Cuban cagers cruise, lose at Crisler Cuban defense suffocates Blue women, 976 by Ryan Herrington Daily Basketball Writer The Michigan woman's basketball team learned the hard way what international basketball is like. In an *xhibition game at Crisler Arena last night, the Woverines were easily defeated, 97-69, by the women's Cuban national team. "This is the second or third-ranked women's team in the world right now," Michigan coach Bud Van- DeWege said. "Immediately, some things need to be put into perspective. It's not like I'm accepting every- thing, I'm just saying let's put it into perspective. We're still two weeks away from when we start. This is certainly not a disappointment to me." The Wolverines struggled from the floor all night, *hooting .289 during the first half and finishing the game 24-for-77 for a .312 percentage. ,Within the first eight minutes, the Cubans had taken control with their aggressive defense, continu- ally stopping the Wolverines with tight full-court pressure. The Cubans' defense created their offense. They cap- italized on Michigan's 24 turnovers, pushing the ball up the court and finding three-on-two situations which translated into easy baskets. In the first half alone, .uba had 14 layups. Leading the way was Maria Leon, 'hp scored 22 of her 28 points in the first half. "We have to work on getting back on defense," ju- nior center Trish Andrew said. "They were breaking on us p lot and were very quick. It was definitely a learn- ing experience." Another Michigan weakness proved to be condition- ing. On several occasions the Cubans simply outran the Wolverines, collecting 20 steals on the night and re- covering many loose balls. "I felt our conditioning was not good," Van- Wege said. "I think we have to get ready for a fast 4ee game, because I think that's the way we need to pla~y this year. We have to do a better job of being in condition. We're not in the shape I would hope that we would be." Michigan did have some bright moments. Andrew led the Wolverines with 25 points and showed her out- side touch with six field goals from the perimeter. She also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. (Trish) was fabulous," VanDeWege said. "She is *qlearly one of the best perimeter shooters in our con- ference." However, VanDeWege has some work to do before the season opener against Boston College Dec. 1. "We need to find someone who can be a scorer out there," VanDeWege said. "We going to try and find a lineup that shoots the ball well and is aggressive from the outside." Webber, Rose spark men to 84 by John Niyo Daily Basketball Writer Any doubts about the impact the newcomers on the Michigan basket- ball team would have were erased in a hurry last night as the Wolverines easily defeated the Cuban Nationals, 84-63, in a preseason exhibition game. As expected, Michigan had little trouble with the Cubans, who iooked fatigued in the midst of their grueling U.S. tour. And as expected, coach Steve Fisher's recruits pro- vided a great deal of the fireworks, taking advantage of the Cubans tired legs once they had jumped out to an early lead. "I thought our defense was bet- ter than I had anticipated," Fisher said. "We did a good job of getting at the perimeter players and not let- ting them get some uncontested passes." The starting five of Eric Riley, Michael Talley, James Voskuil, Freddie Hunter, and frosh Juwan Howard jumped out to a 10-0 lead, thanks in part to their ability to run an efficient passing game and get easy layups. Riley tipped in a miss for the first bucket of the season and Talley knocked in six quick points to set the stage for the newcomers' show. But thanks to some turnovers, that show was put on hold for a while. "The one liability, or drawback. 63 victory - tonight I think we had 30 some odd turnovers igainst a team that doesn't play very great defense," Fisher said. "A lot of them were poor decisions. Some of them, it looked like passes that could've been caught." The remedy for the sloppy play last night that let the Cubans close to 30-27 was frosh Jalen Rose. The 6-foot-7 swingman stepped into the role of point guard and sparked the Michigan team and the crowd with smooth passing, often for spectacu- lar alley-oops. "Jalen Rose knows how to play," Fisher said. "He has a good feel for the pass after the pass. I liked the decisions he made. I liked the thought process that he had." That thought process carried the Wolverines on a 17-4 run to close out the half. At the half, Rose led all scorers with 12 points - includ- ing a three-pointer - and he added two assists without turning, the ball over. Rose finished with 15 points, seeing limited action in the second half. So, after that perfor- mance, will he start? "If he keeps playing the way he did tonight, yeah, I think he will be a starter," Fisher said. "We seemed to be flowing a lot smoother when Jalen was in there." Another likely starter is Chris Webber, who brought the crowd to its feet several times with thunder- ous dunks. Michigan first-year player Jalen Rose drives to the basket against Cuba in last night's 84-64 Wolverine exhibition victory. Rose played well, finishing with 15 points. Big Ten women's coaches tab Iowa conference favorite ..." -' by Jeff Williams Daily Basketball Writer CHICAGO - The Big Ten women's basketball coaches assembled in Chicago yesterday for their third annual tipoff luncheon. The coaches reached consensus on two points; Iowa should win the con- ference, and women's athletics has come a long way, but there are still more steps to be taken. The coaches almost unanimously picked the Hawkeyes in their annual coaches poll. The only dissenting opin- ion belonged to Iowa coach Vivian Stringer. "Being called No. 1 is the biggest joke I've ever heard," Stringer said. "It's so unfair. I don't even know who's going to start because I don't even know who's going to function from day to day." The Hawkeyes (13-5 in the Big Ten, 21-9 overall) tied for second place last year. Iowa is a young team with eight first or second-year players. Michigan State (13-5, 21-8) and de- fending champion Purdue (17-1, 26-3) are expected to put pressure on Iowa. "We're going to have to find a way to stay healthy," Michigan State coach Karen Langeland said. "We also have to find a way to make up 50 percent of our scoring." The Spartans graduated guard Eileen Shea and forward Dana Walker. Shea av- eraged 15.1 points a game, and Walker contributed 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. After a ninth-place finish last season, the coaches picked Michigan (4-14, 11- 17) to finish seventh this year. "It was a realistic pick," Michigan coach Bud VanDeWege said. "It's a con- sequence of having a tough year last year." Although most of the attention was given to Iowa as a favorite, another topic of conversation was the progression of women's athletics in general. Television coverage was specifically cited as a way to increase support. "The Big Ten office has to continue to put pressure on the networks, so they get more involved," Northwestern coach Don Perrelli said. "There is an au- dience out there." This season CBS will broadcast the Big Ten/SEC Women's Basketball Chal- lenge Dec. 28.,'in Knoxville, Tenn. Also, CBS will once again broadcast the NCAA semifinals this season as well as the championship game. This is the sec- ond year CBS will broadcast these games as part of the its NCAA men's basket- ball contract. Michigan icers to pay visit to first-place Miami Fr x by Andy De Korte Daily Hockey Writer A scan of the Michigan hockey schedule at the beginning of the sea- son would have revealed a weekend against a top-ten Minnesota team followed by a weekend against perennial Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) doormat, Miami of Ohio. * While Minnesota was ranked fifth in the nation last weekend when it was swept by Michigan (2- 1-1 in the CCHA, 4-1-1 overall), the Redskins have changed direction and are currently tied with Lake Supe- rior for the CCHA lead going into this weekend's games at Oxford. Miami (4-0, 5-1) has put one over on the experts, most of whom pre- dicted a ninth-place Redskin finish. By sweeping two two-game series from Ohio State and Ferris State, Miami has already tallied more con- ference victories than last year's three. While Miami's output has; been unexpected, Redskin coach George Gwozdecky has an explana- tion for the newfound success. "Number one, our schedule has helped us out. The last two years we've had to open against Michigan, so we were never able to start well," Gwozdecky said. "Secondly, the attitude changes are so much a part of the team identity - the de- AL Mark Ouimet, the Redskins have exploded after scoring more than three goals only eight times in 37 games last year. According to Gwozdecky, his de- fense has not improved as fast as the rest of the team. "We're going to key on their er- rors, and stay in the zone a little longer because they don't have a (Michigan defenseman Patrick) Neaton - someone to push the puck out of the zone," Wolverine de- fenseman Aaron Ward said. "It could be a prosperous weekend for the defensemen." Although both coaches are com- plimentary of Miami, they both recognize the Redskins' limitations, and the probable outcome of both games. Berenson expects his Wolver- ines, who are 14-0-1 in their last 15 games against the Redskins to con- tinue the streak, and Gwozdecky did not really contradict him. "I don't think we match up with them specifically in any area. If you go down the list, they have All- Americans, a Hobey Baker candidate, everything," Gwozdecky said. "We're excited to have them down here. We're excited to play the Wolverines. It will be good hockey, and will be a good gauge of how far we have to go." "c 1217 P \*hronyou Hood col.:760 Monday-Friday 5:0Opm-9 76-GUl dential, line on e academic April). don't he an Sponsored by Coin PIARYS I *4 P' 1NT IE C" - MULT CAL R SPECIALISTS " ARTIST ON STAFF " RUSH ORDERS NEAR U OF M CAMPUS PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-1771 FF with this ad. d to talk. were here to lsten. 00-4n . .-GUID r i MN t P9Ooam Saturday-Sunday 24 hr I KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Daily Michigan goaltender Steve Shields hopes to avoid uncompromising positions such as this one this weekend at Miami of Ohio. fense is blocking shots and everyone is moving the puck out of the zone and is willing to work harder." While Gwozdecky's counter- part, Michigan coach Red Berenson, was as shocked as any at the Redskin surge, it confirmed one of the reali- ties he frequently expresses. "They are the surprise team of the league right now, but it shows you that you can't just look at paper and judge a team," he said. "They have been playing good, and the spe- cial teams have looked good, and they're finally getting some good goaltending." Miami goalie Mark Michaud has given his teammates the chance to outscore their opponents, an oppor- tunity that they did not have last year. Scoring is another problem that the Redskins have corrected this year. Led by two junior right wings, team captain Chris Berger, and Terry Ouimet, brother of Michigan's )E is an anonymous, confi- peer counseling telephone ampus, open throughout the c year (September through So if you ever need to talk, sitate to pick up the phone d call (764-8433). seling Services. i SCOREKEEPEJIS TOSH IBA T2200SX Alsk tOIIBA - 40/60 MB hard disk _ A100Elso-4