The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com T hursday, January 21, 2010 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, January 21, 2010 - 7A 'Defense' is the word for ' in ton ight's game ' Rust's play evokes the past In last meeting, No. 5 Ohio State inched past Blue By AMY SCARANO Daily Sports Writer When Michigan coach Kevin Borseth pictures the women's bas- ketball team's defense, he wants to imagine a solid block. Bors- eth said his team's defense has, at times, reminded him of swiss cheese. And its holes represent Ohio State a lot of gaping problems. at Michigan Michigan is Matchup: Ohio 2-5 in the Big Ten State 19-1; (10-7 overall) Michigan 10-7 and 1-1 at home. When: Tonight And to improve at 7 p.m. that record, the defense will need Where: to be uncharac- teristically tight Live Blog: in defending michigandaily. its home court corn against No. 5 Ohio State tonight. Borseth knows the team needs to learn how to respond when opponents make mid-game adjustments. It's something they couldn't do against Wisconsin in an ugly 20-point road loss on Jan. 10. "In the second half, they just 0 diced us up (defensively)." Bors- eth said after the loss in Madison. "They changed their configura- tion in the second half. We didn't adjust to it, and that hurt us." - And against a team as strong as Ohio State, the Wolverines will need an extra effort to put togeth- er a full 40 minutes of defense. Good teams will take advantage ofthe holes in the Michigan defense until it turns into that "solid block of cheese", and the Wolverines haven't played an entire Big Ten gane of great defense yet.; Any hopes of a mid-conference winning streak were put on hold after a loss to Indiana in their last game on Jan.14. That doesn't bode well for a young team desperate for a momentum swing. Against the Hoosiers, the Wol- verines trailed in the first half, allowing 40 points before the break, after which they buckled down and came out strong defen- sively in the second half. They held Indiana to just 23 points in the final 20 minutes. And if they had made a last-second layup that rolled out of the rim, they would have tied the game and forced overtime. It was their unusually strong and inspired defense that gave them a chance to win. And if Michigan is going to beat the Buckeyes (7-0 Big Ten, 10-1 overall) tonight, the Wolverines absolutely must lock down one end of the court. But that's easier said than done. The Wolverines' holey defense is prohibiting them from beating mediocre teams - and for a team historically strong on the defen- sive end like Ohio State, that is worrisome. "If we get stops on our defense then it leads to ... us pushing the ball and making baskets," senior center Krista Phillips said. "We really need to focus and get stops so we can push the ball and get out in the front court and play the way that we are used to playing." In Michigan's first meeting with Ohio State in Columbus, the Wolverines had a chance to win but couldn't capitalize. Late-game defensive stops would have made the difference in the 59-56 loss. "Obviously, I think we could have done better on the defensive end," sophomore forward Carmen Reynolds said after the Jan. 3 loss. "We could've gotten more stops, so we got to look to do that in the next game." And true to their word, they did improve defensively in their next game. In what became their first sweep of the season, the Wolver- ines held Iowa to below 30 percent shooting to defend their home court for the win. "At the end of the game, we have to come up with defensive stops," junior guard Veronica Hicks said after the loss to the Buckeyes. "I think we are putting ourselves in a position where we are stop- ping them during the game, but a couple ofgymgs likethe North- western game ... and also at Ohio State, we just didn't get the stop. It left us with a three-point deficit. Those two games were kind of the same, and they ended up kind of the same." Especially for a team with an offense is fueled bX defensive stops, turning swiss into solid is a must if this team is going to start winning again. And in tonight's home-court match-up with the Buckeyes, Michigan has a chance to prove that it can do that against the best. By MARK BURNS Daily Sports Editor They were standout penalty kill- ers for the Michigan hockey team. Two former and one current Wol- verine - each responsible for the minor detailsthat didn'tjump out of the box score at the end of the night. From blocking shots and shut- ting down the opponents' top line to winning timely face-offs with seconds left on the clock, Michi- gan assistant coach Mel Pearson recalled a duo of past Wolverines as a perfect comparison to Michigan's prototypical defensive forward today - junior Matt Rust. "(Rust) is a cross between Jed Ortmeyer and Dwight Helminen," Pearson said. "Dwight was a great skater, really good defensive player. And Jed was just unbelievable - blocked shots, put his body on the line, and Rusty does that." Both Ortmeyer and Helminen are still in the process of establish- ing themselves in the NHL as Rust leads a Wolverine team that is try- ing to make it to the NCAA Tour- nament for the 20th-straight year. The two older Michigan products played for Wolverine coach Red Berenson in the early 2000s. Ort- meyer graduated from the Univer- sity in 2003 and Helminen left after his junior season a year later. And Rust, a product of the U.S. National Team Development Pro- gram in Ann Arbor, has shown a multitude of similarities to these past Wolverines. "It starts with hockey sense and hockey smarts," Pearson said. "He anticipates plays instead of just .. ,. : t t- , ; ARIEL BOND/Daily Junior Matt Rust is second on the team in scoring this season with seven points in his last seven contests. reacting to them, and he's got that bulldog mentality on the ice." With just under five minutes left in the second period of Saturday's game against Alaska, Rust wheeled his way behind the Nanooks' net, looking for freshman Kevin Lynch in the low slot. Rust spun on a dime, in order to throw a forehand pass out to a wide-open Lynch, who then flipped the puck over goalten- der Scott Greenharn's glove. Rust then won a faceoff in the Nanook zone with about three min- utes remaining in the game. Junior defenseman Chad Langlais cor- ralled the puck and slid a wrist shot on the ice that made its way past Greenham's five-hole, capping off a two-goal comeback to force the game into overtime. The two plays, though maybe minor in the scope of the whole season, are what the Wolverines need more of, not only from Rust, but from the entire roster. Despite Rust's performance in recent games, coach -Red Berenson was quick to note how his first-line cen- ter should have more goals at this point in the season. "He didn'thave as good an offen- sive weekend (againstAlaska) as he could have, because that line (of freshman Kevin Lynch, Rust and junior Carl Hagelin) generated some two-on-ones," Berenson said. "He had three glorious chances to score this weekend, and if he had a really good weekend, he would have scored on those chances." The Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native is second on the team in scoring, with seven points in his last seven games. Rust could beone of the leading forces necessary for a late Wolverine surge with just six weeks left in conference play. But it could be Rust's loose demeanor and carefree mental- ity that has had one of the big- gest impacts on the Wolverines. The ability for Rust to maintain a positive, upbeat atmosphere in the locker room, especially during a roller-coaster season, is a welcome contribution to any team. And no one would know Rust's charac- ter better than teammate and best friend, junior Louie Caporusso. "He's a funny kid," Caporusso said. "Me and him can go all day and talk about whatever and have a laugh about it. ... He's a great danc- er. He can dance to Fergie like no one else." Blue squeaks by 19th-ranked Spartans By STEPHEN NESBITT Daily Sports Writer The scene was oddly famil- iar. A Michigan gymnast landed her final jump, threw up her hands, and flashed a smile to the applauding crowd, only to be crushed several moments later with a mediocre score, just as it had happened several times ear- lier in the night. Nevertheless, the 15th-ranked Wolverines (2-0 Big Ten, 3-0 over- all) needed their final two floor performances - phenomenal runs by freshman Natalie Beilstein and junior Kylie Botterman - to secure a slim 194.20-193.75 victory over No. 19 Michigan State at Crisler Arena. Sure, Michigan came out with the win, but the Wolverines know there's much room for improve- ment. "We improved in some areas, and we had some mistakes," senior Sarah Curtis said. "Overall, it was good for us to get out there. The more we have under our belt, the better we get at doing them, and we get the nervous shakes." But before the team makes any drastic changes, it must consider the conservative officiating. "I thought the judging was pret- ty tight tonight, and it was a little frustrating," Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. "Bot we'trgoing, to have that, and I guess it's better that we find out right now what kind of stuff they're accepting so we can go back in practice, and see what we can do to get higher scores." The Spartans (2-1, 5-1) saw their share of questionable scores, but while they struggled in the open- ing acts on the uneven bars, their proficiency on the floor exercise and on the balance beam pulled them five one hundredths of a point behind Michigan after three events. While the Michigan fans roared at the judges after each controver- sial score went up, the meet was closer than necessary due to Wol- verines' mistakes, according to Plocki, who pointed to three falls as major contributors to the small margin of victory. "I'm obviously disappointed with the falls we had on beam," Plocki said. "We train beam in practice like we're champs, and you can see by the scores of the kids who hit that we are a very good beam team, but sometimes when you have a fall ... itputs a lot of pressure on people coming up later in the lineup." on a night when tumbles and low scores plagued the Wolver- ines, Curtis was definitely a leader, winning the individual bar and beam events with totals of 9.825 and 9.875 respectively, as well as earning the all-around award with a 39.275. "We expect (Sarah) to do that in her role, as experienced as she is," Plocki said. "We need to be able to count on her in pressure situations, and tonight she caine through for us." Another outstanding performer was freshman Natalie Beilstein, who made another bid for Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors with a second terrific meet. Beilstein took the vault with a 9.875 and tied Botterman with a floor routine pegged at 9.825. "It has been wonderful to see that (Natalie) is coming out and coming into her own and compet- ing the way that she's trained," Plocki said. " She isa freshman, and while most freshmen are uptight, they're nervous, they're scared, she just goes out there and lets it all hang out." Curtis expects the team to use this meet as the building block for a stronger showing, especially with a matchup against No. 9 Nebraska looming. # BDRMS Location Price Fall 6 1122 S. Forest $3000 6 May 541 S. Division $3000 Copi Properties 734.663.5690 DON'T WAIT UNTIL April 2010 for your Dorm rates - Get low rates to- day with University Towers. Rooms, Studio's - 3 bedrooms - Heat, mater and furniture included - Contact us at universitytowers-mi.com - Don't forget your FREE Bubble Island Drink with every new tour. 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GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You might have a meaningful conver- sation with a female acquaintance today. Or the conversation could be competi- tive and slightly challenging. Who knows? CANCER (June 21 to July 22)' Some aspect of your private life sud- denly will be made public today. Whatever occurs might put you on the defensive. Actually, it's small potatoes. Relax. LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) Try to do something different today. You're restless, you want some adven- ture and you want to learn something new! Go someplace you've never been behore. Talk to people from other cul- tures and difterent backgrounds. VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) Although you're focused on red-tape matters about insurance, inheritances, shared property and banking, do not make any permanent decisions today. Wait until tomorrow. LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Because the Moon is opposite your sign today, you will have to go more than halfway when dealing with others. Don't worry. In two weeks, people will have to go more than halfway dealing with you! SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21) You have an urge to get better organ- ized today. However, this is a poor day to shop. It's a better day to just putter and put things in tidy, neat piles. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22to Dec. 21) This is a fun-loving, goofy day. It's the perfect day to kick back and relax, if you can. Enjoy playful times with children. Watch some sports. Grab a movie. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) Your thoughts turn to home, family and domestic matters today. Discussions with family members might take a sur- prising turn. (They'll certainly be frank.) However, avoid important decisions today. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20to Feb. 10) This is a busy day with errands, short trips and possibly sbopping. Actually, its a poor day for shopping. Above alt, keep your receipts. PISCES (Feb. 19to March 20) You might be concerned with cash flow and financial matters today. Guard against errors or loss. This is not a good day for major expenditures. YOU BORN TODAY Even though you have an mtense energy, you know how to keep it under control. This makes you appear sophisticated and detached. (You are anything but.) In fact, you are quite impulsive! You need encourage- ment from others. You like life to be exciting. Your year ahead could possibly be one the most powerful years of your life! Dream big! Birthdate of: Diane Lane, actress; John Hurt, actor; Beverley Mitchell, actress. SUMMER EMPLOYMENT WORK ON MACKINAC Island, this summer - Make lifelong friends. The Island House Hotel and Ryba's Fudge Shops are looking for seasonal help in all areas: Front Desk, Bell Staff; Sales Clerks, Baristas, and Kitchen Staff. Housing, bonus, and discounted meals available. Call Ryan 1 (906)847-7196. www.theislandhouse.com m 2010 King Features Syndicate, Inc.