Above: Junior Allyson Harris goes for a layup in UMD's 87-55 win over Bethel University last weekend. Alex Ganeev/Statesman
BY AUSTIN RUSH | The Statesman
As the Nov. 14 regular season opener against No. 8 Michigan Tech approaches for the UMD Women’s Basketball team, look for them to focus on three areas in order to improve upon last year’s sub .500 season.
Defense wins championships--at least, that’s what the age-old saying is. Last season, the Bulldogs allowed their opponents to shoot 45.4 percent from the field while the Bulldogs were only shooting 35.5 percent from the field.
In order for the Bulldogs to find success on the defensive side of the ball this season, they need to have lock-down defense in the second half. Last season, the Bulldogs were outscored by opponents in the second half by 104 points.
With first year head coach Mandy Pearson at the helm--a defensive-minded coach--minor progress has already been shown. In last Saturday’s 87-55 win over Bethel University, the Bulldogs held Bethel to just 21.6 percent from the field in the second half and 23.9 percent in the game.
“Our defense is getting a lot better,” Pearson said. “We haven’t had a lot of bodies for practice because we’ve had some little injuries so we’ve spent a lot of time on half-court defense, but so far I'm really happy with the progress we have made.”
Last season the Bulldogs averaged 15.7 turnovers per game, a statistic that can make or break any basketball team’s season. Reducing turnovers this season could be a point of emphasis for the Bulldogs and help them elevate their game to new heights.That starts with smarter passes, better choices on both ends of the court and concise team communication.
Casual improvements were seen again in the turnover stat column Saturday night as the Bulldogs turned the ball over only 11 times. Not a great number, but showing small signs of improvement this early on in this season is promising.
The third aspect to watch for in the Bulldogs game is running the floor. A team that can successfully and efficiently run the floor will get rewarded with transition baskets. If the Bulldogs are able to get out and run the floor in transition this season they will be able to create many more scoring opportunities. A solid transition offense is great trait of a winning team.
Freshman guard Kiera Nelson moves the ball up the court in the UMD women's basketball team's 87-55 win over Bethel University last weekend. ALEX GANEEV/STATESMAN
“Continuing to run the floor,I thought we did a really good job of that today, we got some transition baskets which was nice, it always helps your offense but I think we will really focus on running the floor and being patience in our offense” Pearson said after UMD’s win over Bethel.
These three aspects of the Bulldogs game can all be upgraded. If improved this season, you will see a successful team lighting up the win column a lot more than last year. The Bulldogs were 12-15 last season and look to change that this season with a new coach and having the mindset of being all in.