The Augsburg women have at least 2 things going for them...maybe 3, though time will tell. One is coach Ted Riverso, who knows a thing or two about basketball. The 2nd is a deep, deep roster. The 3rd? A pair of experienced point guards who can, well, do what exactly?
But, first, there's ol' Ted Riverso, and there's the thing that Augsburg doesn't have, and that is tradition. You know, the Auggies finished 5th in the MIAC in its very first year of women's basketball in 1982. They have never, ever finished as high as 5th ever since, in 37 years. They've finished 6th a few times--twice in the playoff era and in two playoff appearances, they've won one game. It's true, however, that the Auggies were on the road back before Ted arrived. The late Bill McKee was another guy who knew a thing or three about basketball, and in 2012 and 2015 he coached Augsburg to its first winning seasons since 1985 and its only playoff win ever. Riverso took over in 2015 and he is now the only Augsburg coach ever with a winning record (41-34 in 3 years, 44-34 as of today; McKee was close at 50-52).
So, anyway, you've got ol' Ted Riverso and you've got a deep, deep roster. Put the 2 together, and the MIAC coaches could not help themselves but to pick the Auggies for their best MIAC finish since 1982--that is, 5th place. Well, that might be selling 'em short. It says here, their best finish EVER is well within reach.
And, put the 2 together and you've also got a 79-63 win over a very good opponent in UW-Superior.
So, third, there are those point guards--juniors Arianna Jones (Osseo) and Tamira McLemore (Eagan)--who are averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals between them. And there are shooting guards Camille McCoy (senior, Park Center), Aiza Wilson (junior, DeLaSalle, who comes off the bench) and Kaezha Wubben (junior, Hopkins) who score 23 points among there with 10 boards and 6 assists. The catch is they shoot 40 percent among them, and the forwards--Jazmyn Solseth (sophomore, St. Croix Lutheran) and Camryn Speese (junior, DeLaSalle)--are more like 30 percent.
None of that hurt too much against a very good UW Superior team Monday night, however. Augsburg shot 40/38/68 percent. UW shot 43 and 87 percent, though only 26 percent from 3-point range. The key for Augsburg was 8 extra offensive rebounds and 9 fewer turnovers, resulting in 14 extra FGA and 12 more FTA. You don't have to shoot the lights out when you're getting that many extra shots. Augsburg outscored Superior by a ridiculous 36-7 on points off turnovers and 15-8 on 2nd chances. That's 51-15 on the "special teams." Superior won the battle at even strength 38-28 for a final score of 79-63.
In fact, Augsburg led just 60-57 at 7:24 when Superior got a terminal case of butterfingers. Or, well, maybe Augsburg got a case of quick feet and quick hands. But, Superior turned it over on 5 of their next 6 possessions, by which time they were down 74-61. But, these were not just Superior turnovers, they were also steals by Solseth, Speese, Jones and McLemore.
When I say Augsburg is deep, I should add that after the top 7, there's still guards Selena Lor (freshman, Winona, 9 ppg) and Nicole Zielsdorf (sophomore, St. Anthony, 5 ppg) and forwards Abby Jordan (junior, Rogers, 4 ppg), Pashia Scott (sophomore, Columbia Heights, 3 pts-2 reb) and Carlee Kobow (senior, Becker, 2 mpg). The fact is that these five players on the deeper bench are shooting, collectively, well above 50 percent. So if that shooting percentage should get to be a problem, there are some options.
But on the other hand, even at 39 percent, Augsburg is outshooting its opponents by 7 percent. Not an accident. If they keep that up, they will be the best team that Augsburg ever had.
Player of the Day--Tamira McLemore, Augsburg, 22 points tonight
Team of the Day--Augsburg women
Coach of the Day--Ted Riverso, Augsburg
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