Dominick Ingram, Contributo

The Augsburg women’s basketball team has gotten off to a fantastic start this season, going 4-1 through their first five games. They picked up wins against Crown College, University of Northwestern St. Paul, UW-Superior and UW-Platteville. Augsburg was fifth in 2018-19 MIAC women’s basketball preseason coaches fell, so it is safe to say they have turned some heads after this successful start to their season.

The Auggies suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend at the Holiday Inn Express Thanksgiving Classic which took place in La Crosse, Wisc. The lone loss came against UW La Crosse, who also came into the game undefeated and were determined to keep their streak going. The first half was a back-and-forth affair, but the third quarter ended up being the difference maker. The Eagles outscored the Auggies 28-9 in the quarter, which ended up being a lead Augsburg wasn’t able to overcome. UWL outshot the Auggies with their 37% FG percentage while holding the Auggies to a season-low 29%.

The Auggies have been led by two-time All-MIAC guard Tamira McLemore who is averaging 13 points a game so far this season. The team also had many others who have contributed to their 4-1 start in big ways. Camryn Speese, who finished first on team in rebounds last season, has continued her dominance on the glass leading the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.

The crafty playmaker Arianna Jones leads the Auggies in assists with 28 through the first five games. Jones finished fourth in the MIAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) and finished ninth in the MIAC in assists with 70. She will be a key part of this year’s squad offensive as she builds off of her great season last year

The Auggies will look to build on their early success as they make the trip to Duluth this weekend to face the College of St. Scholastica on Dec. 1.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 30, 2018 issue.