2018-19 MIAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University coach Ted Riverso was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coach of the Year and guard Aiza Wilson (JR, Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year, leading a group of four Auggie women's basketball players who earned postseason honors from the MIAC on Wednesday.

Guards Tamira McLemore (JR, Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) and Arianna Jones (JR, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) were named to the 18-player All-MIAC team, while forward Carlee Kobow (SR, Becker, Minn./Becker HS) was namd to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team. McLemore earned All-MIAC honors for the third straight year, while the MIAC honors were the first for Wilson, Jones and Kobow in their careers.

Riverso was named the MIAC's Coach of the Year for the eighth time in his coaching career, and the first in his four seasons as Augsburg's mentor. He previously earned the honor seven times while coaching at the University of St. Thomas from 1984 to 1999. With his final win of the 2018-19 season, Riverso reached a significant career milestone, reaching the 400-win plateau for his career. In 19 years as a head coach (15 at St. Thomas, four at Augsburg), Riverso now has a 400-119 overall record (.770 winning percentage), with his winning percentage ranking among the top 20 coaches all-time in NCAA Division III women's basketball history and top 50 coaches all-time in NCAA women's basketball history among all divisions. Riverso has the most wins of any Auggie women's basketball coach in program history, now with a 63-39 Auggie record (.617 winning percentage) in his four seasons.

Riverso guided the Auggies to their best season in varsity program history (since 1972-73), finishing 22-5 overall and 16-2 in MIAC play, the win totals both overall and MIAC school records. Augsburg finished second in the MIAC standings -- its best league finish ever -- and earned a spot in the six-team MIAC postseason playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons. Augsburg reached the conference playoff championship game for the first time in school history, and just missed out on a berth in the NCAA Division III national playoffs. Augsburg also earned its first-ever national ranking, being ranked No. 24 in the final D3hoops.com ranking of the regular season.

As the first player off the bench for the Auggies this season, Wilson provided a tremendous spark with her outside shooting prowess. She averaged 7.8 points in 19.3 minutes played per-game this season, connecting on 61 three-pointers. Her 61 three-pointers and .396 three-point percentage were both fifth-best among MIAC players in overall statistics. Her three-point shooting percentage improved from .328 to .396 from last season to this season, with her overall field-goal percentage improving from .340 to .358 (67-of-187).

She connected on a three-pointer in 26 consecutive games this season, a streak that extended to 28 games from the previous campaign. In addition to her 7.8 points per-game, she also averaged 1.9 rebounds per-game, and contributed 35 assists and 15 steals on the season.

Wilson set Augsburg's career record for three-pointers, as she now has 154, breaking the old mark of 149 by Katie LaGrave '08 (2004-08). In her 77-game Auggie career, Wilson has scored 656 points (8.5 per-game), with 142 rebounds (1.8 per-game), 134 assists and 42 steals. 

McLemore reached a career milestone this season, as she became the seventh women's basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000-point career scoring plateau -- and just the second to reach the milestone in her junior campaign. In 76 career games (75 starts), McLemore has now scored 1,129 points (14.9 per-game), now fourth-most in school history, and 470 behind the school record of 1,599, set by Stefanie Lodermeier '98 (1995-98). Her 14.9 career scoring average is currently second-best in school history, behind Lodermeier's 16.2 average.

This season, McLemore led the Auggies in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per-game, ranking fifth among MIAC players in overall statistics. McLemore set a single-season school record with 73 three-pointers, breaking the old mark of 62, set by Shannon Renne '10 in the 2009-10 season. Her 73 three-pointers led the MIAC, while her 145 field goals were fifth-most and her 78 free throws were sixth-most. She ranked fourth among conference players in three-point field-goal percentage (.427) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.765). She also contributed 70 steals, fourth-most among MIAC players.

McLemore added her name to the Augsburg record books in seven single-season categories -- first in three-pointers, third in points (441), fifth in three-point percentage, seventh in field goals, 14th in free throws, ninth in free-throw percentage and eighth in steals.

She scored in double figures in 22 of her 27 games this season, including 20-plus points in eight contests. In addition to her 1,129 career points, she has 363 career rebounds (4.8 per-game), 211 assists (10th in school history), 192 steals (fourth in school history) and 31 blocked shots. Her 139 career three-pointers are third-most in school history, and her 252 free throws are sixth-most.

Jones had a breakout campaign in 2018-19 in her second season as Augsburg's starting point guard, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds per-game, with her 103 assists third-most among MIAC players and tied for fifth-most in a single season in school history. Jones committed just 30 turnovers this season, with her 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio tops among MIAC players and fourth-best among NCAA Division III players nationally (as of Feb. 24).

In her 27 games this season, Jones claimed four or more assists 13 times, and scored in double figures in 13 games. She also had four or more rebounds in 12 games. Jones also connected on 45 three-pointers, ninth-most among MIAC players this season.

In her 76-games (65 starts) as an Auggie, Jones has scored 605 points (8.0 per-game),with 238 rebounds (3.1 per-game), 246 assists (sixth in school history), 139 steals, 113 three-pointers (sixth in school history) and 12 blocked shots.

Kobow was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. 

Playing in 25 games this season, Kobow averaged 1.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.8 minutes played per-game. In her 85-game career, Kobow scored 125 points with 140 rebounds, 19 assists, 14 steals and six blocked shots.