USD's women to play No. 2-ranked Duke

12-29-2005

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

USD's women's basketball team wanted a chance to play Duke. Now they Toreros will find out if they got more than they bargained for in the matchup against one of their sport's elite teams.

Duke, ranked No. 2 in the nation, improved to 10-0 with a 105-57 win over St. John's (9-2) in Wednesday's first round of the Surf and Slam Classic. It's the fourth time this year the Blue Devils have scored 100 or more points. USD (4-7) advanced with a 53-48 win over Montana State (0-11) to the final at 8 p.m. Friday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

USD’s Michelle Augustavo, a 6-foot sophomore guard who scored a school-record 42 points in a four-point loss on Dec. 11 at Clemson, views Duke with equal parts excitement and awe.

“When we tell everybody we might play Duke, they say, ‘Oh, my gosh … Duke?’ ”

USD is facing more than just just another good team from Coach G -- Gail Goestenkors – Duke’s counterpart to Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski, and the men’s program.

Duke's women arrived in San Diego averaging 95.6 points a game with five Blue Devils averaging double figures and nine at least six points. Three times they’ve scored 110 points and four other times 90 or more.

Monique Currie, an All-American guard/forward, leads the scoring with 14.3 points a game. Currie (6-0) was the runner-up in national player-of-the-year voting last year and opted to bypass the WNBA and return as a fifth-year senior.

Abby Waner, a 5-10 freshman guard, is second with 12.2 points. She was the 2005 national high school player of the year by both McDonald’s and Gatorade.

"To have a team like Duke playing here is great for people who enjoy women’s basketball in San Diego,” USD coach Cindy Fisher said. “It’s a chance to see a quality of program and the athletes who play for that kind of team. Duke is where every coach wants to get their program.”

Augustavo said the Toreros believe their record is misleading because of a tough schedule. USD lost to No. 11-ranked Arizona State, 67-63; the Pac-10’s Washington, 77-61; and ACC teams Georgia Tech, 56-51, and Clemson, 72-68.

“We’ve had some close games, but we need a little more focus to be more consistent,” she said. “We’ve have some slumps for five minutes when games have been decided.”

Augustavo, who is averaging a team-high 11.3 points, was highly recruited out of Bothell (Wa.) Blanchet High. Fisher, an assistant at Nebraska last year and former head coach at Wyoming, said she was aware of Augustavo on the recruiting trail.

“She’s got a super-quick release – almost too quick at times,” Fisher said. “We try to make sure she’s square to the basket and as her feet set. But she pretty much as the green light to let it go.”

In Augustavo’s 42-point outburst, she hit 10-of-19 3-point field goals. But she’s searching for her own consistency after missing 13 games with a leg stress fracture in the middle of last year’s schedule.

The Toreros are still adjusting to losing 6-5 sophomore center Amber Sprague, last year’s leading scorer at 14.5, for the year with a foot injury before the season started. But Augustavo says they think they can challenge for the West Coast Conference title in what is considered a down year for the league.

“We said that last year, too,” she said, “but this year we believe it.”

At least they don’t expect to see anyone as tough as Duke.

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com