When you have won five straight conference titles it is hard to imagine a coach being surprised by a fast start but Simpson women’s basketball coach Brian Niemuth did not expect his team to play so well so early. The Storm are 8-0 heading into Saturday’s matchup at home against Wisconsin-River Falls and the average margin of victory is 23 points.
Niemuth says they had a big senior class last year and they are very young, as 8 of the 13 they dress are freshmen. He says they have done better than what he expected in catching on to the system.
There are not many seniors but they have been a big part of the success. Forward Kate Nielsen leads the team in scoring and rebounding 20 points and seven and a half rebounds per game. He says Nielsen is unselfish and that trickles down to the others.
Niemuth says some of the players have played at large 4A schools and on AAU teams, so they have played more games than a normal freshman. The defense has been outstanding. Opponents are only shooting 36 percent and only 22 percent from three point range.
Niemuth says that feeds into their offense, which is a dependent on a running game.