Hodges fills in for Augustus

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: July 2, 2009 - 1:13 AM

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Lynx guard Roneeka Hodges was playing little and scoring less until the team lost its best player.

On June 17, teammate Seimone Augustus was seriously hurt in a WNBA game in Phoenix. She tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the second quarter. Surgery is set for Tuesday.

Hodges filled in for Augustus, the team's leading scorer, against the Mercury. Since then Hodges has started four games in Augustus' place and scored in double figures the past three games, all victories.

"I am really impressed with Roneeka Hodges, the way she has stepped up in the last few games," Lynx coach Jen Gillom said. "She is playing with such confidence and shooting the ball extremely well."

The Lynx (7-3) play visiting Sacramento at 7 p.m. today at the Target Center. Monarchs forward Nicole Powell is third in three-pointers made in the WNBA with 22, Hodges is only three behind with a Lynx-high 19.

Hodges is 19 of 41 from behind the arc, which calculates to a 46.3 percentage. Only four players with at least 20 three-point attempts are sinking them more often.

"She is at a confidence level that is unbelievable right now," Gillom said. "Being a role player all these years and coming into the starting lineup and being our second-leading scorer right now is impressive. I think it is going to continue."

Hodges is averaging 13.7 points and nearly 30 minutes since she became a starter. In her first five games this season, she never played more than 11 minutes and had 11 points total.

Two games ago, Hodges made four threes and scored a career-high 22 as the Lynx beat Phoenix 109-80 at home. On Tuesday, she made five of seven three-point shots for all 15 of her points as the Lynx won at Atlanta 91-85.

"When I came into the league, my role kind of changed to being more of a shooter," Hodges said. "If that is your role on the team, you are going to practice it to perfection."

The Lynx acquired Hodges in late May in the dispersal draft of Houston players when that franchise folded. The Comets had taken her with the 15th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

In four seasons with Houston, she started only 18 of 103 games she played in and had a career scoring average of 4.8 points. She was a reserve for the Lynx as well until Augustus went down.

"Right at that particular moment, it was devastating," Hodges said, "not just for me but to the whole team. Seimone is my teammate and a good friend of mine.

"You never want to see that happen to anybody, especially the way Seimone was playing [averaging 21 points per game] and the situation we were in [a 4-1 start]. Fortunately, we've continued to keep it rolling without her."

Hodges, born in New Orleans, played college basketball at Louisiana State for three seasons. She was a junior at LSU and the team's top reserve when Augustus was a freshman. Hodges transferred to Florida State her senior year and averaged 19.2 points.

She calls her chance to start now as a pro a good opportunity. But Hodges' mindset on what she has to do remains unchanged. "I just have to come out and contribute in some kind of way," Hodges said. "Lately, I have been playing with confidence and things have been going my way, in my favor."

Especially on those threes from the corners.

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