Iowa and American have differing NCAA pedigrees, share do-it-all PGs

By Susan Harman, correspondent

IOWA CITY - Iowa and American University are coming into Friday morning's first-round NCAA women's basketball tournament game from different places.

Iowa, from a so-called power conference, is playing in its eighth consecutive NCAA tournament and 24th overall. While not to suggest this is Connecticut or Tennessee, this will be the third year in a row Iowa plays NCAA games on its home court. Its coach is the longest-tenured in the Big Ten and in Iowa history.

American will make its first NCAA appearance after six WNIT appearances (all first-round losses). The Eagles come from the Patriot League, which is pretty much consigned to one berth in the Big Dance. Their coach, Megan Gebbia, is in her second season as head coach, although she has considerable experience as an assistant.

While Iowa has openly talked of breaking the glass ceiling that is the Sweet 16, AU's coach and players haven't hidden their delight at just being here.

Yet these teams have something in common, a key player who has helped define their very nature. AU senior point guard Jen Dumiak leads the Eagles in scoring (16.9), assists (6.2) and minutes (37.8) and is a first-team academic All-American. The last two summers she's interned at Johns Hopkins in the applied physics lab.

'She's really the key to the team,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'In my opinion she's a big key to their offensive success.”

Iowa's counterpoint is senior All-American point guard Samantha Logic. Logic, the difference maker four years ago as a recruit who others would follow, has changed and toughened the mindset of a team full of nice kids. Logic leads the team in minutes, assist, and steals, is fourth in scoring (but just 1.6 points per game behind Ally Disterhoft) and second in rebounding (0.1 per game behind Bethany Doolittle). Like Dumiak, Logic is an academic All-American.

'That's the first thing I think we said to Jen when we started watching film on Iowa was that her counterpart at the same position basically plays the same way in that they both run the show,” Gebbia said. 'They run the team's tempo. They both like to get into the paint. They are both big on getting the assist as well as scoring. Just their feistiness and their heart that they bring each and every day; they both go 100 percent every possession, both ends of the court.”

'(Dumiak) is very effective when she gets into the paint,” Iowa's Lisa Bluder said. 'She scores, really, with great ease when she gets in there.”

She shoots 42 percent from 3-point range and 92 percent from the foul line.

Gebbia said knowing the academic accomplishments and personalities of both made the match-up that much more intriguing.

'It will be interesting to watch those two go at it from a mental perspective as well because a lot of the game has to do with decision making and that side of the ball, so I'm excited to see how Jen competes.”