Summer foes to teammates

Four Iowa basketball players played Wednesday night in the Game Time League Championship in North Liberty. However, they weren't on the same team.

Tania Davis and Megan Gustafson, both freshmen this fall, played for Beat the Bookstore/Westport Touchless Autowash. They defeated Cullen Painting/Joensy's Iowa City, 112-67 - the team junior Alexa Kastanek and senior Nicole Smith played for.

This championship game offered the girls a unique opportunity to play against each other.

'It's nice to know their strengths and weaknesses when playing against them,” said Kastanek, who finished fourth in the GTL for average points per game with 25.8. 'It's a nice change of pace.”

Davis and Gustafson were able to play with and against a wide variety of players, from high schoolers to college seniors. They learned a lot from each other this summer, helping themselves ease into their college experience and into college basketball.

'Tania is such a great player,” Gustafson said. 'She has a great sense of the basketball court.”

Davis is a 5-foot-3 guard from Grand Blanc, Mich. However, the height difference with her competition does not affect her. She finished tops in the summer league in assists, averaging 6.8 per game, and ranked 10th in three-point percentage at 50 percent.

'Sometimes, it's just me sizing up my opponent,” she said. 'If we're the same size and speed, I have to shake things up.”

Gustafson, a four-time first-team all-conference honoree in high school, is experiencing a big transition - she graduated with a class of just 11 students in Port Wing, Wis. The change to Iowa City and a big university has been made easier by her basketball family.

'It's nice to have the summer before with fewer people to make the transition,” Gustafson said. 'College basketball is a lot different. It's a whole new level.”

The girls have spent the summer lifting weights and practicing with the Iowa team. According to Kastanek, each girl brings a unique aspect to the team.

'Megan's a great rebounder,” she said. 'Tania is a great passer. They're great girls.”

l Comments: katherine.bauer@thegazettecompany.com