Cascade native Nicole McDermott, Clarke University all set for their Carver cameo

DUBUQUE — Nicole McDermott was in her car a few weeks back, in a parking lot on the Clarke University campus, when her phone buzzed.

It was her coach, Adam Hocking.

Are you free the afternoon of October 22?

“I think so,” McDermott replied. “What’s up?”

We’re taking a trip to Iowa City that day.

McDermott’s heart leapt. “No way.”

Don’t tell anybody yet.

McDermott had just texted her parents.

“Too late.”

Clarke-vs.-Clark was on.

The reigning NAIA national champion out of Dubuque, Clarke travels to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for an exhibition women’s basketball game Sunday against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Tipoff is 2 p.m. (Big Ten Plus streaming).

“We’ve been trying for a few years to get this game,” said McDermott, a senior guard from Cascade. “Our coaches have said they kept bugging (Iowa, for this opportunity).”

  Buy Photo

McDermott is one of five Iowans on the Clarke roster. Freshman Aubrey Luvan (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) is another.

McDermott was a vital piece in Cascade’s Class 2A state-championship team in 2018 and finished her high school career with more than 1,500 points.

Her teams won 97 of 106 games.

And yes, she would have loved to have played for Lisa Bluder and the Hawkeyes had the opportunity presented itself.

“I really wanted to go to Iowa,” she said. “I talked to (assistant coach) Jan Jensen a little bit. I got to sit courtside.

“Megan Gustafson, Kathleen Doyle ... I loved watching those players, and that atmosphere is something you dream of.”

An offer from Iowa never came. McDermott did have some Division-I options, but chose instead to stay close to home.

She has thrived at the NAIA level, coming off the bench as a freshman and scoring 11.5 points per game. She started as a sophomore and is a two-time first-team all-conference performer, recording eight double-doubles as a junior.

The Pride went 33-4 last year, peaking in March.

“In Sioux City (at the NAIA national tournament), we were playing our best basketball,” McDermott said. “We were clicking on all cylinders. When we got to the championship game, nobody was going to beat us.”

Sunday, Iowa most likely will. It’s a completely different level.

And McDermott can’t wait. She is most likely to draw the defensive assignment against Caitlin Clark, the 2023 national player of the year.

“That’s been the word so far,” McDemott said. “I told our photographer to get at least one good (action) picture with both me and her in it.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com