Printy's primary role is rehabiliation

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The shock and the sadness have worn off. Somewhat.

"I know that everything is out of my control," Jaime Printy said Saturday. "I'm trying to have fun and support my teammates anyway I can."

Printy suffered a season-ending knee injury in Iowa's overtime win over Wisconsin on Feb. 2. Surely, she hasn't gotten over it.

But she's gotten on with it.

"A lot of Jaime's role has been rehabbing, to be honest," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said Saturday as the Hawkeyes (19-11)prepared for Sunday's NCAA women's basketball tournament first-round date with California (24-9).

"She certainly has been with us in all of our meetings. The underclassmen look up to Jaime a lot. She has been on the bench with us and is able to see some things."

The Hawkeyes could have folded when their leading scorer crumpled to the floor in the final seconds of overtime in Madison on Feb. 2. But they held on to win that game, then six in a row after that to close out the regular season.

"When Jaime went down, my first thought was, 'Oh, bleep.' " Bluder said. "I can't repeat that.

Kamille Wahlin said, "Obviously, it was a big blow for the team, to see our leading scorer go down. Melissa (Dixon) really stepped up.

"Everyone's role changed, and we went on a roll."

Meanwhile, Printy -- a junior who suffered the same injury when she was a sophomore at Linn-Mar High School -- is trying to work her way back for next season.

She underwent surgery to repair the ACL, and also to stabilize a partially fractured femur.

"They needed to drill a couple holes in my bones," said Printy, while standing on crutches. "I'm not weight-bearing for 6 weeks (since the injury, which would get her off the crutches soon)."

Printy said she has run into handicap-accessibility issues on the U of I campus. She had another roadblock when the Hawkeyes checked into the hotel Friday night.

"They didn't have an elevator, so they moved me to the first floor," she said.

When Printy went down, the Hawkeyes lost their top scorer -- she averaged 16.9 points per game. But they've carried on.

"We're not a team that's star-oriented," Bluder said. "Our goal is to have five people in double-figures. And all five people have the green light."