Tania Davis sidelined for remainder of the season

IOWA CITY — For the Iowa Hawkeyes, the worst outcome from Sunday's loss didn't came from the scoreboard.

It came from an MRI.

Tests confirmed that point guard Tania Davis suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee late in the Hawkeyes' 72-70 defeat to Michigan.

'I can't believe how it all unfolded,' Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen said Monday night. 'It was a pretty rough locker room afterward.'

A sophomore from Flint, Mich., Davis was playing in front of dozens of friends and family members Sunday at Crisler Arena. She was on a breakaway layup in the fourth quarter and Iowa ahead by four points when her knee buckled.

There was no contact.

'It was one of those situations in which you just kind of knew it was bad,' Jensen said. 'Even in a visiting arena, there was dead silence.'

Iowa's next option at point guard, Kathleen Doyle, fouled out on the next play, leaving Makenzie Meyer as the point for the remainder of the game.

A member of the 2016 all-Big Ten freshman team, Davis started all 23 games this season for the Hawkeyes (14-9 overall, 5-5 Big Ten), who have six regular-season games remaining and stand smack-dab on the NCAA tournament bubble. She was averaging 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest.

Doyle, a freshman and 2016 Miss Illinois Basketball, will move from shooting guard to the point. Jensen said the starting lineup 'might change from game to game, based on matchups.

'Kathleen is definitely capable of leading the team. She played point in high school.'

The Hawkeyes host Michigan State on Thursday.

'It will be interesting to see how we bounce back,' Jensen said. 'We had been playing with a nice bounce lately. Hopefully we can continue to play free and easy.'

Jensen said it's doubtful that Davis will be ready for the start of next season.

'Hopefully, we see the real Tania by the start of the Big Ten season,' she said.

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