Sentimentality will take a back seat for Iowa women’s basketball on Monday

IOWA CITY — Kate Martin looked bravely into the bright lights of the TV cameras and took a breath.

“It’s sad,” she said, about 28 hours before her final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “I don’t know why I’m being all emotional. It’s bittersweet.

“I’m excited for my next chapter, but this is going to be sad.”

The most decorated outgoing class in Iowa women’s basketball history will make its Carver swan song Monday night, when the second-ranked Hawkeyes (30-4) face West Virginia (25-7) in an NCAA second-round game.

Tipoff is 7 p.m. (ESPN).

“I’m an emotional person. I like to think I’m caring and compassionate,” Martin said. “It’s a weird feeling, getting all sentimental.”

Martin is in her sixth year with the program. Gabbie Marshall is in her fifth, likely national player of the year Caitlin Clark her fourth, Sharon Goodman her fourth, Molly Davis (out with a knee injury) her second.

“When you’re in the heat of the season, it seems like it’s going slow,” Marshall said. “At the end of the season, it’s like you snapped your fingers, and it’s over. We’ve been through a lot, but it’s all been worth it.”

The sentimentality will subside sometime well before tipoff. This is a team that, frankly, should advance to Albany for the Sweet 16, and a Final Four voyage to Cleveland is the desired final destination.

“We’re mission-focused,” Martin said.

Clark said, “It’s all business. We're going to be locked in. I don't think any of us five seniors are going to be thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is our last game.’

“The environment is too competitive. You're wanting to win so hard, that's not really what you're focused on.”

Iowa has generated two 30-win seasons in its existence. The Hawkeyes were 31-7 in their NCAA runner-up season last year. This team is 30-4.

“I think the biggest thing is just being grateful,” said Clark, a slam dunk to be the No. 1 pick of the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft on April 15.

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Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com