Goodbye Girls? Iowa seniors hope not

IOWA CITY - This isn't goodbye, Samantha Logic insists.

'I don't even like to think about it,” Logic said about Sunday's Senior Day postgame festivities at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 'I know this isn't the end, so I'm kind of ambivalent about it.”

No. 16 Iowa (22-6 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) concludes its regular season with an important finale against Minnesota (22-7, 11-6). Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Afterward, the four Iowa seniors - Logic, Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle and Kathryn Reynolds - will march to center court, take the microphone and thank the fans, their family, their teammates.

'It's always tough to have a dry eye during that time,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said.

Especially this year.

This group came to Iowa as the 11th-best recruiting class in the nation and has compiled an 89-40 mark in four years. Three have scored more than 1,000 points in their careers.

All have left their marks.

* Logic is the only player in women's basketball history - anywhere - to compile 1,400 points, 800 rebounds, 800 assists and 200 steals. She is Iowa's career assist leader (840) and is the active leader in the nation.

In Thursday's 78-74 win over Wisconsin, Logic compiled 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

'The most complete player in history is in our locker room, on our team,” Bluder said.

* Dixon is Iowa's all-time leader in 3-pointers (311). She is second in the nation in treys this season (3.61 per game) and 12th in 3-point percentage (.435).

'Her biggest attribute this season is the way she has embraced (freshman) Whitney (Jennings) and helped bring her along,” Bluder said.

* Doolittle ranks second on Iowa's shot-blocking chart and has scored in double figures in 11 straight games.

* That leaves Reynolds, whose career has been slowed by knee injuries. She is a captain and a first-year law student.

'People don't understand how important she is to us,” Bluder said. 'It's because of her leadership skills, what she says in the locker room and the example she is academically.”

Sunday is Iowa's final regular-season game at Carver, but the Hawkeyes can earn home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament if they snag a top-four seed.

ESPN.com's Charlie Creme projected the Hawkeyes as a 3 seed as of Friday. A win Sunday and a strong Big Ten tournament would likely give Iowa enough to host.

Minnesota dumped the Hawkeyes, 93-80, Feb. 17 at Minneapolis. Amanda Zahui B. dropped jaws with a 39-point, 28-rebound masterpiece.

'Obviously, she poses quite a challenge,” Doolittle said. 'We'll have a different mindset. That wasn't Iowa basketball last time we played them. We can play better.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com