High school teammates Tania Davis, Alexis Sevillian are together again

IOWA CITY — Alexis Sevillian's arrival gives the Iowa Hawkeyes more than additional backcourt depth.

'I have my best friend back with me,' Tania Davis said Wednesday at Iowa's media day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Davis and Sevillian are a year apart. They grew up teammates at Goodrich (Mich.) High School, and are reunited now with the Hawkeyes.

'I love it here,' said Sevillian, who at 5-foot-5, is two inches taller than Davis. 'The transition has been good, and it's great to be with Tania. We did some great things together in high school, and I'm excited to see what's in store for us here.'

Goodrich won a state championship in 2013, when Davis was a sophomore and Sevillian was a freshman. The team returned to the state semifinals in 2015, then again in 2016.

Davis became the Hawkeyes' starting point guard midway through her freshman season. She said that in their year apart, Sevillian became 'a more consistent shooter. She's shooting the ball really well. And her decision-making has improved a lot.'

Sevillian is the younger sister of Keke Sevillian, a senior at Penn State. The Lady Lions defeated the Hawkeyes twice last season.

'She's been talking about it ever since I committed,' Sevillian said. 'This year, we have to stop them.'

THE FRESHMAN FIVE

The late addition of Kathleen Doyle vaulted Iowa's recruiting class to No. 7 in the nation.

'They're hungry, they're ready to go and they've motivated the rest of us to play harder,' Chase Coley said.

Doyle is the reigning Illinois Miss Basketball. Makenzie Meyer claimed Miss Iowa Basketball honors after leading Mason City to the Class 4A state championship. Then there's Amanda Ollinger of Linn-Mar — the Gazette Female Athlete of the Year — plus Sevillian, and Bre Cera (Mukwonago, Wis.)

'It's been amazing so far,' Ollinger said. 'I love it. The five of us ... the upperclassmen don't treat us like freshmen. It's a whole new game. The basics are the same, but it's so much more intense and faster.'

Bluder said Ollinger, 'with her height and with her shooting range, she can create some incredible mismatches, once she figures out how to use them.'

SETBACK FOR MOHNS

Carly Mohns missed the majority of her sophomore season with a knee injury, and Bluder said the sophomore forward has suffered a setback last summer.

'Twice we had to go in there (for surgery),' Bluder said. 'But now we are hoping and anticipating that she'll be back on the floor by December 1.'

Mohns averaged 3.3 points per game in the nine games before her injury last season. She was granted a medical hardship waiver.

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