This time, seniors’ Carver farewell is for keeps

IOWA CITY - Senior Day was an afternoon of celebration, a day of speeches, hugs and victory.

Win or lose, Sunday is goodbye.

'Either way, I'm not going to play here again,” Samantha Logic said. 'Hopefully, it will be a happy ending. If we win that one, it might be our best win at Carver.”

A loss Sunday against Miami (Fla.) would end a run for one of Iowa's most accomplished senior classes - Logic, Melissa Dixon and Bethany Doolittle all have scored more than 1,000 career points, plus Kathryn Reynolds. A win, and it's on to Oklahoma City for the Sweet 16.

'I think the thing I love most (the Hawkeyes) is that they have such guts,” said Miami Coach Katie Meier. 'And the dagger shot doesn't come from just one person.

'Dixon's dagger is pretty darned impressive. But there's a lot of people on that team who will take the big shot and step up. Yeah, nobody backs down, nobody hesitates.”

The 15th-rated Hawkeyes (25-7) are a balanced, prolific crew that averages just shy of 80 points per game. Four players - Ally Disterhoft, Dixon, Doolittle and Logic - average in double figures.

'The bags under my eyes are well earned,” Meier said. 'Logic is responsible for half their points. She puts the ball where it needs to go. She makes passes you don't see a lot of females make because of her strength.”

Dixon was told of Meier's comment, about the Hawkeyes' 'guts.”

Her response: 'I think it's because we're a team in which everybody embraces their roles. We love playing together, and I think it shows. It allows us to take open shots.”

Iowa does have one noticeable flaw, though, and it's on the glass. The Hawkeyes rank 299th of 343 Division-I women's teams in rebounding margin, at minus-4.8 per game.

'(Rebounding) is going to be a total effort,” said Miami's Jessica Thomas. 'We've got to get the boards and box out so we can get run-outs.”

When Iowa beat Minnesota on Senior Day, March 1, it did so in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000. The Hawkeyes are hopeful for similar attendance Sunday (tipoff is 11 a.m.).

'They make a huge difference in the game,” Disterhoft said. 'We talk about it all the time.”

The Hurricanes lost here in the first round in 2013, and Meier recalled the atmosphere.

'The crowd here is a smart crowd. I mean, it's a disruptive crowd. We love it. It can be very rattling.”

Iowa is 17-0 at Carver this season.

'Our seniors have been great leaders all year for us, and they're doing to do it again (Sunday),” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'I'm excited about the game. I think it's going to be a great game. And we'll hopefully be be pretty excited at this time (Sunday).”

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