Iowa women move on without injured point guard Tania Davis
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For members of the Iowa women’s basketball team, life without Tania Davis started with words of encouragement from Tania Davis.
“I asked Tania to speak to the team on Monday before practice and she spoke to the team about not knowing when it could be your last possession on the floor and to play every possession like that,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said Wednesday at a press conference. “I’m telling you, this team, they really care about each other and they want to do this for Tania.
“And I think that extra motivation could not hurt at this point.”
Davis played her last possession of the season against Michigan this past Sunday. Iowa’s starting point guard suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in the 72-70 loss and will have surgery on Friday.
The 5-foot-4 Davis, who leads Iowa with 98 assists, is expected to miss at least 10 months, so the injury could affect her status for next season. Bluder would have the option of redshirting Davis next season, but the plan at this stage is for Davis to play next season.
Bluder also briefly considered using true freshman guard Alexis Sevillian, who is being redshirted this season.
Sevillian and Davis were high school teammates in Goodrich, Mich.
“It’s a discussion we had for about an hour and then we kind of scrapped it,” Bluder said. “We didn’t think that was fair to Lexie because she did this for us, really, and for her improvement for the year. And to redshirt her for 23 games and to bring her back for seven, it might have been what’s best for the team, but I didn’t think it was the right thing ethically to do for her.
“So I did not propose it to her because Lexie is the type of kid that would probably do anything for the team. But I didn’t even want to give her the option at tht point because I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do.”
The challenge of replacing Davis will fall mostly on the shoulders of 5-foot-9 freshman Kathleen Doyle, who already has started 18 games at shooting guard.
“Kathleen has a little more size,” Bluder said. “Kathleen is a little louder and emotional than Tania is in some areas. Both of them work extremely hard on defense. It’s just more the depth you lose in those positions than anything else.
“But I would think Kathleen probably plays a little better at point guard than she does the off guard anyway. So it could be a benefit to her.”
Iowa’s next game is Thursday against Michigan State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Spartans have won three games in a row, including road wins at Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Doyle feels horrible for her injured teammate, but relishes the challenge of being Iowa’s starting point guard.
“Now, I have different role, so that definitely impacts us and our whole team is just devasted for her,” Doyle said of Davis. “But we know we can stay positive and still have a successful season. So that’s what we plan on doing.”
Davis impacted her team in so many ways, from making big shots to grabbing rebounds to applying on-the-ball pressure on defense. She is also Iowa’s emotional leader.
But Doyle is no pushover.
Named Miss Illinois Basketball as a high school senior, Doyle leads Iowa with 47 steals, is second on the team with 91 assists and fourth in scoring with an 8.9 per-game average. Doyle also played extensively at point guard in high school.
“Tania did a lot of things for our team,” Doyle said. “But I think we all know that we can step up and fill that role. Every person just needs to step up a little bit and add a little something extra. But we know we can do it.”
Bluder wasn’t sure when she met with the media on Wednesday who would replace Davis in the starting lineup.
Freshman Makenzie Meyer will now serve as the backup at point guard.
“Kathleen will be our main cog in that wheel,” Bluder said. “And then when Kathleen needs to come out, definitely Makenzie will move over there.”
With records of 14-9 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten, Iowa has little margin for error in its attempt to get back to the NCAA Tournament after missing it last season.
The Hawkeyes led Michigan by 15 points this past Sunday before losing Davis and unraveling in the fourth quarter.
“Tomorrow back in Carver, that’s the good news, facing Michigan State here,” Bluder said. “A team ahead of us in the standings right now, so it’s very important game for us.
“Obviously, the loss of Tania for the rest of year and part of next year is a blow to our team and one that we wish we had more time to adjust to. But we don’t. We have two practices to get ready to face a really good basketball team without our leader. And that’s tough.
“Tania was kind of the backbone of our team as far as her communication on the floor and being the point guard and the person with the ball in her hands the most. So that’s hard, but I do feel confident.”
Doyle already is averaging 26.4 minutes per game, but expect that to climb dramatically, perhaps as high as 38 minutes per contest.
That’s a heavy workload, but Bluder doesn’t seem worried.
“She may have to,” Bluder said when asked if Doyle could play 38 minutes per game. “And every kid wants to. So you’re not going to get any argument from her.”
Michigan State vs. Iowa
When: 6 p.m., Thursday
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
TV: Big Ten Network
Records: Michigan State is 16-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten; Iowa is 14-9 and 5-5.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U9Kwq30h0m4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HgxRiGA2nK4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pOGZBByHDfo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/26hJweFr3F4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>