Sam Logic was everywhere.
She was at the top of the key, passing, shooting, and scoring. She appeared in the low post to snatch rebounds. But Logic also popped up somewhere unexpected — the mind of Miami head coach Katie Meier.
Logic was on Meier’s mind so much that she commented about Iowa’s point guard before anything else in the postgame press conference.
“Well, I think I jinxed [Miami] in the press conference,” Meier said after her team’s 69-53 loss to the Hawkeyes. “When you asked me the key to Iowa, I said Samantha Logic — boy, she must have heard that. She was phenomenal.”
Meier commented a day earlier during the ’Canes press conference that her team had to stop Logic if they wanted to stop the Hawkeyes. Logic did, in fact, hear the comment, but she said it didn’t inpsire her in any way.
Her game said more than her words ever could.
Logic exploded on the NCAA Tournament scene, scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds. She dished out 4 assists and nabbed a steal while playing all 40 minutes on Sunday. She provided an immediate spark for the Hawkeyes, scoring 9 of her team’s first 13 points.
“She really was extraordinary today,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said on Sunday after the win. “There are not many point guards in the country who are going to average a double-double with rebounds and points.”
The pass-first Logic, who leads the Big Ten in assists, primarily scored and rebounded Sunday, but that didn’t keep her from facilitating and running the show for the Hawkeyes. Melissa Dixon’s early foul trouble forced the Hawkeyes to rely on contributions from sophomore Kathy Thomas and senior Trisha Nesbitt.
Logic served as the glue that kept everything together.
When it seemed as if Miami was about to slip away with a 7-point lead early in the second half, Logic and Dixon saved the day.
“[Logic] has the ball in her hands probably more than anyone on our team because she’s our point guard,” senior Jaime Printy said. “She takes care of it during the press, break, and all of that. But definitely keeping her composure the whole time and playing smart basketball like she did [Sunday] night.”
Logic was quick to credit her teammates. She noted the numerous scoring threats her team has in two separate press conferences and said that on Sunday night, it just happened to be her.
“Sam played a heck of a game last night, both offensively and defensively,” Printy said. “When we needed a bucket, Sam was our go-to — she did a great job [Sunday] night.”
If Logic had any nerves about playing in the Big Dance for her second time, it didn’t show. Both she and her teammates know how crucial playing poised basketball is during March.
“Everyone has to be playing her best game,” senior Morgan Johnson said. “Whether Sam’s distributing the ball well, or scoring, or doing a little bit of both, either way, we know she’s going to shine for us.”
