Before Sunday’s showdown with St. Ambrose even had a chance to get off the ground, the feel around the Iowa women’s basketball team was more charged than one may expect for a Sunday afternoon exhibition in early November.

Sure, the game offered fans their first look at a much-anticipated 2014 Iowa squad; however, the real cause for anticipation ran thicker than water for one particular Hawkeye.

For Iowa senior Sam Logic, the matchup with Fighting Bees meant being on the court against her sister, St. Ambrose guard Brette Logic, for just the second time in her life.

“Very few people get the opportunity to play against a family member, and while I’m not thrilled with it right now, I’m sure five or 10 years down the road, it’s something that will be special for both of us,” Sam Logic said. 

The game, predictably, turned into a blowout for Iowa. And while Logic was happy to get the first W of the year, embarrassing her sister was the last thing on her mind.

“It’s kind of an emotional roller coaster of what you want to do,” Logic said.  “Obviously, you’re excited to be out here with your team for the first time, but at the same time, you don’t really want to beat your sister like that.”

The pair had squared off in a Game Time League matchup before; however, Sunday marked the first time the sisters met in an official college game.

They played together for two years for their high school is Racine, Wisconsin, and while the elder Logic has faced off against her younger sister in countless driveway pickup games, seeing her on the court in Carver-Hawkeye was surreal. 

Nearly 40 of their family members made the journey from Wisconsin to watch the sisters square off at Carver.

“I know for me personally, this is the biggest game I’ll ever play in my life,” Brette Logic said. “She’s the best point guard that I’ve ever had to guard, so it’s great experience for me on top of everything else.” 

St. Ambrose also holds beachfront property in the heart of another member of the Black and Gold: head coach Lisa Bluder.

Bluder, now entering her 31th year of coaching, began her career for the Fighting Bees, spending six years in Davenport helping to build the program into a small-college powerhouse.

Nearly a decade later, basketball has given Bluder the chance to compete every year for an NCAA championship and coach some of the best talent the country has to offer.

“After the introductions are through, you look at it just like any other game,” Bluder said. “You just go on with business as usual and kind of forget about who your opponent is.”

Still, the coach with the most victories in Iowa program history hasn’t forgotten the place that jump-started her career. 

“Everybody knows how proud I am of St. Ambrose and the start it afforded me,” Bluder said. “We love the program, we still love the school and wish nothing but the best for [head coach Krista Van Hauen and the Bees.”

Follow @ryanarod on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis about the Iowa women’s basketball team.