Senior point guard and team captain Sam Logic has accomplished just about everything she could hope for in a college basketball career.
Numerous All-Conference, All-Region, and All-American awards, both sports and academic, have come the 5-9 Logic’s way in her outstanding four years at Iowa.
But for all the personal accolades and awards, there are still two things the all-time leader in career assists as a Hawkeye has yet to accomplish. One is a Big Ten championship. The other is a victory over Nebraska.
And while Logic and the Hawks won’t have a crack at the former for a few more months, the latter is ripe for the taking.
In her final season as a Hawkeye, Logic and the Hawkeyes hope to best a Nebraska squad they have never beaten since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.
“They’ve been our nemesis,” head coach Lisa Bluder said. “They’ve really given us fits in the past. Luckily, we’ve gotten them at home, and we’re doing everything we can to get a Monday night crowd.”
Calling it a David and Goliath tale may be a bit of a stretch.
After all, the Hawkeyes are off to their best conference start in close to 20 years. At 6-1, they’re in sole possession of second place, two spots ahead of the Huskers.
And yet in the Black and Gold have never topped Big Red in Big Ten play, Logic’s whole career. In fact, the Huskers have won the last eight meetings against the Hawkeyes, including three times in Carver-Hawkeye.
It’s no doubt been a sore spot for the team, but for a competitor such as Logic, every game has to come with the same mentality.
“If you’re a competitor, you want to play in those games for sure, “ Logic said. “You definitely don’t want to be losing to one team so much, but I’m competitive in every game. I’m not really sure how much extra it brings out in me, but we’ll be ready for them Monday night.”
Logic’s effort has been consistent for the Hawks all season. Recently, they’ve been able to pull off out-of-character wins as big confidence boosts and put together their best opening stretch since 1997.
They’ve managed to adapt on the fly and find a winning formula several times this year, including a tightly fought 52-50 win over Michigan State on Jan. 18.
However, more evolution will be necessary if the Black and Gold hope to finally end their skid against their neighbors.
“We spend a lot of time with our players watching the scouting report on the other teams,” Bluder said. “We want to identify who those players we need to shut down are, and they’re constantly telling each other who the shooters are to key in on.”
One of those players whose development has taken the next step the past few games has been sophomore Ally Disterhoft.
Primarily known for her scoring touch, Disterhoft’s two-way game has progressed and helped open up the rest of eth court for her teammates.
“Ally really can do it from every area,” Bluder said. “She can shoot, she can post up, she can beat you off the bounce. She really is that all-around player we’ve needed her to be.”
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