By Michael McCurdy
For all 23 games so far this season, sophomore Tania Davis has been the floor manager, starting at point guard for the Iowa women’s basketball team.
Game 24 will be a different look for the Hawkeyes, though, because Davis’s presence will now only be felt from the bench. A torn ACL on Feb. 5 in a loss at Michigan will sideline her for the rest of the season.
The Hawkeyes will experience life without Davis tonight as they host a red-hot Michigan State team that is riding a three-game winning streak.
The Spartans are 16-7 overall, 6-5 in conference play, just recently defeating Indiana by 9 and Minnesota on the road by 19.
Part of what makes Davis unique is her passion and aggressive nature on the court. Her outspokenness is something the Hawkeyes will miss.
Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said Davis spoke with the team in private to encourage the women to give everything they have for the remainder of the season.
“She spoke about not knowing when it could be your last possession — play every possession like that,” Bluder said. “The team wants to do this for Tania, and that extra motivation cannot hurt at this point.”
With Davis out, it is fair to assume freshman Kathleen Doyle will take the reins as the starting point guard for the remainder of the season. In previous games when Davis was on the bench, Doyle managed the offense, so she has some experience under her belt.
Switching from 2-guard to point is no simple task, though.
Doyle will find herself making more critical decisions when it comes to ball control. For point guards, being loud and outspoken is critical, because it is their job to let the rest of the team know what offense set to run.
The good news for Iowa fans is that Doyle is loud and frank on the court, but she says in the transition to point guard, she’ll have to improve in this skill for the team to be successful.
“I need to take on more of a vocal role,” Doyle said. “Our team believes in each other, and we have faith we can pull together and have a successful end to the season.”
An area of concern for the Hawkeyes, now that Davis is out, is who’s going to step up offensively and replace her 10.9 points per game.
From how the season’s been going, it doesn’t seem reasonable that anyone off the bench is going to consistently affect the game with point production other than freshman guard Bre Cera, because as the season has progressed, so has her shot.
Other options include getting sophomore Megan Gustafson more touches down in the post, which might be difficult; she’s averaging 17.8 points per game, and Davis was the best post-entry passer on the team.
Which leaves the final option being senior leader Ally Disterhoft; she affects the game greatly on offense, and she understands that with Davis out, there’s more work to be done.
“I have to continue to be aggressive on the offensive end,” Disterhoft said. “I have to focus on bringing that attack mentality and encourage the younger kids on the team. I will continue to do what I can to help them progress into their newer roles.”