CLEVELAND — Gabbie Marshall will end her basketball career in the same place she started it.

Marshall, out of Cincinnati, Ohio, will start her 136th career game for the Hawkeyes on Friday when they face UConn in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The fifth-year guard attended Mount Notre Dame High School, where she was a two-time state champion and three-time all-state selection.

Now, she’s playing in the final weekend of the season and vying for a national title with her best friends about a four-hour drive from her childhood home.

“It’s like a full circle moment for me,” Marshall said on Thursday. “Everything that I’ve done leading up to this point, all the training, all the late night workouts, all the going into the gym on my own, were all in Ohio. I’m about to play the final games of my career, my final basketball games ever in my home state, so I get to be surrounded by a bunch of family and friends that are gonna come to the game, and I’m just super grateful. It’s gonna be a super special day.”

Since Marshall’s family found out the Final Four would be in Cleveland, it’s been a topic of conversation here and there, but she mentioned how they didn’t want to put any pressure on her.

“It’s more of my little brother saying, ‘Gabbie you have to make the Final Four. My friends want to come,'” Marshall said with a smile.

Marshall doesn’t usually stuff the stat sheet, but she’s on the court for nearly 40 minutes every contest, and her importance on defense cannot be overstated. Head coach Lisa Bluder has dubbed Marshall as Iowa’s best defensive player several times and believes she isn’t appreciated enough on that side of the ball.

After beating LSU in the Elite Eight, Marshall was limping around the Iowa locker room with big bags of ice taped to both of her feet and Achilles. No one would know the toll a game takes on Marshall’s body while watching her play.

She never shows she’s in pain. She’s gritty, embraces her role, and will do whatever it takes for the Hawkeyes to end up in the win column.

“I wanted this so bad. I kept telling everyone that I’ve never wanted to win a game more in my career than I did tonight. And when I’m locked in, I’m locked in,” Marshall said in the locker room after Iowa’s win over LSU.

With family and friends in attendance, Marshall will have one of the toughest defensive assignments of her career on Friday: Paige Bueckers.

Marshall called Bueckers a “smooth player” and complimented her ability to score on all three levels and not force shots. While she said going up against teammate Caitlin Clark in practice is “probably the hardest” defensive challenge she’s faced, Marshall added she sees similarities between Bueckers and Clark, and the Huskie ranks in her top five of most difficult players to defend.

Bueckers averages 22 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season and is fresh off a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double against No. 1 USC.

“I’m not going to limit her completely. She’s too good of a player for me to do that,” Marshall said of Bueckers. “But, you know, just giving it my all and just trying to be on her hip the whole night.”

Marshall is only guaranteed 40 more minutes in an Iowa uniform. There’s no doubt she will be leaving every last bit of her energy on the hardwood in Cleveland, but win or lose on Friday night, Marshall wouldn’t change a thing about her journey.

“I’ve had the time of my life here,” Marshall said. “It’s been a special five years, and I wouldn’t want to do it at any other program.”