Yesterday’s Iowa Hawkeye’s Women’s Basketball Team at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Senior Night.

Taken from X, @IowaWomen’sBasketball

At 9:00 A.M. Sunday morning, I am literally shaking. A complete bundle of nerves anticipating today’s women’s game. Around 2018, I suddenly became a huge Iowa Men’s and Women’s basketball fan. Perhaps it was because my sons had grown and left home. I no longer had as much to do, and my husband enjoys watching sports. I had always enjoyed watching football, but basketball, no. I played basketball in high school for two years. Yeah, I was a bench warmer. My inner self said, “Move on, Barb.” I did. The stage became my home, and I wasn’t a bench warmer. The funny thing about high school is that Lisa Bluder, the Iowa Women’s basketball coach was a friend of my younger sister. They were in the same graduating class, three years behind me. (Lisa is amazing! Truly a wonderful coach who demonstrates a genuine warmth towards her team and staff!)

When I first became a teacher, I directed plays. Many were part of a gym. While I often tried to give directions from the gym floor, someone was invariably bouncing a basketball behind me. The sound of a basketball for years created a sense of someone running their fingernails down a chalkboard. If you’re young, you may not understand this reference since you were blessed with white boards, etc. My point is that becoming this die-hard basketball fan is truly a personal anomaly.

Anyway, yesterday the Iowa WBB team played Ohio State. This game was revenge time. Iowa should have won the last time they played in Ohio State. They lost a ten-point lead, and things got real chippy. Needless to say, the officiating was exhausting. The girls got into foul trouble, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, we lost. We also lost some other games, I thought we should have won which made winning today important for how the team would be seeded for future tournaments. Ohio State had already claimed the Big Ten Champions for the season.

Fortunately, yesterday was a different story. We won 93-83. Yesterday’s game had some chippy moments, too. Ohio State received a technical, and Molly Davis had to be carried off the floor. However, except for the first basket or so, the Hawkeyes controlled the game.

Sunday was also Senior Day, and five girls will be leaving the team: Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Molly Davis, Gabbie Marshall, and Sharon Goodman. I cried on the couch most of Saturday, watching each girl’s interview. Caitlin, of course, is a super star. Kate Martin is the leader who adds so much energy and positivity to the team. She’s called “The Glue”. Gabbie Marshall is a fierce defender and has finally been able to drop some three pointers. Yes! Molly Davis is the sweetest! She plays with amazing swiftness and is a joy to watch. Sharon Goodman is a big, but she hasn’t seen a lot of playing time due to injuries. She lost her mother in high school and will further her career as a nurse. The team is her family. If you happen to watch her interview, get some Kleenex. They will all be sorely missed. Plus, Caitlin has generated so much attention to Iowa, a state that only generates interest during the primaries.

Last year, the girls played Indiana and won at the buzzer. I watched a video of that last moment shot and wrote this poem which I’ve revised. I’m so glad the girls won. I hope they will fare well throughout the rest of March in the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, I’ll be a nervous wreck, anticipating their next game.

Buzzer Beater

I like the women’s team best,
how they can drop a three so easily
pivot, shift, then swish 

like driving the Needle Highway
sipping fine wine in Italy
it's a wonder to behold

admiring their energy, the beautiful way 
they fly across the floor,
acting like they’re driving for the basket

but then it’s a pass,
Monica dunks,
crowd goes wild

soaring back, Gabby’s hands, quick like a snake bite
steals the ball, her gorgeous eyes glitter
She’s the pretty one

but at the end of the game
when everything looks like it’s gone astray
‘cuz they’re behind, we fear the worse

then watch amazed, Kate’s hard pass to Caitlin
who’s effortlessly escaped her opponent
heaves a three before the buzzer rings—

chaos erupts—oh heck, yes, another
victory!