NV’s Davis signs to play basketball at Upper Iowa

Those wondering where Nodaway Valley’s Lindsey Davis will go play basketball at the next level need not ask any longer. She’s going to Upper Iowa University next fall to study and play the sport, thanks to a national letter of intent signing last Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the high school gymnasium.

Davis said that having this important step complete prior to her final high school season starting means she’ll be able to focus on improving her game and making memories with her teammates, including a large senior class she’s a part of.

“It’s much better to have that done before the season so you don’t have to think about it. I wasn’t worried, but it’s good to have it out of the way,” Davis said. “I’m excited for the next level, but this year we have a lot to prove, so I’m excited for our high school season.”

Upper Iowa coach Justin Maass began reaching out to Davis following her junior basketball season. He came to a few of her AAU tournaments. Following two visits to the campus in the northeast Iowa town of Fayette, Davis said the idea of going there really “clicked.”

“They’re very similar to the way we play high school basketball — they go fast, they don’t really run plays, and they get up and down the floor. I really like that because it’s similar to what I’m doing right now,” Davis said. “I think my game is just going to transition pretty well to that because I’m used to it.”

Davis’ senior class, which also includes Bella Hogan, Jorja Holliday, Megan McCall and Annika Nelson, is 62-10 in their career and need 15 wins this year to become the all-time winningest class in program history.

The seniors are 38-1 in Pride of Iowa Conference games and have won at least a share of the league in three of the last four years, having tied for it once and taken it outright twice.

Last season, Davis led Class 2A in scoring and was third all-classes. She also led her division in field goals attempted, field goals made and was fifth in steals. She tied the school record for field goals attempted and set school records with 182 3-pointers attempted, 591 points scored in a season, 108 steals on a season, 43 points in a game and 17 field goal makes in a game.

“Our main goal this season is to play hard and have fun every game, win POI if we can and at the end, make it to state,” Davis said. “In college, I’m excited to be able to get to a new level and see different players.”