Metro Sports Report

Ollinger stands above the crowd

Amanda Ollinger has received all the accolades she needs for the time being. And heaven knows she's hosted enough college basketball coaches in her home, where her mother was happy to cook for them on their long trips to Cedar Rapids.

All Ollinger wants now is one thing. She'd fervently like to play for a winning team at Cedar Rapids Jefferson and help the J-Hawks succeed at a high level. It hasn't happened yet, although it could this winter.

"Yeah, that bugs me a lot," she said Tuesday after basketball practice.

Ollinger has played three years of varsity volleyball and has been named first team all-state in Class 5A, but Jefferson has finished with losing records all three years. She's played two years of varsity basketball and has been named second team all-state in Class 5A, but the J-Hawks finished with sub-.500 marks both times.

That's five seasons and five losing records. Now the 6-foot-3 junior wants to get Jefferson pointed in the right direction.

Boyle stars as Dowling whips Warriors

CEDAR FALLS - If it's any consolation, the Dowling quarterback who destroyed the Washington Warriors Friday night has enjoyed one of the most spectacular football careers in state history.

His name is Ryan Boyle and he could be starring for the Iowa Hawkeyes someday soon.

Boyle ran for three touchdowns and passed for another as fourth-ranked Dowling whipped top-ranked Washington, 49-14, in the Class 4A state championship game in the UNI-Dome.

Dowling defended its 2013 state crown and captured its third title in five years with a dominant performance from start to finish.

"We ran into a good team," Washington Coach Paul James said in his concession speech. "There's no doubt how good Dowling is."

Ashton finds new home at Kirkwood

Jordan Ashton hasn't had this much fun playing basketball since he led Mount Pleasant High School to the Class 3A state title in 2012 and was named captain of the all-tournament team.

Ashton spent two years at Northwest Missouri State, an NCAA Division II school in Maryville, Mo., before transferring to Kirkwood Community College, where he's fit in comfortably this season and is leading the Eagles in scoring at 16.6 per game.

Ashton tossed in a game-high 18 points Wednesday night as the Eagles cruised past the Loras junior varsity team, 117-55, at Johnson Hall for their seventh straight victory to begin the season.

Ashton, a 6-foot-4 guard, was redshirted at Northwest Missouri State as a true freshman in 2012-13 and played sparingly last year, scoring 37 points in 15 games. He had an episode with an irregular heartbeat last season and the coaching staff wanted want him to take a medical redshirt this year, even though he was pronounced healthy and cleared to play.

Ashton decided to cast his lost somewhere else. Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen heard the news and acted quickly.

Paige begins new chapter at Coe

Morgan Paige has begun a new chapter in her basketball career as an assistant coach at Coe, but it probably won't be her last connection to the game she loves.

The former Marion High School and University of Wisconsin star would like to play pro basketball in a foreign country if possible, and someday she'd like to coach at the NCAA Division I level.

Paige comes from a basketball family. Her parents, Sherryl and Ellis,played at Mount Mercy University and have been coaches. And her kid brother, Marcus, is doing fairly well for himself at North Carolina following his prep days at Linn-Mar.

Basketball runs in their blood.

"I don't feel I can give it up just yet," Paige said Tuesday before practice with the Coe women's basketball team. "I feel like I have so much to offer the game, and the game has so much to teach me still.

"I hope to be involved with it somehow, whether I'm coaching it or playing it. I still think it's going to be awhile before I hang it up."

Paige graduated from Wisconsin this year as one of the most successful players in school history. She scored 1,280 points, made third team all-Big Ten and ranks in the top-10 in five categories at Wisconsin. On top of all that, she was named academic all-Big Ten for three years.