Jefferson Girls Basketball

Ollinger paces J-Hawks by Bettendorf

BETTENDORF - Amanda Ollinger scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds Saturday night as the Jefferson J-Hawks rallied to defeat Bettendorf, 54-48, in a non-conference game in Bettendorf.

The J-Hawks trailed 31-24 at halftime, but came storming back to square their record at 1-1.

Avery Guy collected 12 points, four assists and two steals for Jefferson. Kylie Wise and Kennedy Dighton scored eight points apiece. Dighton had five assists. Ollinger hit four 3-pointers and made three steals.

Ashton Glaus scored 14 points for Bettendorf (0-2).

JEFFERSON (54): Robinson 2 0-0 4, Kitterman 0 2-4 2, Guy 2 7-10 12, Melton 0 2-3 2, Wise 2 2-2 8, Veglahn 0 0-0 0, Dighton 4 0-0 8, Ollinger 7 0-0 18. Totals 17 13-19 54.

BETTENDORF (48): Wagner 4 0-0 12, Ivery 0 0-0 0, Hudson 0 0-0 0, Scott 3 0-0 7, Hatch 3 1-2 10, Glaus 7 0-0 14, Roman 2 1-5 5, Flynn 0 0-0 0.

Totals 19 2-7 48.

Halftime - Bettendorf 31, Jefferson 24. 3-point goals - Jefferson 7 (Ollinger 4, Wise 2, Guy 1), Bettendorf 8 (Wagner 4, Hatch 3 Scott 1).

J-Hawks drop opener to North Scott

The mantra from the coaches on the Jefferson bench Monday night was that the girls play with “hot hands” on defense against their visitors from North Scott.

It was on offense, however, that they had much more trouble holding onto the ball with a severe case of butter fingers.

In their season opener, the young J-Hawks committed 23 turnovers that finally led to a 57-42 loss to the Lady Lancers.

“I think it was a little bit of first-game jitters,” said Jefferson Coach Jason Edwards. “And we were playing a really good team.”

North Scott is ranked third in Class 4A, and the J-Hawks made it a much closer game than the end score would indicate.

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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.

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J-Hawks' Ollinger commits to Iowa

Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Amanda Ollinger has committed to play basketball at the University of Iowa.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported Wednesday night that Ollinger, a 6-foot-2 junior, contacted Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder earlier in the day announcing her intentions of joining the Hawkeyes.

Ollinger, who is also a top-flight volleyball player, was also being recruited by the likes of Stanford, Florida, Iowa State, Louisville, Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky.

She averaged 18.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore for the J-Hawks.