Ollinger leads Linn-Mar to first-round romp

DES MOINES — Amanda Ollinger avoided this place as a spectator.

She did so by design.

'Everyone says how special a place it is,' she said. 'I made it a point not to come here until I came as a player. I know, it sounds cheesy.'

Ollinger made herself at home at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, putting up a monster line — 25 points, 22 rebounds — as sixth-ranked Linn-Mar blasted No. 5 Indianola, 60-38, in a Class 5A quarterfinal at the girls' state basketball tournament Wednesday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

'She was outstanding offensively, and she was outstanding defensively,' Lions Coach Jaime Brandt said. 'When we move the ball like we did today, we're tough to guard.'

Winners of 11 straight games, the Lions (20-4) advanced to Friday's semifinal opposite No. 1 Johnston (21-3), a 60-48 victor Wednesday over No. 9 Southeast Polk.

Tipoff is 1:30 p.m.

As Jaime Printy, Brandt played in three state tournaments (2006, 2008 and 2009) for the Lions. She never made it past the semifinals as a player.

'This is fun,' she said. 'I always tell them that some of my best memories were at the state tournament, and it's great for these kids to experience the same things.

'I'm just along for the ride. It's been a blast, but I get more nervous as a coach.'

The Lions put Brandt's nerves to rest — and took Indianola (22-2) out of the game — with a 21-2 run to end the first half. That put them in front, 36-16, at intermission, and the Indians got no closer than 13 points again.

'We knew they were going to come out in a 2-3 zone,' said sophomore Kamryn Finley said. 'We kept looking for the 3-pointers, and Amanda was dominating inside.

'Every time we went out on the court, it was like it was 0-0.'

With the Lions holding a 15-14 edge, Alie Akers ignited the pivotal run with a 3-pointer. Then it was Finley with a trey and Akers with another. Finley hit two more before intermission.

Ollinger had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) by halftime, then added 12 points and 12 boards in the second half as the Lions kept Indianola at an arm's length.

Maggie McGraw's basket got the Indians within 51-38 with 3:52 to go, but Linn-Mar scored the final nine points.

Finley added 14 points for the winners. Ally Johnson added eight.

Sophomore Grace Berg registered 17 points and 11 rebounds for Indianola.

LINN-MAR 60, INDIANOLA 38 (Class 5A State Quarterfinal)

At Des Moines

LINN-MAR (60): Alie Akers 2-5 0-0 6, Lexi Frese 0-2 0-0 0, Brittney Lancial 0-0 0-0 0, Kamryn Finley 4-12 3-4 14, Amanda Ollinger 9-23 6-8 25, Ally Johnson 2-4 3-5 8, Megan Murphy 1-1 0-0 3, Claire Larson 0-0 4-6 4. Totals 18-47 16-23 60.

INDIANOLA (38): Maggie McGraw 2-9 4-4 9, Carrington Kuehl 1-4 0-0 2, Maddie Glascock 1-7 0-0 3, Haley Vesey 3-8 0-0 7, Grace Berg 6-17 5-7 17, Ellie Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Nicholson 0-1 0-1 0, Anna Hoyman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-46 9-12 38.

Halftime: Linn-Mar 36, Indianola 16. 3-point goals: Linn-Mar 8-17 (Akers 2-3, Finley 3-6, Ollinger 1-4, Johnson 1-3, Murphy 1-1), Indianola 3-16 (McGraw 1-4, Kuehl 0-1, Glascock 1-3, Vesey 1-5, Berg 0-2, Nicholson 0-1). Team fouls: Linn-Mar 13, Indianola 17. Fouled out: Nicholson. Rebounds: Linn-Mar 33 (Ollinger 22), Indianola 31 (Berg 11). Assists: Linn-Mar 9 (Johnson 3), Indianola 5 (McGraw 2). Steals: Linn-Mar 8 (Ollinger 4), Indianola 6 (McGraw, Berg 2). Turnovers: Linn-Mar 11, Indianola 18.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com