Marion County College Report

Andy Wolff Doles Out 11 Assists in AMC Title Game

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Daniel L. Chamness

McKendree University junior Andy Wolff is a master at making sure the basketball is in the right person's hands at the right time. At no point during the McKendree Bearcats 2009-10 campaign was that more evident than the American Midwest Conference title game against Park University.

In the 84-66 McKendree win, Wolff doled out a team-high 11 assists, adding five points, three steals and two rebounds. "I think the Park contest showed how we get better and better offensively," Wolff said. "I just try to do my job and perform my role. My role is run the offense and get the ball to the open man."

With the triumph in the title game, the Bearcats earned the AMC's automatic bid to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament. They will open the contest with John Brown University with a 27-6 mark. They finished 13-1 in the AMC.

"John Brown has a great three-point shooting team," Wolff said. "No team is here because they were lucky. They made it because they have been a great team during the season."

The NAIA National Tournament will be played in Kansas City. Since the game with John Brown will be played about the same time the column will be updated, if you need additional information on the contest, follow this link to St. Louis radio station KSLG-AM 1380 and listen to the games on www.team1380.net.

Wolff not only led his team, but the entire conference in assists with 144. In conference play, his 4.21 assists per game was second in the league. In 14 AMC games, he finished with 59 assists. …

In his final game as a Lindenwood University Lion, former Centralia player Joey Parker scored 12 points. Lindenwood was topped 47-46 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference title game. Parker hit 5-of-14 from the floor and had four assists, three rebounds and two steals. With the loss, Lindenwood finished with a 23-10 record and a 13-7 mark in HAAC regular season play. ...

Illiabum Clube player Matt Shaw, a former Centralia Orphan and Southern Illinois-Carbondale Saluki, finished with 10 points and eight rebounds but it was not enough to get beyond Sport Lisboa Benfica. In the 81-63 Illiabum Clube loss, Shaw hit 5-of-11 from the field. Last week, I incorrectly reported the score of Illiabum Clube's win over Fisica Desportiva DeTorres Verdes. The score of the contest was 81-66. Illiabum Clube is 7-9. ...

Salem grad Dakota Tucker led the Blackburn Beavers in scoring in two of the last three games. Tucker, who played in 23 games, finished with 136 points and 73 rebounds. Besides his 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, Tucker also had eight steals, five assists and four blocked shots. He drained 50-of-124 field goals and 21-of-30 free throws this year. Tucker had 15 treys. Blackburn finished 4-20 overall and 2-14 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. ...

Women’s Basketball

Ellen Young, a Salem grad and Southern Indiana junior, scored 20 points as USI lost a 71-48 decision to Drury in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Young hit 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-2 from the stripe, also had five rebounds in her 33 minutes of play. Four of her field goals were 3-pointers. Southern Indiana finished 22-9 overall and 13-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. ...

Centralia grad Danielle Miller started 23 games for the Dominican Lady Stars this past season, averaging 25.2 minutes per game. Miller scored 206 points and pulled down 217 rebounds for respective averages of 8.2 and 8.7 per game. She also had 27 steals and 17 assists. Miller scored her points by hitting 74-of-145 from the field and 58-of-96 from the stripe. Dominican struggled to a 9-16 mark. They were 4-14 in the Northern Athletics Conference. ...

Kaskaskia College ended its women's basketball season March 5 with a 85-60 loss to Lincoln Trail College. With the loss, the KC Blue Angels finished 14-18 overall. Salem grad Amanda Oulrey finished with 15 points, while former Centralia player Courtney Herron finished with eight points for the Blue Angels. Fellow Salem grad Caroline Smith, a KC freshman, had four points, three steals and two assists. ...

Golf

Jeff Miller, a Centralia grad and Southern Illinois-Carbondale freshman, carded a 243 over 54 holes at the Samford Intercollegiate. The outing was held at Limestone Springs in Oneonta, Ala. Miller shot a low round of 78 in the final round, and finished 69th overall. The Salukis finished 10th with a 906 stroke count. Samford was first with an 877. ...

Maryville golfer Michael Fowler, a Centralia grad, finished 23rd at the Maryville Spring Invitational. Fowler finished with a 160 to help Maryville finish third with a team stroke count of 626. ...

Salem grad and Illinois-Springfield sophomore Zach Phillips carded two rounds of 81 at Eagle Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. The outing was held at Pelican Bay Country Club-North and hosted by Embry Riddle University. As a team, UIS finished 18th with a stroke count of 1,003. Brevard Community College finished first with an 891. ...

Baseball

Odin grad Alex Young picked up his first and second victories this past week. The McKendree hurler was the pitcher of record in McKendree wins over Saint Xavier (8-3) and Brescia (11-2). In the win over SXU, Young worked six innings and allowed three earned runs on two hits. He fanned seven and walked two in the contest. He worked four innings against Brescia, allowing one earned run against four strikeouts. Young is 2-1. ...

Former Salem player Tyson Moore, a McKendree senior, helped the Bearcats defeat Saint Xavier 7-2 in the second game of the twin bill. Moore, who was 1-for-3 with a double, drove home one and scored one. McKendree is 11-6 overall. ...

Softball

Centralia grad Bailee Winkler and Salem grad Amanda Brendel both slugged homers in softball games this past week. For the Lindenwood Lady Lions, Winkler smacked a two-run shot as Lindenwood defeated Blackburn College 9-1. Winkler was 1-for-3 and drove home three runs. Lindenwood is 6-8. ...

Brendel, who suits up for Southern Indiana, also crushed a two-run homer. She was 2-for-5, drove home two and scored two. Unfortunately for USI, the homer came during a 15-11 loss to St. Cloud State. Southern Indiana is 5-11 overall, but a perfect 4-0 in the GLVC...