March 7, 2005

COLUMBIA LADY COUGARS CLAIM THIRD STRAIGHT
AMC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

(Lebanon, Ill.) – The Columbia College women's basketball team earned an automatic berth in the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship with a 105-68 victory against McKendree College in the championship game of the American Midwest Conference Tournament. This marks the Lady Cougars’ third consecutive AMC Tournament championship. Columbia will next compete in the NAIA's 32-team national tournament on March 16-22 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.

For the second consecutive year, Charliss Ridley, a forward for Columbia College, has been selected as the AMC Player of the Year. Ridley, a senior from Wheaton, Ill., led the Lady Cougars in both scoring and rebounding in 2004-05. She entered AMC Tournament play averaging 19.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Ridley shot nearly 48 percent from the field (197-of-415), including 50.6 percent (43-of-85) from three-point range. She also connected on 90.3 percent of her attempts (158-of-175) from the free-throw line. In addition, Ridley was a three-time AMC Player of the Week honoree this season. 

LaTrice McMichel, a guard from Missouri Baptist University, was tabbed as the 2004-05 AMC Newcomer of the Year. McMichel, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., averaged 19 points, 3.2 rebounds and three assists per game during the regular season. She shot 44.8 percent from the field, 41.1 percent from three-point range and 79 percent from the free throw line for the Lady Spartans.

Winning a close vote for the 2004-05 AMC Freshman of the Year is Lexanne Dickerson, a forward from Hannibal-LaGrange College. Dickerson, who hails from Carthage, Ill., posted 15.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in the regular season for the Lady Trojans. She hit 38.1 percent of her shots from the field, including 36.3 percent from the three-point line. In addition, Dickerson made 72.7 percent of her attempts from the foul line.

The AMC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season is Mike Davis from Columbia College. Davis guided the Lady Cougars to a 27-5 record during the 2004-05 regular season, which included a perfect 14-0 ledger in AMC play.

A complete list of the 10-member AMC All-Conference team, the honorable mention squad and the academic all-conference team, is included on the following pages. Members of the AMC Academic All-Conference team have earned at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

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