Ankeny Centennial girls basketball holds off Ankeny comeback in rivalry win
If high school girls basketball fans caught only the first quarter of Friday’s game between Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial, they would have assumed the Jaguars would run away with the road victory.
And while Centennial did defeat the Hawks 53-45 in the rivalry matchup, Ankeny put up a fight in the final three quarters that made things interesting.
"Not many high school girls in this country get to experience atmospheres like this,” Centennial coach Scott DeJong said. “It’s a tribute to the community, and I think the success of all the sports. So for the female athletes to experience a crowd like this, we have a lot of gratitude.”
Jaeden Pratt set the tone early for Centennial, putting up a solid block to keep Ankeny scoreless on its first shot. The Hawks responded with a stop of their own, but it was only temporary,
After nearly two minutes of scoreless play, Ankeny got on the board first with a shot from Savannah Gage. Mya Crawford scored for Centennial, and then the Jaguars piled on the points. Centennial led 19-7 after one quarter of play.
But Ankeny didn’t let up.
The Hawks stormed back in the second quarter and trailed by only four points at halftime. Some of that was due to foul trouble on Centennial’s side: Crawford, the Jaguars' leading scorer on the season, sat for most of the second quarter after racking up three personal fouls early on.
Crawford returned to the game in the second half, as did Pratt, who also found herself in some foul trouble (and eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter). Crawford tightened up her game and didn’t foul in the second half.
“It’s hard in a game like this, because they get amped up and (Crawford and Pratt) are big competitors,” DeJong said. “They get a lot of adrenaline going but I thought they did show some maturity.”
Ankeny stayed with the Jaguars until late in the fourth quarter. Finley Blackmore hit a 3-pointer with 1:07 left on the clock, giving Centennial a five-point advantage. The Jaguars managed to run down the clock and collect a few free throws to secure the win.
Both Ankeny and Centennial sit at 10-8 on the season, but the Jaguars' win on Friday completed the in-season sweep. The Jaguars beat the Hawks, 50-49, in December.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny Centennial girls basketball holds off Ankeny comeback
