The reward finally came for the Ankeny girls’ basketball team.
After suffering back-to-back losses to a pair of ranked opponents by a combined five points, the Hawkettes earned a close win of their own on Tuesday with a 48-45 victory at Des Moines Roosevelt in a non-conference game. They improved their record to 6-10 while snapping a five-game losing skid.
“That’s a very good team that we beat,” Ankeny coach Dru McAnelly said of the Roughriders, who dropped to 8-7 overall. “They beat Valley earlier this year and just recently lost a close game up at Mason City, which has a really good team. It was just a total team effort. I’m really happy for the girls after the tough stretch that we’ve had.
“It was a very happy locker room afterwards,” he added.
Roosevelt took a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hawkettes held a 23-21 advantage at halftime.
The Roughriders tied the game early in the third quarter, but could never regain the lead. Ankeny built a 44-39 cushion in the final period, then held on for the win.
“Kayla (Pitz) hit some big free throws for us down the stretch,” McAnelly said.
The Pitz sisters combined for 20 points in the win–Jenna had 11 and Kayla added nine. Calyssa Wright chipped in eight points.
Ankeny will play a CIML Central Conference game at No. 12 Ames (8-8) on Friday. The Hawkettes will be looking to avenge an earlier 56-48 loss.
“Hopefully, this win can give us a spark, and we can go on a run here at the end of the season,” McAnelly said.