Jaguars earn No. 1 seed in Region 5; No. 2 Waukee stands in Ankeny’s path to state

Ankeny Centennial’s Maggie Phipps goes up for a shot between Ankeny defenders Abby Johnson (left) and Calyssa Wright during a game on Jan. 5 at Centennial. Both teams learned their postseason assignments on Wednesday–the Hawkettes and Jaguars will host regional semifinal games on Feb. 20. Wright suffered a concussion during a car accident over the weekend, but is expected to be back in Ankeny’s lineup next week. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

The wait is over for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball teams.

The Hawkettes and Jaguars now know their postseason opponents.

Fifth-ranked Ankeny Centennial (12-2) earned a No. 1 seed in Class 5A Region 5 and will host a semifinal game against Urbandale (3-7) on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. The two teams have not met this season.

No. 11 Des Moines Roosevelt (8-1) will host Des Moines North (6-5) or Ottumwa (5-7) in the other semifinal game. The highest remaining ranked team will host the regional final on Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

Centennial will host Roosevelt in its regular-season finale on Saturday. It could be a preview of the regional final to be held 10 days later.

Ankeny (8-6), meanwhile, has earned the No. 2 seed in Region 1. The Hawkettes will host a semifinal game against Ames (8-9) or Sioux City West (5-15) on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

Ankeny and Ames could meet for the third time this season. The Hawkettes posted a 66-55 victory at Ames on Jan. 23 and will host the Little Cyclones on Friday in their regular-season finale.

No. 2 Waukee (7-1) will host Des Moines East (0-11) in the other semifinal game. With a victory, the Warriors would also host the regional final on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

Ankeny dropped an 81-38 decision at Waukee on Dec. 21. A second meeting between the two teams was cancelled last month due to some COVID-19 issues with the Warriors, who paused their season for three weeks.