The Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team struggled at the free-throw line during Tuesday’s game against visiting Southeast Polk, making just 16-of-29 attempts.
But the way the Jaguars were defending, it didn’t matter.
Ninth-ranked Centennial led from start to finish and posted a 45-38 victory over the No. 5 Rams. The Jaguars improved to 3-0 on the season.
“We’ve got a lot of good athletes, and they buy into the defensive end,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “I think our defensive effort so far this year has been really strong. This was probably our greatest challenge, and I thought we followed the game plan great. It was really a team effort on defense.”
Southeast Polk (1-1) had opened the season with a 59-45 win at Ankeny on Nov. 23. Drake recruit Brooklin Dailey poured in 27 points in that game, but was held to just nine points by the Jaguars.
Dailey was guarded most of the game by Centennial’s Elle Street.
“We worked a lot in practice on face guarding and just staying in front in the post,” Street said. “My teammates worked a lot on diving into the lane and helping out, so my teammates were right there inside. It was a team effort.”
Centennial jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as Southeast Polk struggled to even get off a shot against the Jaguars’ tenacious defense. The Rams were held scoreless until Dailey converted a spin move in the lane with 2 minutes 40 seconds left in the opening period.
Centennial used an 8-0 run that bridged the first two quarters to build a 17-5 advantage. Kennedy White capped the run with a pair of baskets.
White scored nine of her game-high 16 points in the first half, helping the Jaguars to a 23-16 lead at the break.
“It was a game where we definitely wanted to pound it in and see if I could get some buckets,” said White.
Southeast Polk pulled within 23-19 on a 3-point goal by Alyssa Bartlett early in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Rams could get. Cleao Murray answered with a layup and a 3-pointer for the Jaguars, then later converted a steal into a layup to give her team a 39-28 lead after three periods.
Murray finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Jaeden Pratt added seven points and seven boards, while Makenna Clark had five of the team’s 11 steals.
“Jaeden gives us a lot of energy,” DeJong said. “She’s athletic, she’s on the boards, she can take the ball to the basket, she blocks shots. She’s just a huge energy bunny out there, so it’s fun. And she’s only a ninth grader.”
The Jaguars held on for the win despite scoring just six points in the fourth quarter. They went 6-for-13 at the line in the final period.
While her teammates connected on just 8-of-19 free throws, White went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe. She also went 4-of-5 from the field.
“She really came through,” DeJong said of White. “The free-throw line was great–she shot a high percentage. She was a factor in there for sure. She made a great difference.”
White, a 6-foot-1 junior, has made a smooth transition to the Centennial program after playing for Ames last season.
“Everyone was super welcoming and super nice. I’m just glad I could fit in,” White said. “I met up with Makenna before, and we’ve just kind of been hanging out and doing a lot of team bonding.”
Centennial will host Fort Dodge (1-1) in its CIML Iowa Conference opener on Friday. The Dodgers are coming off a 99-32 victory at Des Moines Hoover on Tuesday, when they set a school record for most points in a five-player game.
