After giving up more than 50 points in back-to-back losses to Ankeny Centennial and Waukee, the Ankeny girls’ basketball team focused on its defensive intensity during the practices before Friday’s game at Marshalltown.
The 12th-ranked Hawkettes responded with a 49-15 road victory that allowed them to keep pace with No. 4 Centennial in the CIML Iowa Conference. They improved to 6-1 in the league and 10-4 overall, while Marshalltown’s records dropped to 1-6 and 1-14.
“We played much better defense,” said Ankeny coach Dru McAnelly. “And many of the girls got to play, which was great!”
The Hawkettes jumped out to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter and held a 29-6 advantage at halftime. The Bobcats, who dropped an 87-29 decision at Ankeny last month, were never able to recover from their slow start.
“We knew exactly what to expect, we’ve seen them before, we got two days of prep,” Bobcats coach Brian Murphy told the Marshalltown Times-Republican. “The first quarter it just took us too long to adjust, and by the time we kind of dug in a little bit it was a pretty good deficit there.”
Marshalltown was coming off a 49-40 loss to Ottumwa on Tuesday, which marked a season-high offensive output for the Bobcats. But they never got untracked offensively against Ankeny’s defensive pressure.
The Bobcats made just seven baskets and did not even attempt a free throw. The Hawkettes were called for only seven fouls.
“That is the first game in my career as a coach where the team I was coaching has not shot a free throw,” Murphy said. “That is something that starts to wear on you mentally, where you’re getting banged up and getting in the paint, but you just can’t get a call.”
Savannah Gage led Ankeny with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, breaking out of a recent slump. She was held to a combined five points in the losses to Centennial and Waukee.
Jadyn Filling had eight points, including a pair of 3-point goals. Karsen Jacks added seven points, five rebounds and four steals, while Jenna Pitz dished out five assists.
The Hawkettes will host a non-conference game against No. 5 Dowling Catholic on Tuesday before traveling to No. 13 Waukee Northwest on Friday for a crucial Iowa Conference contest.
“We have a huge week coming up, and it’s really exciting for the program to be playing significant and meaningful basketball this late in the season with conference play and the tournament seeding race,” McAnelly said.
