White’s perfect shooting night leads Jaguars past Dowling in top-5 showdown

Ankeny Centennial’s Kennedy White goes up for a shot during Tuesday’s game against visiting Dowling Catholic. White scored 14 points, going 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line, to lead the Jaguars to a 41-31 victory. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

With each victory, the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team appears to be more and more ready for postseason play.

The third-ranked Jaguars extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 41-31 triumph over No. 5 Dowling Catholic in a non-conference game on Tuesday. Fans of both teams packed into the Centennial gym for the top-five showdown.

“The beginning of the game was probably the best atmosphere that I’ve coached in since I’ve been here,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “It was a great atmosphere for our team to play in.”

The Jaguars (18-2) fed off the crowd to build a 22-11 halftime lead. Dowling (16-4) tried to rally in the second half, but Centennial was able to maintain a comfortable margin.

**Ankeny Centennial defender Elle Street prevents Dowling Catholic’s Layla Trytten from driving to the basket during Tuesday’s game. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

“It was an extremely competitive and high-energy game,” DeJong said. “I think both teams wore down in the second half.”

Kennedy White led the Jaguars with 14 points. She had a perfect shooting night, going 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line.

Cleao Murray had 10 points. Averi Porter chipped in six points, and Elle Street had the team’s only block.

“We’ve had a lot of consistency,” DeJong said. “Cleao and Kennedy have been very consistent with their scoring, and Elle and Averi have been defensive stalwarts for us, and we also got good play off our bench. I thought our whole team played well. We only had two turnovers in the first half against a team like Dowling, and that’s pretty elite.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Averi Porter is congratulated by teammates Elle Street (left) and Cleao Murray after making a free throw during Tuesday’s game. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

Jaeden Pratt grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Makenna Clark contributed two assists and two steals.

Freshman guard Ava Martin made her lone attempt from 3-point range. She played for the first time after sitting out two games due to an injury.

“We needed her,” DeJong said. “She’s had an ankle injury, but she was able to come in and she hit a big shot.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Ava Martin tries to shoot over Dowling Catholic defender Marin Heller during Tuesday’s game. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

The game was important for seeding purposes. The Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union is expected to release the Class 5A regional pairings sometime in the next couple of days.

Postseason play begins next week.

“We needed this game tonight. We were playing for seedings–both teams were,” DeJong said. “The atmosphere was great, and we’ll see more of the same on Friday. These two games could not be better preparation for the postseason.”

The Jaguars will close out the regular season on Friday with a showdown at No. 12 Ankeny (14-6). The Hawkettes can tie Centennial for the CIML Iowa Conference title by avenging an earlier 57-37 loss.