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Hot-shooting Jaguars rout Roosevelt, will face No. 2 Pleasant Valley on Saturday

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Ankeny Centennial’s Finley Blackmore shoots a 3-pointer during Tuesday’s season opener against visiting Des Moines Roosevelt. Blackmore made both of her 3-point shots and scored 12 points to help the Jaguars to a 73-18 victory in a non-conference game. (Photo by Dan Holm)

The Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team won’t have many games like Tuesday’s season opener against visiting Des Moines Roosevelt.

Perhaps the fifth-ranked Jaguars won’t have any like it.

Centennial raced out to a 54-6 halftime lead and rolled to a 73-18 victory over the Roughriders in a non-conference game.

“We shot the ball well. We were 8-of-14 on 3-pointers, and that’s helpful regardless of who you are playing,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “Our shooting ability was a positive, and that’s something we’ll need as we move forward. It was a good first game–everybody got in, and there were some real positives to build on.”

Ava Martin led the way with a career-high 20 points, making 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc. She also had five of the team’s 23 steals.

“Ava is somebody that most people would look at our lineup and not expect her to (score 20 points),” DeJong said. “That was a real positive lift. We do have some other kids who can score, and hopefully they can do that when the competition level picks up.”

Ankeny Centennial’s Mya Crawford drives to the basket for a layup during Tuesday’s game. She had 15 points in the Jaguars’ win. (Photo by Dan Holm)

Mya Crawford had 15 points, going 5-of-6 at the free-throw line. Finley Blackmore chipped in 12 points and five assists.

Jaeden Pratt contributed seven points and five steals. Tillie Smith also scored seven points, while Rylyn Boeding added six points and six rebounds off the bench. 

The Jaguars used a full-court press to overwhelm Roosevelt (0-2), which was coming off a 55-30 loss on Monday to Des Moines Christian, the No. 4 team in Class 3A. The Roughriders won 20 games and qualified for the state tournament as recently as two years ago, but have suffered heavy losses due to graduation.

Ankeny Centennial’s Kylin Smith goes up for a shot during Tuesday’s game. She had four points and six rebounds in the Jaguars’ victory. (Photo by Dan Holm)

“We did have a lot of steals that led to some layups,” DeJong said. “We don’t have anybody who is 6-foot, but we won’t be able to (press) like that against a lot of teams. It’s early in the season and we’re still trying to figure out how to play, and we’ll find out a lot more on Saturday.”

The Jaguars will travel to Cedar Rapids on Saturday for a non-conference game against No. 2 Pleasant Valley, the defending Class 5A champion. It will be the season opener for the Spartans, who return four starters from last year’s team that went a perfect 26-0.

“They’re really tall,” DeJong said. “It’ll be a big test for us early in the season, and we’re looking forward to it.”