Karsen Jacks flirted with a triple-double while leading the Ankeny girls’ basketball team to a 50-17 victory over visiting Ames in a non-conference game on Friday.
Jacks scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven of her team’s 22 steals as the eighth-ranked Hawkettes overcame a subpar shooting night with a strong defensive effort. The 17 points were the fewest allowed by Ankeny since a 65-12 win at Ames two years ago.
“Ames is improved from last year,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “Their coach has done a nice job, especially on the defensive end. They played a lot of zone against us, and that was a good test for us for future matchups. Credit to them for keeping us in front of them and slowing the game down and holding us to 50 points.”
Ankeny jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first quarter and held a 28-5 advantage at halftime. The Hawkettes improved to 4-2 on the season, while Ames’ record dropped to 3-4.
Ankeny’s Jayla Williams finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Ainsley Kiene contributed eight points and five assists, while Savannah Gage added seven points.
The Hawkettes shot 36 percent from the field (18-of-50) and 25 percent from 3-point range (6-of-24).
“We had some shots not really fall for us that normally fall, so offensively our output wasn’t where it has been,” Tobey said. “But defensively, our effort was good. The execution was good, and we were able to get better at some things.”
Ankeny will hit the road this week for three games in a five-day stretch, beginning with Monday’s non-conference contest at Indianola (2-3). The Hawkettes will then return to CIML Conference play with games at No. 12 Waukee Northwest (3-3) on Tuesday and at No. 4 Dowling Catholic (3-3) on Friday.
“It’s a tough stretch here leading into winter break, but our girls are excited for it,” Tobey said.
