The shots were falling on Monday for the Ankeny girls’ basketball team.
The eighth-ranked Hawkettes made 13 3-point goals and rolled to an 81-35 victory at Indianola in a non-conference game. They improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Indians’ record dropped to 2-4.
“It was good to see the girls shoot the ball well,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “We were able to find open shooters on the perimeter and knock down shots, which we didn’t do a great job of Friday night. So that was good to see us make progress in that area.”
Ankeny had five of its 3-pointers in the second quarter, including back-to-back treys by Jayla Williams that ignited a 20-0 run by the Hawkettes. That flurry, which also included 3-pointers by Madi Anselme and Savannah Gage, extended the team’s lead to 50-18.
Anselme, a sophomore guard, finished with a trio of 3-pointers and a career-high 11 points.
“It was nice to see some of our girls off the bench contribute in that area,” Tobey said of the hot shooting. “They work hard defensively and on the boards as well. I feel like we have great depth, and those girls are continuing to get better.”
Ankeny forced the Indians into 28 turnovers. Several of them came in the first quarter, when the Hawkettes opened the game in a zone defense.
Ainsley Kiene converted a steal into a 3-pointer to give Ankeny a 13-5 lead with 3 minutes 25 seconds left in the opening period. Kiene had three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 17 points.
“We’ve been mixing up defenses for a few games now,” Tobey said. “The girls enjoy (playing zone), and it helps us apply pressure in the back court and do some things that are strengths for us. We’ll continue to mix things up and see what works best game-to-game.”
Williams led four players in double figures with 18 points. Gage chipped in 13.
Brynn Bishop paced Indianola with 10 points.
Ankeny will play a CIML Conference game at No. 12 Waukee Northwest (3-3) on Tuesday.