A late rally by the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team came up short on Saturday when the Jaguars simply ran out of time.
Sixth-ranked Centennial held No. 3 Davenport North scoreless over the last 4 minutes, but the Jaguars managed just five points during that stretch and couldn’t get the ball back in the final seconds, resulting in a 40-37 loss in the 2023 Winter Tip-Off Classic at Johnston.
“We fought really, really hard, especially coming off of Friday night,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong, whose team had lost to No. 5 Waukee less than 24 hours earlier. “That was a game that was just this hard, too. I thought we had a lot of fight in us.”
North (7-2) took a 40-32 lead, matching its largest of the game, when Journey Houston went coast-to-coast for a layup midway through the fourth quarter. The Wildcats, who have yet to lose to an Iowa opponent, did not score again.
Centennial’s Mya Crawford made one of two free throws, then passed to Kylin Smith for a layup with 1 minute 50 seconds left to close the gap to 40-35. A 3-point shot by Finley Blackmore, which could have made it a one-possession game, rimmed out with 55 seconds to go.
Crawford later drove for a basket with 4 seconds remaining, but the Jaguars had not committed enough fouls yet to put North on the free-throw line. The Wildcats inbounded the ball twice and ran out the clock.
Jaeden Pratt led Centennial with 13 points. Crawford had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while also contributing four assists, five steals and a block.
Pratt scored five straight points in the third quarter to give Centennial a 28-26 lead. Crawford then followed with another basket to put the Jaguars ahead, 30-28, after three periods.
However, North then opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run. Divine Bourrage, who had been held to two points through the first three quarters, erupted for eight points in a 2-minute span to put the Wildcats ahead for good.
“We had a little bad stretch where we turned the ball over and I think they scored five points and we had two or three possessions with bad shots, and then all of the sudden we’re down,” DeJong said. “But we did fight back, so I was pleased with the fight that we had.”
Houston led North with 15 points, including nine in the third quarter. Makayla Farnum added eight.
“They did make big plays, and (Farnum) hit a couple of 3s,” DeJong said. “But overall, we have to be pretty pleased with our defense. It was certainly a step in the right direction.”
The loss was the fifth in a row for Centennial (3-5), all of them to top-six teams. The Jaguars shot just 25.5 percent from the field (12-of-47), including 4-of-18 from 3-point range (22.2 percent).
Centennial will host a CIML Conference game against No. 8 Ankeny (6-3) on Tuesday.
