Mya Crawford and her teammates on the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball squad didn’t want to go into the holiday break with another CIML Conference loss.
Crawford scored a game-high 18 points and forced a big turnover in the final seconds as the Jaguars held on for a 50-49 victory over visiting Ankeny on Tuesday. The win allowed sixth-ranked Centennial to snap a five-game losing skid, the longest in program history.
“It feels great,” said Crawford, whose free throw with 25 seconds left provided the winning margin. “We kind of stepped into every game knowing it was a new opportunity, and I think this game we really took the new opportunity seriously. We did what we needed to do to pull it out.”
No. 8 Ankeny was seeking its second straight win on the Jaguars’ court, but came up just short. A desperation heave by Jayla Williams bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
The Hawkettes dropped to 2-4 in the conference and 6-4 overall. Centennial improved its records to 2-4 and 4-5.
“Our girls played really hard and were scrappy at the end,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “We did what we needed to do to get back in the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Hopefully, we can put some things together for them so we’re not in that position again.”
There were seven ties and seven lead changes in the game before Centennial moved ahead for good, 47-44, on a 3-point goal by Finley Blackmore with 5 minutes 15 seconds left. Blackmore and Tillie Smith each had a pair of treys for the Jaguars, who shot 44.4 percent from the field (20-of-45).
Centennial had averaged just 34 points during its losing streak, which came against five opponents ranked among the top six teams in Class 5A.
“With the gauntlet we’ve had, we’ve been beaten down and beaten down, and we kept getting up,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “We had a really strong effort game I thought Saturday (against No. 3 Davenport North), and we continued that today. We shot the ball a little better, and that certainly helps.”
Centennial increased its lead to 49-44 on a driving basket with 4:20 remaining by Jaeden Pratt, who finished with 14 points and three blocks. But Pratt was called for a charging foul 30 seconds later and fouled out, forcing the Jaguars to play the rest of the way without one of their leaders.
“I don’t know how many minutes Jaeden logged, but she was kind of taking the game over and then fouled out, which was too bad for her,” DeJong said. “But I was so proud of how our team stepped up and played when she wasn’t in there. It wasn’t always pretty, but they were tough and that was a big growing step and a confidence-builder for our team.”
After Williams made two free throws with 3:06 left to pull Ankeny within 49-46, neither team scored for the next 2 1/2 minutes amid a flurry of missed shots and turnovers. Crawford also missed a pair of free throws with 1:30 to go that could have extended the Jaguars’ lead.
The Hawkettes closed the gap to 49-47 when Ainsley Kiene made the first of two free throws with 35 seconds left, but Crawford then did likewise shortly thereafter to make it 50-47.
Ankeny pulled within 50-49 when Savannah Gage drove for a basket with 12.7 seconds left. She led the Hawkettes with 14 points and three steals.
“We got to the basket well and finally finished a couple, and we got to the line,” Tobey said. “It’s really what we needed at that time.”
Ankeny then forced a turnover when Crawford was tied up on the inbounds pass, and the ball was awarded to the Hawkettes on the alternate possession with 7 seconds to go. However, on the ensuing inbounds pass, Crawford deflected the ball off of Gage and out of bounds.
“I just kind of tipped it, and it went off her face,” Crawford said. “It was just one of those lucky plays.”
There wasn’t much that Gage could do.
“It kind of got jumbled, and it ended up going off me,” she said. “It’s unfortunate, but you know, it is what it is.”
The Hawkettes then fouled Smith with 2.7 seconds to go. She missed both free throws, but Ankeny could only manage the heave by Williams from midcourt that likely wouldn’t have counted anyway.
“Centennial’s a great team, and I’m proud of the effort we put forward,” Gage said. “We knew coming in it was going to be a dogfight, but all credit to them. They pulled through in the fourth quarter and played a great game.”
Smith had eight points for the Jaguars, while Blackmore chipped in six. All four of their 3-pointers were go-ahead baskets.
“They have some quality shooters, and we knew it was only a matter of time before they would turn that around,” Tobey said. “And they’ve also had a really hard schedule. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a run through the second half of the year.”
Centennial’s Kylin Smith grabbed nine rebounds and had two steals. Ava Martin added eight rebounds, helping the Jaguars to a 35-22 advantage on the boards.
“Lizzie (Beam) stepped up like no other, and I’m so proud of her the way she played for a freshman,” Crawford said. “We had some 3s from Tillie and Finley–they were big-time–and Ava was hustling the whole time, so I think it was a whole team effort tonight.”
Karsen Jacks had 12 points and four assists for Ankeny. Williams finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Kiene added eight points.
The Hawkettes lost despite making 8-of-18 attempts from 3-point range (44.4 percent).
The Jaguars will host a non-conference game on Friday against North Polk (7-1), the No. 3 team in Class 4A.
