The Ankeny girls’ basketball team held Dallas Center-Grimes to just 33.3 percent shooting and handed the Mustangs their second loss of the season on Tuesday.
The seventh-ranked Hawkettes posted a 46-35 win in the non-conference game at Dallas Center-Grimes, the No. 1 team in Class 4A. The Mustangs converted just 13-of-39 shots.
“DCG played really well, but I just thought the difference was our defensive pressure and keeping up with that even when our shots weren’t falling at times,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “It was exciting to see. We tried a couple of things defensively that worked well for us. Just our execution on that end was as good as it’s been.”
Ankeny raised its record to 9-5 on the season. Dallas Center-Grimes dropped to 10-2.
The Mustangs’ only other loss came at No. 1 Johnston, 85-32, on Dec. 19.
“They are really good and well-coached, and I knew they’d be motivated coming into this game and fresh,” Tobey said of the Mustangs.
Savannah Gage led the Hawkettes with 15 points. She has averaged 15.8 points over the last five games.
Ainsley Kiene chipped in 14 points, including a pair of 3-point goals. Karsen Jacks and Jayla Williams each added seven.
“Savannah has been so huge for us in the first half,” Tobey said. “We struggled with our shooting at the start here recently, and she’s really bailed us out of multiple halves. She had a big first half for us again tonight, and then Ainsley kind of ended things with a couple big 3s at the end and put the game out of reach.”
Ankeny will host a CIML Conference game against No. 11 Southeast Polk (6-7) on Friday. The Hawkettes won the first meeting at Southeast Polk, 62-56, on Dec. 5.