There’s something about the Ankeny girls’ basketball team that brings out the best in Ankeny Centennial’s Finley Blackmore.
The fifth-ranked Jaguars were clinging to a 47-45 lead on Friday at No. 8 Ankeny when Blackmore, a junior guard, made a 3-point goal from the left corner with 1 minute 15 seconds left. Her squad went on to post a 53-45 victory.
“That was huge,” said Blackmore. “I just had a lot of confidence in my shot, and my teammates have been hyping me up all week in practice. Knowing that shot was going in at a key part of the game was really important.”
Blackmore made the only two shots she took–both of them from behind the arc–and finished with six points. She also had a pair of treys in Centennial’s 50-49 win over the Hawkettes on Dec. 19, including the Jaguars’ go-ahead basket with 5:15 remaining.
“This game was like a mirror image of the first game in a lot of ways,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “We got them in foul trouble, but Blackmore hits a big shot at the end and the difference was that we just struggled to execute against their pressure down the stretch.”
The Jaguars snapped a three-game losing skid while improving to 7-7 in the CIML Conference and 10-8 overall. Ankeny’s records dropped to 5-8 and 10-8.
Centennial swept the season series against its rival for the first time since the 2020-21 season, even though stars Mya Crawford and Jaeden Pratt both battled foul problems.
“I thought those first 10 minutes were the best we’ve played on offense,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “We were really clicking, but the foul trouble slowed us down and give Ankeny credit–they made some shots. That stopped the momentum and gave it to them, but we were able to regroup.”
Crawford scored eight of her 19 points in the first quarter as the Jaguars jumped out to a 19-7 lead. But she picked up two fouls in the opening period, then got another shortly after returning to the court in the second quarter.
“I was on the bench for most of the first half, but I had faith and confidence in my teammates that they were going to be able to get the job done,” Crawford said.
A 3-pointer by Blackmore gave Centennial a 28-15 lead midway through the second period, but the Hawkettes then ended the half with a 9-0 run. Jayla Williams scored the last six points to cut the Jaguars’ advantage to 28-24.
“We know we can’t spot that team–especially with their defense and their rebounding–any points,” Tobey said. “I’m proud of our girls for fighting back, but it’s just hard when you’re down by that much to finish the job.”
Ankeny eventually took a 33-30 lead on a 3-pointer by Savannah Gage with 4:59 left in the third quarter. She later converted a jumper and two free throws to give the Hawkettes a 37-33 margin.with 2:11 to go in the period.
“They’re a great team, but we battled all the way until the end,” said Gage, who led Ankeny with 16 points and had nine straight points during that stretch of the second half. “We came up short, but we’ll keep getting better.”
A 3-pointer by Cassie Johnson gave Ankeny its final lead, 42-41, with 5:04 left. Pratt then re-entered the game with four fouls, and the Jaguars closed out the win with a 12-3 run.
“There was definitely some adversity there,” DeJong said. “It took awhile for us to respond, but we did finally respond.”
Crawford scored a basket before the Hawkettes tied it at 43 on a free throw by Ainsley Kiene with 4:20 to go. Crawford then made two free throws at the 4:03 mark to put her team ahead for good.
That completed a run of 10 straight points by Crawford–six of them at the charity stripe.
“I just felt like I had to do what I had to do to pull off the win, whether that’s scoring, passing or getting steals on defense,” said Crawford, who also contributed two blocks and two steals. “I was a little scared they were going to call a charge on me just because of the way the game was going. But I got lucky and they were all fouls, so it worked out for us.”
Pratt had 13 points and six rebounds for Centennial, including a nifty basket in the lane that extended the Jaguars’ lead to 47-43 with 3:20 left. Karsen Jacks scored Ankeny’s final basket with 2:50 to go, setting the stage for Blackmore’s clinching 3-pointer.
“She’s a clutch player obviously,” Tobey said of Blackmore. “She’s done this in a few games this year. Credit to her for staying ready with her shot on those fourth-quarter possessions.”
Ava Martin had five points and five assists for Centennial, which maintained sole possession of fourth place in the conference.
“It feels great,” Crawford said. “Going into the game we all knew what had to be done to pull off the win. We had a few ups and downs, but overall I think we played one of our best games.”
Kiene had 10 points for the Hawkettes, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field (13-of-39). Jacks chipped in eight points and five assists, while Williams added seven points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
Ankeny overcame a 14-point deficit, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“We’ve got to be ready to go from the start,” Gage said. “We can’t afford sparing them that many points in the first quarter right away.”
The Hawkettes will host another conference game against No. 1 Johnston (14-0, 19-0) on Monday. The Dragons, who have already clinched the league title, won the first meeting, 70-49, on Dec. 1.
The Jaguars will host a conference game against No. 13 Southeast Polk (4-9, 9-9) on Tuesday. The Rams will be looking to avenge a 51-40 loss on Jan. 5.
