Karsen Jacks tied her career-high with 30 points to lead the Ankeny girls’ basketball team to a 66-38 victory at Urbandale on Tuesday.
Jacks, who made 11-of-16 shots from the field, also scored 30 points in an overtime win against then-No. 6 Cedar Falls on Nov. 21.
“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” said Jacks, who also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. “And when I didn’t have anything, there was always a teammate who found the open space that I was able to hit–and everyone was knocking down shots.”
Urbandale jumped out to an early 9-4 lead before Ankeny rallied. The eighth-ranked Hawkettes used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to build a 34-19 halftime advantage.
“We got off to a pretty slow start the first quarter, but rebounded nicely in the middle part of the game,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “Karsen led the way for us with her aggressiveness and got us to the basket a lot. She did a great job, and it’s been nice to see her have these big games because she is so deserving. Her teammates had fun celebrating her tonight.”
Ainsley Kiene had 17 points and Jayla Williams added four steals for Ankeny, which played without junior guard Savannah Gage. Gage was held out as a precautionary measure to avoid playing on back-to-back nights.
Lauren Salmon led Urbandale with 13 points. The J-Hawks committed 21 turnovers and went just 5-of-16 at the free-throw line.
The Hawkettes improved to 6-9 in the CIML Conference and 11-9 overall. Urbandale’s records dropped to 0-15 and 4-16.
Ankeny remains in contention for a No. 1 seed in a Class 5A regional tournament. The postseason pairings will be announced on Wednesday by the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union.
“We wanted to put ourselves in the best position for (Wednesday),” Tobey said. “We’re hoping the state honors our schedule and the rest of the CIML. Based on the rankings for the last few weeks, that seems to be the case.”
The Hawkettes will close out the regular season on Friday with a conference game at No. 9 Valley, which is also 6-9 in the league and 11-9 overall. The Tigers lost to No. 4 Waukee, 65-64, in double overtime on Tuesday.
Ankeny posted a 55-50 win over Valley on Jan. 2. The two teams could be placed in the same regional bracket based on the current rankings.