Scott DeJong will have to wait until next season to earn his 700th career coaching victory.
The fifth-ranked Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team lost a heartbreaker to No. 4 Waukee, 46-44, in the Class 5A quarterfinals of the state tournament on Monday at Wells Fargo Arena. The Jaguars finished the season with a 14-9 record.
“We fought as hard as we could,” said DeJong, who entered the game with 699 career wins. “We were competing, and that’s what we wanted to do. Waukee’s a great team. We had shots at them and they didn’t bend, so we give them a lot of credit. Hats off to Waukee, but I can’t be any more proud of my team with how they’ve improved and how they’ve grown.”
Jaeden Pratt scored a career-high 22 points to lead Centennial, which jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before Waukee (19-4) rallied and eventually built a 40-30 advantage in the third quarter.
Pratt had five consecutive points in the final period to give her team a 44-43 lead with 2 minutes 50 seconds left, but the Jaguars then went scoreless the rest of the way.
Mara Yokiel made two free throws to put the Warriors ahead, 45-44, with 1:22 remaining. Gentry Williams added another free throw with 44 seconds to go.
Kirsten Hauck and Maryne Szalo each had 10 points to lead Waukee, which defeated Centennial for the third time this season. The Warriors will play No. 1 Johnston (24-0) in Thursday’s semifinals.
Check back on Tuesday for much more on the game.
