Waukee girls’ basketball coach Dani Franklin-Printy breathed a sigh of relief on Monday at Wells Fargo Arena.
It’s never easy to beat a good team three times, and that’s what the fourth-ranked Warriors discovered in the Class 5A quarterfinals against CIML Conference rival Ankeny Centennial.
The No. 5 Jaguars overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to take the lead before Waukee scored the last three points of the game at the free-throw line to escape with a 46-44 victory.
“It was a tough matchup,” said Franklin-Printy. “They’re one of the best defensive teams in the state, and that’s a huge kudos to coach (Scott) DeJong and his girls. They battle defensively, and we’re a huge offensive team. But going into this, we were thinking the same thing. We have to take care of business defensively.”
Centennial (14-9) had 12 steals and forced 18 turnovers, leading to a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers. But the Jaguars shot just 27.5 percent from the field and were 3-of-12 from 3-point range.
Jaeden Pratt scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-17 shooting, but her teammates went a combined 7-of-34 from the field. After Pratt scored five consecutive points to give her team a 44-43 lead with 2 minutes 53 seconds left, Centennial then went scoreless the rest of the way.
“We were real, real close,” DeJong said. “We had a couple (shots) roll around and go out, but that’s part of the game.”
A shot by Mya Crawford that would have extended the margin to three points rimmed out with 1:30 to go. Waukee (19-4) then took a 45-44 lead when Mara Yokiel made two free throws with 1:22 remaining.
Gentry Williams added another free throw with 44.3 seconds left to make it 46-44. She missed her second attempt, but Maryne Szalo grabbed the ball–just one of two offensive rebounds for the Warriors–and called timeout.
The Jaguars elected not to foul on the ensuing possession and got the defensive stop they needed when Sophia Hope missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Crawford grabbed her ninth rebound with about 10 seconds left, then hurried the ball up the court. She drove down the right side of the lane in the final seconds, but her shot over Waukee defender Kirsten Hauck deflected off the rim.
Centennial’s Ava Martin came up with the ball, but the buzzer sounded before the Jaguars could get off another shot.
“We just couldn’t get it rolling, and the shots that we normally make didn’t fall at the end of the game,” said Pratt.
All five Waukee starters scored between seven and 10 points, led by Hauck and Szalo with 10 apiece. Hope had nine points and 13 rebounds, helping the Warriors to a 33-26 advantage on the boards.
Waukee shot 45.7 percent, including 8-of-17 from behind the arc. Hauck went 3-of-3 from deep and Hope went 3-of-5.
“I was a little worried. Centennial’s a tough team,” said Hauck. “They’re one of the best defensive teams in the state. But I knew we could get the job done.”
The Jaguars jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Tillie Smith scored off a steal and assist by Crawford, then Crawford capped the run with a layup off another Waukee turnover.
“I think our girls could have been (a little nervous),” Franklin-Printy said. “Not many of them have been in this environment before. But we settled in.”
Hope made a pair of 3-pointers and Szalo added five points as Waukee closed the gap to 12-11. Hauck then banked in a trey at the buzzer to give the Warriors their first lead, 14-12.
“We had a great start to the game, but we knew they were going to come back just as hard,” Pratt said. “They’re a great 3-point (shooting) team, and they hit those shots to get right back in the game.”
There were seven lead changes and two ties in the contest. Pratt scored six points in the second quarter as Centennial regained a 21-19 advantage.
“We tried to milk (that matchup) as much as we could,” DeJong said. “Jaeden had a really good game, and she did (produce) in there.”
However, Waukee then closed out the half with a 9-0 run to build a 28-21 lead. Hauck hit a deep 3-pointer with 2:53 left, then added another trey just 40 seconds later.
“We started really well, but then they started to come back with their 3s,” Smith said. “We knew we had to pick up our defense more.”
Smith opened the second half with a 3-pointer of her own, but Waukee eventually increased its lead to 40-30. Smith later hit another trey from the same spot–the right corner–to pull the Jaguars within 40-35 with 2:25 to go in the third quarter.
“It was so fun to hit those two (shots), ” said Smith, who finished with eight points. “Honestly, it didn’t feel like they were going in, but I’m so happy they did. It felt good.”
Waukee got a driving layup from Emilie Sorensen with 2:07 left in the period, but that was the Warriors’ final basket of the game. They scored their last four points at the line.
Meanwhile, Hope and Szalo each picked up their fourth fouls early in the fourth quarter trying to stop Pratt, whose basket with 3:30 left cut the Jaguars’ deficit to 43-42. She then scored the go-ahead basket 37 seconds later.
“My teammates were able to get me the ball when I was open and pass it to the right spots, and I was able to execute for them,” Pratt said. “It was a good matchup that I had down there. I was drawing fouls against them, so that was good as well.”
Down the stretch, the Warriors forced Pratt to pass the ball out of the post. And they made just enough free throws to prevail.
Waukee advanced to play No. 1 Johnston (24-0) in Thursday’s semifinals at 10 a.m. No. 7 Cedar Falls (23-1) will face No. 3 Dowling Catholic (20-4) in the other semifinal.
DeJong, who entered the game with 699 career victories, will have to wait until next season to reach the 700-win milestone. There were no seniors on the Centennial squad.
Crawford finished with seven points and five steals. Martin dished out four assists.
“Huge credit to coach DeJong,” Franklin-Printy said. He’s an amazing strategic coach, and they battled. Both teams battled, so we’re proud of that.”
