Ainsley Kiene poured in a career-high 23 points to lead the eighth-ranked Ankeny girls’ basketball team to a 67-25 victory at Urbandale in its CIML Conference opener on Tuesday.
Kiene made four 3-point goals and needed only three quarters to surpass her previous career-high of 19, but she was far from the Hawkettes’ only threat from behind the arc. Four other players combined for six more treys in the rout.
“It was a great night,” said Kiene, who also had six rebounds and a team-high four steals. “It was really fun for all of our team.”
Ankeny (2-0) jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first 4 minutes and never looked back. Savannah Gage scored six of her 16 points in the game-opening run.
Urbandale rallied and closed the gap to 18-9, but the Hawkettes then responded with an 18-3 run to break it wide open. Gage capped the flurry with a 3-pointer and another basket to make it 36-12.
“We shared the ball really well and did a lot of things well defensively as far as putting pressure on,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “We converted those steals and long rebounds into points. It was a fun performance, and now I’m looking forward to some time off. I’m glad the girls get some time to rest.”
Kiene had 15 of her points in the first half. She then made back-to-back 3-pointers to open the third quarter.
“She looks like a different player, especially coming off her injury this summer,” Tobey said of Kiene, who went 9-of-13 from the field. “She’s playing so confident. She just makes so many things happen, even apart from the made 3s. Just all the rebounds and assists. She just makes so many plays for us on both ends of the floor.”
Reagan Baldwin had eight points for Ankeny, including a pair of 3-pointers. Allison Hawkins also made two treys and chipped in six points.
“We have so many players who can score, just in all areas,” Kiene said. “Our JV1 has been crushing it. They’ve been winning every game. It’s been great.”
Lilly Buckley added another 3-pointer for the Hawkettes.
“The girls are playing with confidence and getting in there regularly,” Tobey said. “They’ve put in a ton of work to get to this point, and it’s great to see that pay off.”
Jayla Williams had six points in the win and also racked up nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
Urbandale, which was coming off a 57-43 win over Indianola on Monday, dropped to 1-2 on the season. Ava Wattier scored eight points to lead the J-Hawks, who shot just 21.4 percent from the field (9-of-42) and had 18 turnovers.
“This is a great win,” Kiene said. “It just gives us a lot of confidence and just excitement going into our next games next week.”
Ankeny will play a non-conference game at Des Moines Christian (0-1) on Monday. The Lions opened their season with a 48-41 loss at ADM on Friday.
