Don’t be surprised if the two CIML Conference rivals who met on Tuesday at Dowling Catholic collide again in March at the girls’ state basketball tournament.
The second-ranked Maroons and No. 5 Ankeny Centennial both look primed to make deep postseason runs.
“They’re No. 2 for a reason, that’s for sure,” Centennial coach Scott DeJong said following his team’s 56-52 loss. “But we’re not far behind, and the good news is that we can play a little better than what we did tonight.”
The Jaguars battled back from a 14-point deficit and had a chance to take the lead in the final minute before Dowling’s Ava Zediker converted a steal into a 3-point play, giving the Maroons a 54-50 lead with 26.4 seconds left.
Centennial’s Jaeden Pratt scored off an inbounds play with 5.7 seconds to go, but Dowling’s Ellie Muller then made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to seal the win.
Muller, a junior forward, had a double-double for the Maroons. She poured in a game-high 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked six shots.
“She’s a great athlete,” Pratt said of Muller. “She’s got the offers that she’s got for a reason. She’s a very athletic, tall, and she’s a versatile player that is starting to grow her game out on the arc. She’s become a really great player.”
Dowling remained tied atop the conference standings with No. 1 Johnston, which defeated the Maroons in last year’s Class 5A championship game. Dowling improved to 3-0 in the league and 4-1 overall, while Centennial’s records dropped to 1-2 and 2-2.
The Jaguars have lost the last five meetings in the series, including setbacks by 17 and 26 points in the previous two games on Dowling’s home court. The two teams will have a rematch on Jan. 17 at Centennial.
“I think this game shows a lot of improvement from our team since last year,” said Pratt, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. “They really handled us last year, and coming out and competing against a team that made it to the state championship last year with all of their returning players, I think that shows great growth for our team. If we can just keep getting better and growing throughout the season, I think that’s going to be huge for us.”
Mya Crawford led Centennial with a season-high 19 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds, dished out five assists and had three steals.
Ava Martin scored a season-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. She had struggled from the field in the first three games, scoring a total of just six points and going 0-of-14 from behiind the arc.
“I didn’t really do anything different,” said Martin, who also had six boards. “I think I just kind of got in the moment. I knew that my team needed me, and I think that’s when the shots started to fall the most.”
Dowling overcame an early 14-8 deficit with a 10-0 run and held a 29-22 margin at halftime. The Maroons then opened the second half with a 7-0 run and took their biggest lead, 36-22, on a 3-pointer by Muller with 6:45 left in the third quarter.
“She’s very good,” DeJong said of Muller. “I thought the second half was better, but she’s really hard to stop. They have other kids too, but we kind of neutralized them.”
Centennial’s rally began with four straight points from Pratt and two more from Crawford. Martin made a 3-pointer to cut Dowling’s lead to 38-31, then later hit back-to-back treys to pull the Jaguars within 45-39.
Martin’s final 3-pointer came with 3:15 left and sliced Dowling’s lead to 48-46.
“She gave us a huge lift,” DeJong said. “She’s a competitor, and I don’t think she had made a 3 all year long. But she didn’t blink. When she had the shot, she took it and it went in. She really had it going, and we needed that momentum.”
A jumper by Pratt pulled the Jaguars within 50-49 with 2:17 left. Crawford made the second of two free throws to cut Dowling’s advantage to 51-50 with 1:29 remaining.
The score remained that way for more than a minute before Zediker turned a steal into a pivotal 3-point play. The senior guard and Creighton recruit finished with 19 points.
“We left it out there,” DeJong said. “We had that little stretch at the end of the first half and the beginning of the third (quarter) that got us behind the 8-ball by 14 points, but I’m really proud of how we came back determined. We played really, really hard and were a couple possessions away. It’s not an easy place to play period, along with the (opponent) that is very talented.”
The Jaguars will try to rebound on Friday when they play another conference game at Urbandale. The J-Hawks are 0-3 in the league and 1-4 overall.
