(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
After starting off the season with a 4-0 record, a three-game losing streak wasn’t what the Ankeny girls’ basketball team was hoping for heading into its final two contests of 2024.
The sixth-ranked Hawkettes had a chance to get back into the win column in a top-10 matchup against No. 10 Waukee, but a cold stretch coming out of the half eventually resulted in a 56-53 road loss on Friday.
“I felt like our fight was so much better from the start, and we didn’t back down from the challenge,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “Waukee is a great team. They took care of the ball for the most part and got good looks. It was just the third quarter where we missed our good looks, and they made all of theirs.”
A point of emphasis for the Hawkettes going into the matchup was starting hot and avoiding the cold start that hurt them in their prior two losses against Ankeny Centennial and Johnston.
In its first loss of the season, Ankeny scored just five points in the first quarter against the Jaguars. On Tuesday, the Hawkettes were held to four points in the opening period by the No. 1 Dragons.
There was no slow start this time as Reagan Baldwin knocked down a 3-pointer on the first shot of the game. Jayla Williams followed her up by scoring Ankeny’s next six points to lead a 17-point first quarter by the Hawkettes.
Despite trailing 18-17 after the period, Ankeny then outscored the Warriors 11-6 in the second quarter to take the lead going into halftime. Baldwin put the Hawkettes ahead with a floater to begin the period, and Williams helped build the lead by scoring a pair of baskets to end the half with 11 points.
“We learned we need to execute better, especially against teams that are shooting really well,” Tobey said. “Offensively, we learned some things about our spacing and where we’re lining up on the floor that’ll be helpful for us moving forward.”
The third quarter was where the Hawkettes ran into some issues.
Ankeny struggled to get shots to fall as Waukee opened up the second half on an 11-0 run to turn a 28-24 deficit into a 35-28 lead.
Williams broke the scoring drought on a drive to the hoop with 3:30 left in the quarter and Baldwin added another 3-pointer, but the Warriors ultimately outscored Ankeny by a 20-5 margin in the period to build a double-digit advantage.
If there was one big positive takeaway for the Hawkettes, it was learning just how successful their full-court press can be.
They had already forced a 10-second violation against Waukee in the first half, and forcing more turnovers was going to be the key for them to rally back from the 11-point deficit.
“We had noticed some things on film about pressing them that we executed well,” Tobey said. “It got us back in the game. It got the possessions up and the tempo up. That was the key toward giving us a shot at the end.”
Williams and Baldwin knocked the lead down to eight points with a few minutes remaining, then Ainsley Kiene made a 3-pointer after another turnover and Williams converted some free throws to make it a one-possession game with 1:19 left.
Waukee star freshman Abbajay Peters stepped up for the Warriors and pushed the lead just out of reach for Ankeny. Peters scored her team’s last six points in the final minute, including a rebound basket off her own miss with 37 seconds to go.
Peters’ free throws with 13 seconds remaining allowed her to finish with a game-high 25 points. She also had five rebounds and two blocks for the Warriors, who improved to 2-2 in the CIML Conference and 4-2 overall with their third straight win.
Williams, who made two free throws with 8 seconds left, poured in a season-high 23 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. She also contributed four steals and three assists.
“(Williams) is our engine on both ends of the floor, and we ask a ton of her,” Tobey said. “She played major minutes guarding a player (Peters) that’s going to be a future all-state player for Waukee.”
Ankeny’s last hope of tying the game came after Peters missed two free throws with 5 seconds left. The Hawkettes managed to rebound and move the ball down the court, but Savannah Gage couldn’t get a clean look at the buzzer.
Baldwin went 3-of-7 from behind the arc and scored 11 points. Gage added 10 points and four assists.
Now sitting at 2-3 in the conference and 4-3 overall, the Hawkettes will look to snap their losing skid when they travel to Southeast Polk on Tuesday. The Rams are 1-2 in the league and 1-3 overall.
