A dramatic rally by the Ankeny girls’ basketball team came up just short on Tuesday at Southeast Polk.
The sixth-ranked Hawkettes nearly overcame an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter before No. 14 Southeast Polk held on for a 61-55 victory in a CIML Conference matchup. The Rams improved to 2-2 in the league and 3-3 overall, while Ankeny’s records dropped to 2-4 and 4-4.
“They have some guards who can kind of control things at the end of the game,” Ankeny coach Nate Tobey said of the Rams. “We turned the ball over on a couple of possessions where we could have tied the game. We gave ourselves a shot, but just couldn’t finish the comeback.”
Both teams were coming off narrow losses at No. 10 Waukee in their most recent league contests. The Rams dropped a 60-54 decision on Dec. 10 before Ankeny fell to the Warriors, 56-53, on Friday.
The Hawkettes used a full-court press to spark a rally in both games, but eventually suffered their fourth straight loss. All four losses have come against rated CIML opponents.
“We were down 18, so it was good that we came back,” said Ankeny junior Jayla Williams, who had a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. “I felt like we had the momentum, but they obviously have good, athletic players and a good freshman who was playing well tonight. We kept inching closer, but we’d get a bucket and then they’d get a bucket.”
Southeast Polk built a 50-32 lead before Ankeny opened the fourth quarter with an 18-2 run in a span of 3 minutes 18 seconds. Reagan Baldwin started the run with a 3-point goal, Williams followed with five consecutive points, Savannah Gage added four more, and then Ainsley Kiene and Gage swished back-to-back treys to cut the Rams’ margin to 52-50 with 4:42 remaining.
The Hawkettes forced several of Southeast Polk’s 18 turnovers during that stretch.
“It does get tiring when you press the entire time, but when it helps it’s hard not to do it,” Williams said. “It was definitely helping us tonight.”
Ankeny had a chance to take the lead, but a 3-pointer from the left corner by Kyla Schaapveld bounced off the rim with 4:08 left.
“I would have Kyla taking that shot every time,” Tobey said. “We have a lot of trust in her to knock that down, and I’m sure she will next time.”
The Hawkettes got a 3-pointer from Baldwin with 2:44 to go to pull within 55-53, but the Rams then closed out the game with a 6-2 run as Ankeny committed a few of its 23 turnovers down the stretch. Hallie Vander Weerdt scored off a turnover to make it 57-53, then Alyssa Bartlett later made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 22 seconds to seal the win.
Bartlett led Southeast Polk with 19 points, six assists and six steals, while Zoe Hinze added 15 points, five assists and five steals. The two senior guards helped settle the Rams down to halt Ankeny’s furious rally.
“Especially against good teams like this with good guards, it’s hard to (press) for an extended period,” Tobey said. “But based on what happened at Waukee and in this game, it’s something we’ll look at (doing in the future) for sure.”
Last year, the Hawkettes won at Southeast Polk to snap an 18-game losing skid in the series. The victory ignited a four-game winning streak that catapulted the team to a 13-win season.
Williams poured in a career-high 32 points in that game, and she nearly matched that total on Tuesday. She scored 16 consecutive Ankeny points during one stretch, including a 3-pointer that gave her squad a 19-18 lead midway through the second quarter.
“Jayla has been so dynamic again this season,” Tobey said. “We just love what she brings to the table for us.”
However, Southeast Polk answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. The Rams held a 29-23 advantage at halftime, then got a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter from freshman Brooklynn Ruddy–who went 4-of-6 from behind the arc and finished with 13 points.
Gage had 12 points for the Hawkettes, while Baldwin and Kiene each chipped in nine. Kiene also dished out six assists.
Only four Ankeny players scored for the second time in four games.
“We had some of our shooters open,” Tobey said. “We just didn’t consistently make shots, and that’s how we got in a hole.”
Ankeny will host a non-conference game against No. 11 Cedar Falls (4-2) on Thursday.
“I hope we can (build off this comeback),” Williams said.