(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The new year has arrived, and the Ankeny girls’ basketball team is still working on righting the ship following its 4-0 start to the season.
The 15th-ranked Hawkettes looked to snap the five-game losing skid that they ended 2024 with, but a road matchup against No. 3 Waukee Northwest on Friday ended with a 70-49 loss that extended the streak to six games.
“The players made improvements in a number of areas we focused on over break,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “Ultimately, we couldn’t overcome some early struggles defensively against their best players.”
The Wolves opened things up with an 8-1 run and had the answers for Ankeny as the Hawkettes tried to find their footing offensively.
Jayla Williams broke up Northwest’s 12-2 run to open up the second quarter and helped provide a spark for the Hawkettes, who tried to get some momentum going before halftime by going on a 10-4 run.
Northwest stifled the momentum by knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers, which included a last-second trey to beat the halftime buzzer.
Ankeny came out after halftime with its best chance at cutting into Northwest’s 41-23 lead as the Hawkettes had one of their best quarters on both the offensive and defensive ends. They outscored the Wolves by a 16-11 margin to close the gap to 52-39.
Kyla Schaapveld got the ball rolling for the Hawkettes by scoring their first basket of the quarter before knocking down a 3-pointer. Ainsley Kiene and Allison Hawkins made two more 3-pointers, while Kiene also converted some free throws to cut into the lead.
Reagan Baldwin tried to get Ankeny going in the fourth quarter by scoring her first points of the game on another 3-pointer. Williams and Savannah Gage took over the scoring from there, but the Wolves had too much firepower for the Hawkettes to overcome.
“Kyla and Allison were standouts tonight contributing a combined 11 points and outstanding effort and leadership,” Tobey said.
Northwest’s Vana Bilic averaged just over 10 points per game coming into Friday’s contest, but the junior guard erupted for 28 points to lead the way for the Wolves. Romey Croatt (12 points) and Cassidy Danburg (10 points) also scored in double figures.
Kiene and Williams each had 14 points to lead Ankeny, while Gage added six points and five assists. Kiene also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, but the Hawkettes still lost the battle of the boards, 33-23.
Williams also contributed five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. On Saturday, the junior guard–one of the state’s top recruits in the Class of 2026–announced that she has narrowed her list of schools to Columbia, Harvard, Creighton, Colorado and Kansas State.
The loss dropped Ankeny to 2-5 in the CIML Conference and 4-6 overall. Northwest improved its records to 6-2 and 8-2.
The Hawkettes’ schedule doesn’t slow down much as even more ranked teams are on the horizon, beginning with a trip to crosstown rival and No. 4 Ankeny Centennial on Tuesday.
Ankeny’s 44-33 loss to the Jaguars on Dec. 6 was the start of its losing skid. Centennial is 3-3 in the league and 6-3 overall after dropping a 55-43 decision to No. 1 Johnston on Friday.
