The Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team is still searching for a signature victory to put on its postseason resume.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars once again battled No. 2 Dowling Catholic down to the wire on Friday before dropping a 52-45 decision at Centennial. There were six ties and five lead changes before the Maroons closed out the CIML Conference game with a 13-6 run.
“I thought we competed really hard, and we kept our composure,” said Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “We just kept playing steadily, which we haven’t done here against some of the teams. So I thought that was encouraging to see.”
Dowling improved to 9-1 in the league and 12-2 overall, keeping its title hopes alive. The Maroons will host a showdown against No. 1 Johnston next Friday.
Centennial’s records dropped to 5-5 and 8-5. The Jaguars are now 0-5 against the three teams ranked ahead of them–with four of those losses coming by seven points or less.
“One ball bounced right to them at the basket (for an uncontested layup),” said DeJong, whose squad had lost at Dowling, 56-52, on Dec. 10. “And they banked in that 3-pointer…while we had one that rolled off. Sometimes it’s the little breaks that you need to go your way to beat a team like this, but we’re definitely better than we were the last time so that’s certainly encouraging.”
Neither team led by more than six points until the fourth quarter, when Dowling broke away from a 39-39 tie. Ellie Muller scored a basket with 6 minutes 14 seconds left to ignite a 6-0 run that put the Maroons ahead for good.
Muller capped the run with another basket at the 4:25 mark, scoring on a second-chance opportunity. She finished with 15 points.
Centennial later closed the gap to 47-43 on a rebound basket by Mya Crawford with 1:55 to go, but Dowling then used up most of the shot clock on the ensuing possession before Katie Muller banked in a 3-pointer to seal the win.
Ava Zediker then added a pair of free throws before Crawford drove for a basket in the last few seconds to produce the final margin. Crawford racked up 19 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the loss.
Jaeden Pratt had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Ava Martin chipped in seven points, while Finley Blackmore added six.
The Jaguars had just seven turnovers but shot only 33.3 percent from the field (17-of-51), including 3-of-19 from 3-point range (15.8 percent).
“They’re a really good team, and we must be a really good team too because we were nip and tuck with them throughout the whole game,” DeJong said.
Layla Trytten had 13 points for the Maroons, while Zediker contributed 12. Trytten, who averages just under 11 points a game, made three go-ahead baskets on Friday–two of them from behind the arc.
“I don’t know if you can call her a role player–she had 24 points the last game they played (against Valley),” DeJong said of Trytten. “Those kind of role players don’t come along very often.”
Centennial jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before Dowling answered with a 10-0 run. The Jaguars then went on a 10-2 run in the second quarter to regain a 22-18 advantage.
Reserve forward Rylyn Boeding started the run with a 3-pointer, her second of the season. Pratt later scored off a rebound to cap the flurry.
Dowling responded, though, with a 7-1 run to close out the half. Muller scored off a rebound at the buzzer to give the Maroons a 25-23 lead.
Pratt had eight of her points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that tied it at 30-30 with 3:30 left in the period, but Centennial never again moved ahead.
The Jaguars will host another conference game against Valley on Tuesday. The Tigers are 2-9 in the league and 4-10 overall after falling to No. 3 Waukee Northwest, 57-37, on Friday.
Centennial won the first meeting at Valley, 73-42, on Dec. 20.
