Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball coach Scott DeJong didn’t expect a repeat of his team’s 73-42 victory at Valley last month.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars won the rematch, 58-41, on Tuesday at Centennial.
“The last time the stars aligned,” said DeJong. “We were just hoping we could beat them. Waukee Northwest was a single-digit game (with Valley) in the third quarter, and Dowling (Catholic) was a close game too until they had a barrage of 3s. They play hard, and they’re a very good team. But you just can’t see it by their record.”
Mya Crawford and Jaeden Pratt each recorded a double-double as the Jaguars improved to 6-5 in the CIML Conference and 9-5 overall. Valley’s records dropped to 2-10 and 4-11.
Crawford scored 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, marking the fourth time in her Centennial career that she has finished with that total. She also grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out six assists and had four steals.
Pratt, meanwhile, racked up 16 points, 14 boards and four steals. She also had a huge block in the final minute of the game.
Pratt, who had 30 points in the win at Valley, has now scored 866 career points and is on pace to reach the 1,000-point career mark if the Jaguars can advance to a Class 5A regional final. Crawford reached the milestone earlier this month.
Ava Martin had eight points in the win, while reserve Maize Smith chipped in six. They each made a pair of 3-point goals.
“Offensively, I thought we played as well as we did last time,” DeJong said. “We didn’t make as many shots, but the ball was really moving and we beat their press. We did a lot of good things.”
The Jaguars jumped out to a 15-2 lead in the first quarter. The run included 3-pointers by Finley Blackmore, Martin and Smith.
“We got off to a real good start,” DeJong said. “I thought the girls responded well.”
However, Valley refused to go away. The Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to end the period, getting a 3-pointer from Kari Rose and then two free throws from Rose after she was fouled on a desperation heave from beyond half-court at the buzzer.
“It’s the conference, right?” DeJong asked. “You get in conference play, and everyone is tough. Everyone has good players, and they’re well-coached. If you’re a little down, you’ll lose. And we preached that–it was not going to be like the last game.”
Crawford scored eight points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, but Centennial was unable to pull away. The Tigers got back-to-back 3-pointers from Tylee Weite and Addyson Adams, allowing them to pull within 28-18 at halftime.
Valley still trailed by just 11 points midway through the third quarter before the Jaguars went on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Smith 3-pointer, to build a 44-23 advantage.
Centennial will play a non-conference game at North Polk on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Comets (14-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 4A and have won all but one game by double digits.
