Playing in the rugged CIML Conference prepared the Ankeny girls’ basketball team for Tuesday’s non-conference road trip to Dallas Center-Grimes.
One of the top teams in Class 4A was no match for the 15th-ranked Hawkettes.
Ankeny jumped out to an early lead, built a double-digit halftime advantage and cruised to a 54-33 victory over the No. 5 Mustangs.
“We played really well and got off to a great start and maintained a large lead throughout most of the game,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “We really didn’t know what to expect going into the game, but we knew DC-G had had a lot of success this season. But it was nice to see our girls rise to the occasion on the road against a very quality opponent.”
Savannah Gage and Jayla Williams each scored 14 points as the Hawkettes improved to 7-8 on the season. Ainsley Kiene had 10 points, Reagan Baldwin chipped in eight, and Kyla Schaapveld added a season-high seven.
“It was a team effort on both ends,” Tobey said. “We really tried to put a lot of pressure on them defensively, and everyone did their jobs really well–including our reserve players. Jenna Halbrook stepped in and played as well as she has at the varsity level this season, and that was great to see. And many others contributed.”
Baldwin, Gage, Kiene and Williams each had a pair of 3-point goals. Baldwin had averaged just 3.7 points over the previous six games.
“Reagan is healthy now, and she knocked down a couple of big shots,” Tobey said.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for Dallas Center-Grimes (12-3). The Mustangs’ only previous defeats came to the top two teams in 4A, Sioux City Heelan and North Polk.
Leah Brauch led Dallas Center-Grimes with 12 points.
“They’ve lost to some really good teams,” Tobey said of the Mustangs. “We have a lot of respect for their program. We were just able to do some things at the start of the game that was different than what they are used to.”
Ankeny will host a conference game against Southeast Polk on Friday. The Rams are 3-7 in the league and 5-9 overall after dropping a 53-42 decision at No. 3 Waukee Northwest on Tuesday.
The Hawkettes lost the first meeting at Southeast Polk, 61-55, on Dec. 17.
