Hawkettes connect on 11 3-point goals in win over Indianola, will face Dowling next

Ankeny’s Ainsley Kiene (left) and Savannah Gage try to put a double team on Indianola’s Abbie Kluver during Monday’s game at Ankeny. Gage scored 16 points, Kiene had 13, and the Hawkettes forced 17 turnovers en route to a 65-33 victory. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

The Ankeny girls’ basketball team struggled from the 3-point line during Friday’s one-point loss to Southeast Polk, making just 7-of-29 attempts from behind the arc (24.1 percent).

The 15th-ranked Hawkettes found their shooting stroke on Monday.

Ankeny connected on 11-of-28 3-pointers (39.3 percent) and rolled to a 65-33 victory over visiting Indianola in a non-conference game. The Hawkettes are now shooting 32.7 percent from deep for the season (115-of-352).

“We got up right away,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey, whose team held a 36-17 lead at halftime. “We had some things that we wanted to get better at that we did for the most part, and we’ll obviously have a big test on Friday where those things will come into play.”

**Ankeny’s Jayla Williams passes the ball to a teammate during Monday’s game. She scored 17 points and also had six assists in the Hawkettes’ win. (Photo by Evan Reiter)**

Jayla Williams scored 17 points to lead Ankeny. She also had six rebounds, six assists, five steals and one block.

Savannah Gage went 4-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points. Ainsley Kiene added 13 points, going 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.

Reagan Baldwin made a trio of treys and had nine points for the Hawkettes, who outrebounded Indianola by a 28-20 margin while also forcing 17 turnovers. They improved their overall record to 8-9.

**Ankeny’s Reagan Baldwin drives to the basket during Monday’s game. She had nine points for the Hawkettes on 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. (Photo by Evan Reiter)**

Madison Grover had eight points for the Indians, who dropped to 5-10 and had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Ankeny, meanwhile, has now rebounded with a win following its last three losses.

“That’s what they’ve done all season is bounce back really quickly,” Tobey said. “In our league against the teams we’re playing against, you don’t have a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself. We appreciate how they bounce back and are ready to go after a tough loss.”

Ankeny coach Nate Tobey watches as Kyla Schaapveld shoots a 3-pointer during Monday’s game. Schaapveld had one of the Hawkettes’ 11 treys and tied her season-high with seven points. (Photo by Evan Reiter)

The Hawkettes will travel to Dowling Catholic on Friday for a CIML Conference game against the No. 2 Maroons. It will be the first meeting between the two teams, who will also face each other in the regular-season finale on Feb. 11 at Ankeny.

Dowling is 10-2 in the league and 14-3 overall after dropping a 64-62 decision to No. 1 Johnston on Friday.

“I think we have to convert the good looks we’re getting on offense,” Tobey said. “That was a problem again tonight at times. We got great looks from 3 and great looks at the rim, and they didn’t always fall for us. Against an elite level defensive team with a lot of size, we need to make sure that we get ready for that challenge in the next couple of days.”