(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter, the Ankeny girls’ basketball team was still within striking distance of second-ranked Dowling Catholic.
But sometimes when it rains, it pours.
The Maroons proceeded to go on a 17-2 in the fourth quarter to turn Ankeny’s eight-point deficit into a 50-27 home loss to close out the regular season on Tuesday.
“Defensively, I thought we executed really well and got better from game one offensively,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey, whose team had dropped a 60-40 decision at Dowling on Jan. 31. “We just couldn’t make the good looks we had and didn’t always have the best shot selection.”
Unlike the first matchup, where the Maroons rattled off a 20-2 run in the first quarter and a 10-0 run in the third to clinch the game, Ankeny didn’t allow for much separation in the rematch.
Savannah Gage, Jayla Williams and Ainsley Kiene were able to help match some early baskets to keep things tied up at 9-9 in the first quarter while both teams tried to get out of some offensive slumps.
Dowling star Ava Zediker didn’t have much of an impact in the first meeting after being held to just six points on 2-of-8 shooting. But the Creighton recruit took over and got the Maroons some separation in the second quarter of Tuesday’s game.
Zediker cashed in on three 3-pointers and finished the period with all 11 of Dowling’s points as it outscored the Hawkettes, 11-4, for a 20-13 advantage at halftime. She would finish the night with a game-high 20 points.
Ankeny didn’t turn away from the challenge and behind some scoring output from Williams and Kiene, the Hawkettes had it within eight points going into the final quarter of play.
“I know Ainsley was frustrated with her scoring performance from game one, but she’s been so great for us defensively and was again tonight,” Tobey said. “It was good to see her aggressive offensively and really keep us in the game. Jayla is just so dynamic on both ends, she’s our engine and she responded well at halftime to us asking for her to get going a little more and be a little more assertive with her shot offensively.”
A cold night of shooting caught up to Ankeny as its lone points of the fourth quarter came from Williams with under 2 minutes left to play. Williams’ basket broke up a 14-0 run.
On Friday, the Hawkettes had no trouble finding the basket during their 43-point win against Urbandale. They shot nearly 57 percent from the field (29-of-51) and 52 percent from deep (13-of-25).
That hot streak of shooting wasn’t able to carry over to Tuesday. Ankeny shot just 20 percent from the field (9-of-45) and 13 percent from behind the arc (3-of-23), while the Maroons converted nearly 43 percent from both.
Kiene finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Williams had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards while also recording a pair of blocks.
“Dowling makes it really hard,” Tobey said. “They limit the attempts that we can get from our best shooters and they really pressure on the perimeter, so you have to work for every inch and every good look you can get. We just didn’t consistently get those great opportunities.”
The Maroons finished the regular season at 14-2 in the CIML Conference and 18-3 overall. Ankeny’s records dropped to 5-11 and 9-12 heading into postseason play.
The Hawkettes moved up a spot to No. 14 in the final Class 5A rankings on Wednesday. They were also awarded the No. 2 seed in Region 3 and will host Sioux City East (14-5) in a semifinal matchup on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
The Black Raiders have won their last seven games by an average of more than 30 points. They have two more opponents on their schedule to close out the regular season.
No. 3 Waukee Northwest (16-4) is the top seed in Region 3. The Wolves will host Sioux City West (13-6) or Council Bluffs Jefferson (0-20) in the other semifinal.
“We’re really excited,” Tobey said. “It’s just nice to take a step back, reflect, get a chance to get out of the grind a little bit and focus on some specific opponents. But mainly focus on ourselves and making sure we’re where we need to be for the postseason.”
