Ava Martin has been a prolific scorer on the pitch for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team.
The Missouri Western soccer recruit showed on Monday that she can find the net on the basketball court, too.
The senior guard made her first six shots from 3-point range and tied her career-high with 20 points to lead fourth-ranked Centennial to a 51-47 victory over No. 5 Pleasant Valley in the quarterfinals of the girls’ Class 5A state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.
“I think it was just my teammates getting me the ball,” said Martin, who went 7-of-9 from the field overall. “All the reps in practice we had. Staying after practice and getting shots up really paid off today.”
Martin had a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, then opened the second period with another trey to give the Jaguars a 23-5 lead.
“Ava was awesome!” said Centennial forward Jaeden Pratt. “She just kept shooting and they kept going in, so we were going to find her. It didn’t matter if they had a hand in her face or not, she was set and ready.”
Martin later hit two more 3-pointers in the third quarter as Centennial twice extended its margin to 20 points.
“It really boosted my confidence (to make the first couple),” Martin said. ‘I just kept getting the ball and it kept going in, so it was great.”
Centennial (17-7) held off a furious rally to defeat the Spartans (19-5) for the second time. The Jaguars posted a 39-26 win in the season opener on Nov. 30, when Martin went 0-of-8 from behind the arc and 0-of-11 overall.
“What can you say about (Ava’s performance) except it was just unbelievable?” asked Centennial coach Scott DeJong. “She didn’t have any 3s the first time we played them, but she’s been working after practice and in practice. It was just great to see. I’m really proud of her. She’s very deserving of that.”
Martin has now scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. She has averaged 11.4 points during that stretch.
“This is Ava Martin for you,” said Centennial guard Mya Crawford. “She goes (hard) every day in practice. She shoots extra shots every single day. The way she started the season to the way she’s finishing, I’m just so proud of her. I have so much confidence in her now. She’s so fun to play with.”
Crawford and Pratt each scored 10 points and dished out five assists in the win. Pratt also grabbed 11 rebounds while Crawford had eight, helping the Jaguars to a 30-20 advantage on the boards.
“We had some big offensive rebounds,” DeJong said. “Rylyn (Boeding) had a couple of big ones that she put back in the first half. We turned the ball over a little bit, but it’s hard not to the way they play. They’re so big, and they play that zone. Besides part of the fourth quarter, we played some really good basketball.”
Pleasant Valley outscored Centennial in the final period, 15-3, and closed the gap to 51-47 on a layup by Reagan Pagniano with 29 seconds left.
After Crawford missed two free throws with 16.8 seconds to go, the Spartans had a chance to make it a one-possession game with a quick basket. But Centennial’s defensive pressure forced them to use up some valuable time, and Pagniano missed a desperation 3-pointer as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
“We were kind of put in these situations a couple of games before (against Southeast Polk),” Pratt said. “So I think we were definitely built for the moment. It’s always worrisome when a team is coming back and we’re not scoring points, but I had the faith and the belief in our team that we were going to keep executing together.”
Quinn Vice led Pleasant Valley with 20 points and four rebounds. Pagniano added 11 points and five steals.
The Spartans entered the game with the best defensive average in Class 5A, allowing just 30 points a contest.
“It just so happened that today was not our best on the defensive end–in the first half at least,” said Vice. “But I think we adjusted really well. Every team is going to make some shots, but it’s how we came back that matters. We talked in the locker room and we realized how much we wanted it. We had a different motor, and I think it showed the grit that we had in the second half.”
Centennial advanced to the semifinals for the third time in five years. The Jaguars will play No. 1 Johnston (24-0), the defending champion, on Thursday at 10 a.m.
“It feels good to win the first game,” Pratt said. “It’s always going to be hard no matter who you play–we’ve got the best teams here. Just getting past the first one, it’s good we can check that box off.”
The Dragons extended their winning streak to 50 games with a 73-45 win over No. 8 Iowa City Liberty. They coasted to the victory after building a 51-20 halftime advantage.
“It’s not the NBA. It’s not a best-of-seven series,” DeJong said. “We probably can’t beat them too many times, but we only have to do it once. We’ve played them well over the years. We’re excited about it.”
Johnston won both meetings against Centennial during the regular season, 55-43 and 68-49. The Dragons have won the last 11 games in the series, but seven of them were decided by single digits–two of them in overtime.
“I think it just starts with our defense,” Martin said. “I think we’re going to have a really good mentality going into it because we’ve got nothing to lose. We made it this far–we can’t back down now. I think we’re just going to go at them hard and give it all we got.”
No. 2 Dowling Catholic (21-3) will face No. 3 Waukee Northwest (19-4) in the other semifinal at 11:45 a.m., ensuring that the champion will come from the CIML Conference. The title game is slated for Friday at 6 p.m.
