A fast start lifted the eighth-ranked Ankeny girls’ basketball team to a 59-41 victory over visiting Des Moines Christian in a non-conference game on Monday.
The Hawkettes (2-0) made five 3-point goals in the first quarter, three of them by Reagan Baldwin in the first 2 minutes 30 seconds, and jumped out to a 22-12 lead. Des Moines Christian (2-1), the No. 4 team in the Class 3A preseason rankings, trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
“That definitely helps, especially in games like this,” Ankeny coach Nate Tobey said of his team’s fast start. “I knew DMC would be hungry. They’re going to be a major contender in the 3A state tournament this year. (Addy) Oetker is a lot to handle, and they have some other really good guards, too.”
Baldwin made her fourth 3-pointer to extend the margin to 29-13 with 5:05 left in the second quarter. Kyla Schaapveld then scored the next five points as the lead grew to 34-15.
Baldwin and Schaapveld combined for 22 of Ankeny’s 36 points in the first half.
“She’s a connector for us,” Tobey said of Schaapveld. “We can always count on her and if she makes a mistake, she finds a way to bounce back quickly. She’s such an asset to our team in that way.”
Baldwin made her fifth 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and scored a career-high 15 points. The Hawkettes finished with 11 treys, including one by reserve Paige Hartz in the final minute.
Schaapveld had a pair of 3-pointers and tied her career-high with 12 points.
“I feel like I’m a really good teammate,” Schaapveld said of her role on the squad.
Schaapveld was also a huge factor on defense. She helped hold the Lions’ leading scorer, Reese DeVooght, to 10 points–eight below her average.
“I really enjoy defense,” Schaapveld said. “I care about it. I feel like it’s really important.”
Jayla Williams added 13 points for the Hawkettes, who took their biggest lead of the game at 50-29 on a 3-pointer by Allison Hawkins midway through the final period.
Ankeny again struggled at times with turnovers against the Lions’ full-court press. The Hawkettes committed 19 turnovers in their season-opening win at Ames on Nov. 22.
“I hope we don’t turn the ball over that much moving forward,” Tobey said. “That’ll be a major focus for us, and it will be (on Tuesday) already. We just have to get better at the little things like executing our press breaks and then in the half court just making the simple plays that are available to us.”
The Hawkettes will host No. 11 Valley (1-0) in their CIML Conference opener on Tuesday. The Tigers opened their season on Nov. 21 with a 59-46 win at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington, getting 20 points and seven steals from sophomore reserve Jenna Fuller.
Schaapveld said she thinks her team is ready for another challenge.
“I feel like we’re in a good spot right now,” she said.
