Ankeny Centennial’s Maizie Smith never lost confidence in her shooting ability.
The senior made four 3-point goals and scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Jaguars to a 60-46 victory at Urbandale in a CIML Conference girls’ basketball game on Friday.
“I knew something would eventually fall,” said Smith. “I was just lucky that this is the game where I was able to do it, and we were able to win.”
Smith had averaged just 1.7 points per game and was 1-for-11 from behind the arc during Centennial’s 0-3 start.
“It really helps that she’s finally found her shot,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken. ” She was just due. We’ve been working at practice with her shooting a little deeper 3s, and it showed a little bit tonight. I think her confidence is back to where it should be, and hopefully that continues next Friday.”
The J-Hawks have not defeated a conference opponent since the current nine-team CIML began with the 2022-23 season.
“It’s definitely a relief (to get a victory),” Harken said. “Props to Urbandale for a good fight with the run that they had in the second half, and props to our girls for weathering the storm and continuing to fight until the very end.”
The Jaguars played without senior forward Rylyn Boeding, who was briefly hospitalized on Tuesday night after taking a nasty fall during a loss to second-ranked Dowling Catholic.
“She’s definitely our energy bunny on the team,” Smith said. “We missed that, and we were able to step up in other ways and have other people lead the team as well.”
Boeding was advised to not attend Friday’s game. She is still dealing with some head, neck and back pain.
Lizzie Beam added 13 points as Centennial earned its first win under Harken. The Jaguars are now 1-3 in the conference, while Urbandale dropped to 0-3 in the league and 1-5 overall.
“She’s doing ok. We just thought it was best for her not to be here at all,” Harken said. “She had a check-up today, and things are going well. She’s going to start PT next week. It’s going to be a process, but she probably won’t be back until after the (holiday) break.”
Beam scored 10 of her points in the first quarter as Centennial jumped out to a 21-10 lead. Smith had eight points in the second period, including back-to-back treys, as the Jaguars extended the margin to 38-26 at halftime.
Urbandale opened the second half with an 8-0 run and eventually closed the gap to 43-41 on a basket by Ava Wattier with 7 minutes 43 seconds remaining in the game.
“I think the momentum we had in the first half definitely got us through that rough patch in the third quarter,” Smith said. ” That was able to then get us through the fourth.”
Centennial got a basket from Alana Newman with 7:20 left to halt the J-Hawks’ rally. It ignited a 15-0 run for the Jaguars that sealed the victory.
Smith made a 3-pointer with 6:09 to go, then connected on another trey about a minute later. Faith Perpich also had a pair of baskets before Beam scored to complete the run with 2:52 left.
Perpich finished with 11 points. Mylie Hatfield chipped in six.
“I think that was their dedication,” Harken said of his team’s resilience down the stretch. “Even in the last three games with not close games at all, you could just see their willingness to fight for those 32 minutes. I think they gained a little confidence tonight knowing we’ve been here before, and we have a lead this time and not giving up the lead gave them confidence as well.”
The Jaguars had opened their season with a trio of losses to three of the top six teams in Class 5A by an average of 30 points.
“It’s very nice to get a win, especially coming off that tough week we had,” Smith said.
Centennial will host a conference game against No. 5 Valley next Friday. The Tigers are 2-2 in the league and 3-2 overall after dropping a 68-47 decision at Dowling on Friday.
