The Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team simply didn’t have an answer for Norwalk star Braylyn Birmingham.
Birmingham erupted for 39 points and 10 rebounds to lead Norwalk to a 61-46 victory over the visiting Jaguars in a non-conference game on Saturday. The Warriors, who are ranked third in Class 4A, raised their record to 8-1.
Birmingham, a sophomore guard, is now averaging 33 points a game. She made 14-of-25 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and went 9-for-11 at the free-throw line.
“Our goal was to keep her around 20 (points), and we didn’t meet that goal at all,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken. “She’s very fluid, and other than (Johnston’s) Jenica Lewis, Braylin might be the second-best girl we play against this season–to be honest. She’s pretty good and still has some room to grow.”
The Jaguars were coming off a big win over No. 13 Waukee on Friday, but Norwalk jumped out to a 19-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors held a 35-23 advantage at halftime, then extended the margin to 52-35 after three periods.
“That was a big one on Friday for us, and we wanted to make sure that we had the (CIML) Conference game taken care of. But then we didn’t have as much time to prep for Norwalk, so it was a little bit more of a rough one,” Harken said. “I actually thought we played well the first couple of minutes, but then they had some second-chance opportunities that they took advantage of. After that, I think we got to within seven a couple of times, but we just couldn’t keep that momentum going.”
Lizzie Beam led Centennial with 16 points and seven rebounds. Faith Perpich had a career-high 15 points, and Alana Newman tied her career-high with eight.
Mylie Hatfield had four assists and a steal for the Jaguars, who dropped to 2-5 on the season.
Centennial will travel to Southeast Polk on Tuesday for a CIML Conference game against the Rams, who are 0-6 in the league and 2-7 overall after dropping a 61-47 decision at Urbandale on Friday. That win ended the J-Hawks’ 53-game losing skid in the CIML.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” Harken said. “But we’d certainly like to get a win so that we can take some positive momentum into Friday’s game at (top-ranked) Johnston.”
The Jaguars will then host a non-conference game against Fort Dodge on Saturday. It will be their Coaches vs. Cancer event.
Harken is hoping that injured starters Rylyn Boeding and Maizie Smith could see some limited action by the end of the week.
“Rylyn looking pretty hopeful. She’s doing some non-contact stuff in practice, and the hope is that she could get some minutes by Saturday,” Harken said. “Maizie has a follow up with her doctor on Thursday. She injured her toe during a practice over break, but we’re hoping if all goes well she can see some limited action on Friday or Saturday as well.”
