The Ankeny girls’ basketball team moved into sole possession of third place in the CIML Conference with a 59-45 victory at Urbandale on Tuesday.
Bouncing back from Friday’s loss to second-ranked Dowling Catholic, the No. 3 Hawkettes built a huge advantage and then coasted to the win.
“We extended the lead to 26 (points) in the third quarter, but then we didn’t maintain our aggressiveness,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey.
Jayla Williams had 17 points and five rebounds for Ankeny. She has scored in double figures in 16 straight games dating back to last season.
Ainsley Kiene finished with 16 points, nine boards and seven assists. She went 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
“Ainsley had another productive night,” Tobey said.
Reagan Baldwin went 5-of-9 from behind the arc and tied her career-high with 15 points. As a team, the Hawkettes connected on 11-of-24 3-pointers (45.8 percent).
“Reagan again played great some defense, too,” Tobey said.
Kyla Schaapveld contributed eight points and Ali Aguirre added three steals for Ankeny, which improved to 5-2 in the conference and 8-2 overall. The J-Hawks, who ended a 53-game CIML losing streak with a win over Southeast Polk on Friday, dropped to 1-6 and 2-9.
The Hawkettes moved a half-game ahead of No. 5 Waukee Northwest (4-2) and No. 4 Valley (5-3) in the league standings. The Wolves (6-3 overall), who were idle on Tuesday, visit Ankeny on Friday for another conference game.
