(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Before the season even started, the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team knew that Friday’s matchup at top-ranked Johnston would be the hardest game on its schedule all year.
The Jaguars were no match for Johnston as the Dragons extended their winning streak to 63 games while beating Centennial for the 13th straight meeting.
“I felt like we put a good effort in,” Centennial coach Chris Harken said after his team’s 87-53 loss. “The first couple of possessions we hung pretty tightly with them. I think we kind of shocked them a little bit. But we knew it was going to be a matter of time until they were able to pull away. We set some individual goals and tried to meet them the best we could.”
Despite the tallest of tasks put in front of them, the Jaguars came out of the gates and surprised the two-time undefeated state champions.
Centennial stuck with the Dragons for most of the first quarter behind junior guard Lizzie Beam and freshman guard Faith Perpich.
Freshman Alana Newman scored the Jaguars’ first bucket of the night before Beam and Perpich were able to make shots to trade baskets with Johnston.
Perpich converted an early 3-pointer to give the Jaguars a brief 5-4 lead and Beam made back-to-back treys a few possessions later to give them an 11-10 advantage.
Beam came into the night as one of Class 5A’s top scorers, and she continued her ascent as one of the CIML’s top players.
“We hope (Beam) continues to grow, gets some opportunities to continue to shine and presents herself as one of the better girls in the CIML,” Harken said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without her.”
There’s not many players in the state that can go toe-to-toe with Johnston senior and four-star Notre Dame commit Jenica Lewis when it comes to scoring the ball.
Lewis, who is ranked No. 24 in the SportsCenter NEXT Top 100 Class of 2026 rankings, had a record-breaking night. It all started with a 17-point first quarter in which she made five of her eventual nine 3-pointers to set a new Johnston program record.
Beam proved to be Centennial’s best counter as she made three 3-pointers for a 13-point first quarter. She finished with a career-high 22 points after adding one bucket in the second quarter and scoring seven points in the third period.
“They had a break, and they knew some realistic goals we set for them coming into the game and coming out of halftime,” Harken said of his team’s successes in the first and third quarters. “They knew if they could reach those goals, they could be successful in other parts of the game.”
Perpich finished with 11 points for her fourth straight game in double figures. She has averaged 13.5 points a game in Centennial’s first four contests out of the holiday break.
But while the Jaguars were able to get some shots to fall in the first and third quarters, it simply wasn’t enough to keep pace with a red-hot Lewis from beyond the arc and a Johnston team attempting to complete a third straight undefeated season.
Lewis made seven 3-pointers in the first half for 23 points, and Johnston sophomore Kelli Kalb backed her up with 12 points to help the Dragons to a 53-30 lead at the break.
“(Lewis) is by far the best player we’ll see (this season),” Harken said. “She did a phenomenal job shooting tonight. At one point she was 8-for-10 on threes and we thought they would start not falling as much as they did, but she just kept hitting them.”
The Dragons are now 8-0 in the CIML Conference and 11-0 overall. Centennial’s records dropped to 3-5 and 3-6.
One positive that the Jaguars saw was the play of senior forward Rylyn Boeding, who posted a career-high eight points in her second game back from an injury.
Boeding made some free throws in the first half and scored four of Centennial’s seven points in the fourth quarter. Freshman Nyah Weger scored the other three points of the period on a last-second 3-pointer.
“We’re still on a minute count for (Boeding), but just having her on the bench and having her energized–even if it’s for a couple minutes a game–helps rejuvenate the team a little bit,” Harken said.
The Jaguars have a quick turnaround as they host Fort Dodge in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon. The Dodgers (3-7) are coming off a 56-37 victory over Sioux City West.
“(The girls) need to take pride in how they played tonight, but also look at ways to continue to improve,” Harken said. “That’s our key thing. We need to continue to improve a little bit every day, every practice, every game and not get down on ourselves.”
