After knocking off its crosstown rival earlier in the week, the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team was hoping to pull off a second consecutive upset on Friday.
Unfortunately, a slow start doomed the 14th-ranked Jaguars on their home court.
No. 2 Waukee Northwest jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and went on to post a 44-28 victory in a CIML Conference game. The Wolves completed a sweep of the season series despite shooting just 34 percent from the field (16-of-47).
“We just couldn’t seem to get the ball in the bucket,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken, whose team matched its lowest scoring output of the season.
Centennial also got off to a slow start in its season opener on Dec. 2 at Northwest. In that game, the Wolves built a 38-13 halftime advantage and went on to post a 65-31 triumph.
On Friday, the Jaguars battled back and managed to cut their deficit to single digits at the break. Lizzie Beam scored six of her team-high 11 points in the second period to lead the way.
Beam made a 3-point goal and then drove for a basket to close the gap to 25-16 at halftime.
“Our goal was just to pick away (at the lead) and try to get it to single digits,” Harken said. “We didn’t want (the margin) to get out of control in the second half, and we did a pretty decent job of that until the end when they made some free throws.”
Centennial was still within 10 points after three quarters, but was then outscored, 9-3, in the final period. The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Jaguars, who dropped to 4-6 in the conference and 5-7 overall.
Centennial could not overcome its poor shooting, going just 9-of-39 from the field (23.1 percent). The Jaguars committed 19 turnovers and were also outrebounded by a 34-27 margin.
Lydia Michel went 2-of-5 from behind the arc and scored six points in the loss. Beam grabbed seven rebounds, while Rylyn Boeding added five points and five boards.
Faith Perpich was held to a season-low four points but also had six rebounds and three assists. Mylie Hatfield added a pair of steals.
“We knew we had some specific goals,” Harken said. “We wanted to show that we had improved from the first game this season against Northwest. I think the girls weren’t as surprised as they were in that first game. Hopefully, everybody could see our growth from game one to game 12 in that we weren’t as timid. We just couldn’t get our shots to fall.”
Northwest remained in a second-place tie with No. 3 Dowling Catholic in the league race. The Wolves won for the sixth straight time while raising their records to 7-2 and 9-3.
Cassidy Danburg had a double-double for Northwest, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds. She also dished out four assists.
Sadie McCann contributed nine points and seven boards, while Romey Croatt added eight points and four steals. Logan Vogt made three blocks.
Centennial will host a conference game on Tuesday against Urbandale, which is 1-8 in the league and 2-11 overall after dropping a 52-32 decision to Dowling on Friday. The Jaguars won the first meeting, 60-46, on Dec. 12.
Senior guard Maizie Smith, who scored a career-high 19 points in the win at Urbandale, is expected to be back in the Jaguars’ lineup. She has missed the last seven games due to a toe injury.
“She’s been practicing for the last week,” Harken said. “She should see some time on Tuesday.”
