After having Friday’s game against top-ranked Johnston postponed due to the weather, the Ankeny girls’ basketball team turned its attention toward another opponent.
The fourth-ranked Hawkettes traveled to Clear Lake on Saturday for a non-conference game and rolled to a 69-46 victory over the Lions.
“They’re a pretty good team and will contend for a berth in the state tournament in 3A, so it was a good win,” said Ankeny coach Nate Tobey. “Especially with not playing (on Friday), it worked out really well to have this game.”
Ankeny took control of the contest in the first half and continued to pull away. The Hawkettes held a 39-22 advantage at halftime, then extended the margin to 55-33 after three periods.
“We were up at least 17 or so points most of the game,” Tobey said. “We extended the lead to 25 in the third quarter and got some other people into the game.”
Jayla Williams led Ankeny with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting. She also had 10 rebounds, four assists, nine steals and three blocks in another superb all-around performance.
Ali Aguirre chipped in 13 points, Reagan Baldwin had nine, and Kyla Schaapveld added eight points and three assists. Allison Hawkins also scored eight points, a career-high, on 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range.
Baldwin made a trio of 3-pointers for the Hawkettes, who went 11-of-25 as a team from behind the arc. Ainsley Kiene had 10 boards and four steals.
Ankeny improved to 11-4 with its third straight win. Clear Lake’s record dropped to 10-3.
The Hawkettes will host a non-conference game on Monday against Dallas Center-Grimes, the No. 4 team in Class 4A. The Mustangs are 12-2 on the season.
Dallas Center-Grimes is coming off a 52-35 win on Thursday over Williamsburg, the No. 5 team in Class 3A. Sophomore Ava Smid led the Mustangs with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
“This is another huge game against a really good team that will contend for a 4A title this year,” Tobey said.