For the first 8 minutes on Tuesday, the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team executed its game plan perfectly.
But an opponent like top-ranked Johnston, which entered the night with a 70-game winning streak, eventually has an answer for everything.
After leading by just 8-6 after the first quarter, the visiting Dragons then erupted for 28 points in the second period and went on to post a 72-32 victory over No. 11 Centennial.
“They’re ranked No. 1 for a reason,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken. “We just hoped we’d be able to hang with them a little longer. They just came out very hot that second quarter.”
Nobody was hotter than McDonald’s all-American Jenica Lewis, who scored 13 points in the second quarter. She went on to finish with 28 points, going 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Jaliyah Kinnetz had 14 points for Johnston, while Kelli Kalb added 11. The Dragons went 9-of-12 from behind the arc (75.0 percent) and 25-of-41 overall (61.0 percent).
Centennial, meanwhile, shot just 35.0 percent from the field (14-of-40). The Jaguars went 1-of-17 from deep (5.9 percent) and were outrebounded by a 28-13 margin.
Johnston, which has already clinched the CIML Conference title, is now 15-0 in the league and 19-0 overall. The Dragons are seeking a third consecutive Class 5A crown.
“I don’t know if anyone can beat them,” said Harken, whose team’s records fell to 6-9 and 8-11. “If anyone can, it’s probably (No. 2) Waukee Northwest or (No. 3) Dowling Catholic. They both have played (Johnston) pretty close.”
Lizzie Beam had 11 points to lead Centennial, which also dropped an 87-53 decision at Johnston on Jan. 9. Rylyn Boeding added nine points and four rebounds.
Boeding scored the Jaguars’ first basket about 4 minutes into the game, but Johnston had only managed to take a 2-0 lead. After the Dragons regained a 6-2 advantage, Centennial answered with baskets by Lydia Michel and Beam to tie it at 6-6.
Johnston took the lead for good, 8-6, when reserve Paige Andernacht scored off a rebound for her only basket of the game late in the period.
“The girls did a good job with the game plan,” Harken said. “We tried slowing the ball down. We knew we’d have to spend a lot more energy on defense, and then our goal was to conserve some energy on offense by taking our time with the shot. I’m proud of the girls for the way they performed the first quarter.”
Lewis opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer, then hit another one shortly thereafter to give her team an 18-8 margin. The Dragons later built a 36-13 advantage before Boeding made a jumper at the buzzer for Centennial.
The Jaguars will host a non-conference game against Ames (11-8) on Thursday. It will be the team’s Senior Night.
The Class 5A regional pairings are expected to be announced earlier on Thursday. Harken is hoping that his team won’t fall too far in the next rankings after suffering a loss at unranked Waukee on Friday.
A drop of three spots or more could put Centennial into the same regional bracket with one of the top three teams in Class 5A.
“We were kind of doing the math, and I hope (the IGHSAU) sees how hard we competed all season against a tough schedule,” Harken said.
