(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
Lizzie Beam and Faith Perpich have formed a great 1-2 punch for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team over the course of the season.
The junior and freshman guard tandem combined forces to help lead the Jaguars to their second straight victory to close out the regular season.
Beam scored a game-high 26 points and Perpich finished with a career-high 22 as 13th-ranked Centennial swept the season series against visiting Southeast Polk with a 58-50 win on Friday.
“It was really ending (the regular season) off with a win,” said Perpich, who also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals. “The last game was close and we knew that we had to keep the energy up, keep going hard and never let off the gas pedal.”
Centennial got off to a slow start with Beam scoring its first five points of the game before the Rams took a 7-5 lead on a Brooklynn Ruddy 3-point goal.
That’s when Perpich and senior forward Rylyn Boeding stepped it up and ignited a run for the Jaguars that made it seem like a blowout victory was in store.
Perpich recorded three buckets with two coming from beyond the arc and Boeding added a triple of her own as Centennial closed out the first quarter with an 11-2 run to build a 16-9 advantage.
Beam opened the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a Boeding basket to extend the margin to 24-9.
“A lot of our teammates were all talking to each other and we just have good chemistry, so we knew what we had to do and we did our job,” Perpich said.
But the Rams managed to claw their way back into the game with a 12-0 run that closed the gap to 27-24 at halftime.
The two teams traded the lead back and forth throughout the third quarter, which ended with Centennial holding a 40-38 edge. After Lydia Michel scored her only basket of the game to open the second half, Beam and Perpich combined to score the Jaguars’ next 11 points.
“(Beam and Perpich) have done a really good job putting the pressure on their backs, but I know they have teammates around them that support them,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken. “It’s a team effort, and they are able to benefit from the efforts of the other girls too.”
Boeding made a big 3-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter, which was followed up by another trey from Beam. Perpich answered a 3-pointer from Southeast Polk’s Gracie Wilson by converting an and-one opportunity.
Beam later connected for her fifth 3-pointer of the game to give the Jaguars a 54-48 cushion. Perpich and Beam then iced the game at the free-throw line, where Centennial was a perfect 10-of-10.
Beam grabbed seven rebounds in the win. She also had two assists and two steals.
Centennial finished 7-9 in the CIML Conference and improved to 10-11 overall. It was the sixth straight loss for the Rams, whose records fell to 0-16 and 3-18.
Southeast Polk’s Halle Clark scored 18 points. Ruddy and Wilson each chipped in 11.
“Southeast Polk really came to fight, and they could’ve said their season was over with their record and everything,” Harken said. “But they came over and wanted to finish their season off strong. Props to them, they’re well coached and had a good strategy to play against us. Our girls just faced the adversity, the highs and the lows, and ended up being resilient at the end.”
Boeding had eight points and eight rebounds for the Jaguars, who will now have a week off to prepare for postseason play. They will host a rematch against Des Moines Roosevelt (16-6) in a Class 5A regional semifinal on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
The Roughriders lost a close game at Centennial, 52-46, on Feb. 2.
“We’re confident, but we don’t want to overlook (Roosevelt),” Perpich said. “We’ve still got to play our game to get through.”
The winner would likely play at No. 4 Cedar Falls (17-4) in the regional final on Feb. 24.
“If we keep this momentum going, I think we have a decent chance to compete against (Roosevelt and Cedar Falls),” Harken said. “Every game is a game, and we still have to show up and compete to our best ability.”
