(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
It’s one thing to beat a good team during the regular season, but it’s a completely different thing to repeat that success against the same squad in the postseason with your season on the line.
The Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball team was able to do it, and now the 12th-ranked Jaguars are one win away from returning to the Class 5A state tournament.
Senior Rylyn Boeding and junior Lizzie Beam helped orchestrate a big first half that propelled the Jaguars to a 59-43 victory against visiting Des Moines Roosevelt in a regional semifinal on Saturday.
“Coming from the beginning of the season and now we’re (one win away from state), we’ve just shown so much growth,” Boeding said. “I’m so proud of everyone, and I’m proud of myself because it’s been a really tough season. It’s really rewarding to see all of the work we do in practice come out and show up in these games.”
When the Jaguars hosted Roosevelt earlier this month, they built an early lead by getting off to a hot start before holding on for a 52-46 win. Beam and Boeding also led the way in that game, combining for 37 of the team’s 52 points.
Centennial followed a very similar path in Saturday’s victory. Boeding matched the career-high of 18 points that she previously set against the Roughriders, while Beam added 17 points, five assists, three steals and a block.
Boeding had a big first quarter as she scored five baskets and tallied 10 of her team’s 17 points.
“They were kind of letting me do what I wanted to do in the post, which was really nice,” Boeding said. “But my teammates, we’ve been practicing passes into the post, and they were perfect tonight. I give all the credit to them because they were seeing me. I just had to (score).”
Beam scored her first bucket at the end of the period to give the Jaguars a four-point lead, and a trip to the free-throw line in the second quarter started a huge run that changed the course of the game.
Boeding followed up Beam’s free throws with a basket before the duo traded buckets to put Centennial on an 8-0 run going into a Roosevelt timeout. Beam came out of the timeout to score another basket that pushed the Jaguars ahead, 27-15.
Centennial’s top two scorers also got some help from their teammates. Sophomore Lydia Michel scored off a Beam assist just seconds into the game, and senior Mylie Hatfield made her first 3-pointer of the night just a few possessions later.
When Roosevelt closed the gap to nine points following Centennial’s second-quarter run, Michel and Hatfield each made a triple that helped the Jaguars extend their lead to 37-22 at the half.
“I think it was a great confidence builder for (Lydia and Mylie) and a couple others as well,” said Centennial coach Chris Harken. “We’re going to need them moving forward. Hopefully, they take this game and continue to improve on that confidence because we’ve got a quick turnaround on Tuesday.”
Centennial’s freshman tandem of guard Faith Perpich and forward Alana Newman stepped up to help with the scoring in the second half.
Perpich has been the Jaguars’ second-leading scorer this season, but was held scoreless in the first half. Her first point came off of a free throw midway through the third quarter.
Leading 43-30 late in that period, Newman scored through a foul and sank the free throw for a 3-point play. That was followed by Perpich making a layup to beat the buzzer, giving Centennial a 48-30 margin going into the fourth quarter.
Much like how the Roughriders tried to battle back in the second half of the first matchup, sophomore Judy Bokhary tried to help them rally back in Saturday’s game.
Bokhardy made two 3-pointers and had eight points in Roosevelt’s 10-2 run to open the final period that cut the deficit to 10 points. She finished the night with a team-high 17 points.
Michel got another bucket to fall before Perpich made a big 3-pointer to give Centennial a late 55-42 lead. Beam closed out the victory from the free-throw line as she converted all four of her attempts at the end.
Roosevelt guard Malaina Hackley gave Centennial some issues in the earlier meeting as the senior made six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points. She got off to a strong start in the rematch with eight points in the first quarter, but her only other bucket came on 3-pointer in the third quarter.
“We knew that (Roosevelt) was going to be really fired up going into the game,” said Boeding, who also grabbed eight rebounds. “We know that they’re a real good team defensively and they’re scrappy, so we had to be composed, we had to know exactly what we were doing and stay focused offensively and defensively.”
The win was Centennial’s season-high third in a row and evened its record at 11-11. The Roughriders finished with a 16-7 mark.
“It was a good challenge for us,” Harken said. “We knew we couldn’t take them for granted because of the regular season game against them. We knew we had to come out and play fundamentally, and it showed.”
Centennial will now travel to Cedar Falls on Tuesday to meet the No. 4 Tigers (18-4) in the regional final. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Cedar Falls advanced with a 48-31 win over Dubuque Hempstead. The Tigers are led by senior guard Karis Finley, a Drake recruit who averages 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.
The Jaguars are seeking their sixth consecutive trip to the state tournament. The last time they failed to qualify was in 2020, when they dropped a 51-41 decision at Cedar Falls in a regional final.
“I know that if we play like we did tonight, we have a good chance at winning and going to state,” Boeding said. “That’s very much looking on the bright side. But I do feel confident, and we’re excited for it and we’re looking forward to it.”
