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Chris Harken

‘Their defense caused us some fits’: No. 8 North Polk girls pull away from Centennial

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Visiting North Polk pulled away in the third quarter and went on to post a 56-42 victory over Ankeny Centennial in a matchup of rated girls' basketball teams on Saturday. The Comets, who are ranked eighth in Class 4A, extended their winning streak to nine games while raising their record to 14-2. Centennial, the No. 11 team in Class 5A, dropped to 6-8 on … [Read more...] about ‘Their defense caused us some fits’: No. 8 North Polk girls pull away from Centennial

‘My shot felt good’: Beam scores 27 points in Jaguars’ rout over Urbandale girls

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Just a few days ago, the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team struggled to get shots to fall in a 16-point loss to second-ranked Waukee Northwest. The No. 14 Jaguars had no such issues Tuesday night against visiting Urbandale. Centennial connected on its first six shots of the game and proceeded to blow out the … [Read more...] about ‘My shot felt good’: Beam scores 27 points in Jaguars’ rout over Urbandale girls

‘We just couldn’t get our shots to fall’: Centennial girls tumble to No. 2 Wolves

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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 … [Read more...] about ‘We just couldn’t get our shots to fall’: Centennial girls tumble to No. 2 Wolves

Balanced Jaguars overcome Williams’ career-high 33 points to knock off Ankeny

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The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team has dominated the all-time series against its crosstown rival. The Jaguars entered Tuesday's game at Ankeny with a 22-3 advantage in the history of the rivalry, but the third-ranked Hawkettes were clearly the favorite after posting a 55-39 win at Centennial on Dec. 5. After getting off to a slow start, … [Read more...] about Balanced Jaguars overcome Williams’ career-high 33 points to knock off Ankeny

‘It was just a great team effort’: Jaguars use balanced attack to rout Fort Dodge

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After suffering a loss at top-ranked Johnston on Friday, the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team was back on the court less than 24 hours later. A non-conference matchup against visiting Fort Dodge was a much-needed breather for coach Chris Harken's team. Six Centennial players scored eight or more points and four others added three or more as the … [Read more...] about ‘It was just a great team effort’: Jaguars use balanced attack to rout Fort Dodge

‘She just kept hitting them’: Lewis scores 33 points, leads Dragons past Centennial

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) Before the season even started, the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team knew that Friday's matchup at top-ranked Johnston would be the hardest game on its schedule all year. The Jaguars were no match for Johnston as the Dragons extended their winning streak to 63 games while beating Centennial for the 13th straight … [Read more...] about ‘She just kept hitting them’: Lewis scores 33 points, leads Dragons past Centennial

‘I was looking to be aggressive’: Perpich’s fast start ignites Jaguars past S.E. Polk

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A fast start by freshman guard Faith Perpich ignited the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team to a 53-41 victory on Tuesday at Southeast Polk. Perpich scored nine of her career-high 17 points during a 13-0 run in the first half that erased Southeast Polk's early 6-5 lead. The Rams could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way. "I was … [Read more...] about ‘I was looking to be aggressive’: Perpich’s fast start ignites Jaguars past S.E. Polk

Norwalk’s Birmingham pours in 39 points, leads No. 3 Warriors past Centennial girls

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The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team simply didn't have an answer for Norwalk star Braylyn Birmingham. Birmingham erupted for 39 points and 10 rebounds to lead Norwalk to a 61-46 victory over the visiting Jaguars in a non-conference game on Saturday. The Warriors, who are ranked third in Class 4A, raised their record to 8-1. Birmingham, a … [Read more...] about Norwalk’s Birmingham pours in 39 points, leads No. 3 Warriors past Centennial girls

‘Everything was just clicking’: Jaguars lead from start to finish in victory over Waukee

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team couldn’t have possibly asked for a better start to the new year. The Jaguars harnessed a total team effort coming out of the holiday break and kicked off the 2026 portion of their schedule by defeating 13th-ranked Waukee, 61-48, on Friday night at Centennial. “That’s the … [Read more...] about ‘Everything was just clicking’: Jaguars lead from start to finish in victory over Waukee

Beam scores career-high 21 points, but Jaguars fall to 1-4 with loss to No. 4 Valley

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) The Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team was hoping to build off of its win over Urbandale a week ago and head into the holiday break with some positive momentum. But a matchup against fourth-ranked Valley ended the Jaguars' December slate with a 29-point loss. Centennial struggled to get its offense going in the … [Read more...] about Beam scores career-high 21 points, but Jaguars fall to 1-4 with loss to No. 4 Valley

‘She was just due’: Smith has career-high 19 points, leads Centennial to first victory

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Ankeny Centennial's Maizie Smith never lost confidence in her shooting ability. The senior made four 3-point goals and scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Jaguars to a 60-46 victory at Urbandale in a CIML Conference girls' basketball game on Friday. "I knew something would eventually fall," said Smith, who went 4-of-9 from behind the arc. "I was … [Read more...] about ‘She was just due’: Smith has career-high 19 points, leads Centennial to first victory

Boeding suffers scary fall during first half of Jaguars’ loss to No. 3 Dowling Catholic

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) It can take just a matter of seconds to completely change an outlook on a game, and now the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team is hoping for the best for one of its senior leaders. A scary fall and a temporary halt to the action late in the first half left Centennial without forward Rylyn Boeding for the remainder of … [Read more...] about Boeding suffers scary fall during first half of Jaguars’ loss to No. 3 Dowling Catholic

‘I’m just happy for our girls’: Hawkettes end four-game skid against Centennial

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) For just the third time since Ankeny split into two high schools, the Ankeny Hawkettes defeated their crosstown rival in girls' basketball. Sixth-ranked Ankeny stayed a few steps ahead of a young, scrappy Ankeny Centennial team for a 55-39 road victory on Friday night. It snapped a four-game losing streak in the series and … [Read more...] about ‘I’m just happy for our girls’: Hawkettes end four-game skid against Centennial

‘All props to Northwest’: No. 2 Wolves spoil Harken’s coaching debut at Centennial

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(Story by Stephen McDaniel) It wasn’t exactly the start to the Chris Harken era that the Jaguars wanted, but the Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball team knows there’s only going up from game one. Harken and the Jaguars ran into a well-oiled machine Tuesday in the second-ranked Waukee Northwest Wolves and started off the season with a 65-31 road … [Read more...] about ‘All props to Northwest’: No. 2 Wolves spoil Harken’s coaching debut at Centennial

‘There will be some growing pains’: Only 3 players return as Jaguars begin new era

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When legendary Ankeny Centennial girls' basketball coach Scott DeJong announced his retirement at the end of last season, it marked the end of an era in more ways than one. Not only was DeJong stepping down after a 37-year coaching career that saw him win a record seven state titles, but the Jaguars also graduated nine of the 12 players from last year's … [Read more...] about ‘There will be some growing pains’: Only 3 players return as Jaguars begin new era

‘You want to get the best of the best’: Jags hire Delger, Harken to coach hoops teams

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Ankeny Centennial Activities Director Nate Lingren didn't have to look very far to find replacements for legendary basketball coaches Scott DeJong and Bob Fontana. Both of the Jaguars' new coaches were already in the building. Matt Delger, Fontana's former assistant, has been hired to take over the boys' program. He was introduced on Wednesday. "I … [Read more...] about ‘You want to get the best of the best’: Jags hire Delger, Harken to coach hoops teams