Weekend Winners Circle

<h2>(#6) Ankeny Centennial VS (#1) Johnston Dragons</h2>   <p>On Friday night the Johnston Dragons escaped the clutches of the Ankeny Centennial Jaguars in overtime at home by a score of 66-59. To start off the contest it seemed like it was going to be all Jaguars as they jumped out to a 13-8 lead after the first quarter and were up by 6 going into half time. A slim margin from an outside point of view but the game was further apart than that in reality. That's when the Dragons started the second half by turning up the pressure and leave everything on the floor. They ended up clawing back into the game because of an incredible half by freshman point guard [player_tooltip player_id='557354' first='Jenica' last='Lewis']. In the end they forced overtime and finished it off with a 7 point win, 66-59. As this season is coming to an end the Dragons are having some really close calls compared the beginning of the season. This can partially be blamed on how good the back end of their schedule is but it also seems to me that they have a case of a missing identity in a way. They have so many weapons and play makers that you don't always know who is going to show up offensively, outside their top 2/3 players. Going into the playoffs they need to lock in and be confident with their ability. Confidence and consistency is all this group needs to all the way this season. When we look at the Jaguars side of things we see a program that has great pieces. This is a group that is special and will be competing in this class for the next few seasons to come. They run a tight ship from the top to the bottom as a program and work hard. They play team basketball just as good as the top teams 2 or 3 teams in the state and don't let little things define them. I'll be watching this playoffs as they possess the star talent and basketball skill to make a big statement.</p>   <h2>(#4) Benton Community VS (#7) Clear Creek Amana</h2>   <p>Benton Community traveled to Tiffin on Friday night to take on the Clear Creek Amana Clippers in a highly anticipated contest. Benton ended up winning this one mainly because of their stifling defense in the 2nd and 4th quarters, only allowing a combined 11 points between both. The game started off close as the end of the first quarter had an interesting score of 20-16 with both teams playing efficiently but that's when things took off for the Bobcats. A run fueled by star guard [player_tooltip player_id='127632' first='Jenna' last='Twedt'], who recorded a game high 30 points on 50% shooting, guided her squad to a crushing 18-5 second quarter giving the Bobcats a 17 point lead at half, 38-21. This would be too much to overcome for [player_tooltip player_id='545646' first='Ava' last='Locklear'] and the Clippers as they could just never get their footing throughout the game. Both of these teams are real state playoff contenders so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw this matchup down the road at some point on the way to Des Moines or maybe even at Des Moines. CCA is a loaded squad with 3 or 4 players who can all score the ball in [player_tooltip player_id='545646' first='Ava' last='Locklear'], Bliss Beck, [player_tooltip player_id='509225' first='Averie' last='Lower'], and Olivia Miller. They also are ferocious on defense and pride themselves on out-working their opponents. They have a diverse group that can score from a multitude of positions depending on the night. Something that will be hard to stop for other programs as the season progresses. The Bobcats led by Twedt, [player_tooltip player_id='314106' first='McKenna' last='Kramer'], and [player_tooltip player_id='314148' first='Zoey' last='Junge'] thrive on defense. They live for it and it has shown up all season for them thus far. I am a firm believer that in sports the #1 thing you can depend on is your defense. You may have heard the phrase "defense travels" when referring to a good team going on the road for a big game and that should be the slogan for this group. Their defense has been problem for every team they have faced this season, win or lose. I think the defense that they play to slow opponents down will carry this group to the state playoff in Des Moines. If it does and their top scorers continue their success than they will have a real chance to hoist up a championship trophy before the end of this season. </p>   <h2>(#13) Linn-Marr VS (#3) Waterloo West</h2>   <p>While staying on the topic of great defenses leading their teams to the playoffs we had another stifling, defensive win on Friday night as the Waterloo West Wahawks took care of business at home against the Linn-Mar Lions 54-25. Leading the way with their defense the Wahawks only let the Lions score double digits in one quarter in the contest, showing how good they can be on that side of the ball for the entirety of a game. Really in this one the Wahawks matched up really well against their opponent and just over-powered them. Being led by Oklahoma Commit [player_tooltip player_id='127635' first='Sahara' last='Williams'] this group didn't shy away on offense either. They ended scoring close to double digits in every quarter while Williams did her usually thing and guided them with 24 points of her own. The Lions offensively were led by senior Zoe Kennedy who scored a team high 9 on 4/11 shooting from the field. Looking toward the playoffs I anticipate West to make it to the state playoff with the possibility to win it all. They have one of the best payers in the state and debatably the country in Williams with a lot of talent surrounding her. They play aggressive defense, putting a lot of pressure on their opponents to make the right choice all the time or the outcome will not be in their favor. On the Lions side of things I think this group will have a shot to make a big run in the post season but they will have to tighten up some things on both sides of the ball before they do so. This game was an eye opener that came at the right time in the season in my opinion. It happened right before playoffs begin and put in perspective the things that the Lions will need to fix to be successful to end the year. </p>   <h2>(#15) Ankeny VS (#9) Waukee NW</h2>   <p>The Ankeny Hawks recorded another big win in the victory column this past weekend on the road against a top 10 ranked Waukee Northwest team by a final score of 59-52. The Hawks come out on top in this one for a few reasons but the main being that they won 3 out of 4 quarters played while winning the fourth quarter by a difference of 22-12, securing the 7 point victory. The usual suspects for this Hawks team is who got it done once again. [player_tooltip player_id='311376' first='Savannah' last='Gage'] scored a game high 25 points along with 6 steals, following by [player_tooltip player_id='63055' first='Jenna' last='Pitz'] with 11 points and [player_tooltip player_id='342205' first='Jayla' last='Williams'] with a double-double (10 & 10). For the home squad the Wolves were led by junior [player_tooltip player_id='246156' first='Sadie' last='Maas'] with 21 points and 9 rebounds, followed by [player_tooltip player_id='935274' first='Vana' last='Bilic'] with 9 points in the loss. Each of these teams showed some good and bad throughout the duration of this game and will look to patch some of those issues up before the post season kicks off in a few weeks. These groups both contain high level players who would be stars on any team in the state but from a group perspective they are both going to have to really work hard to make it out of their sectional. Is it possible for both groups? 100% it is. I've watched both of these sides all season and when they are clicking together they are pretty unstoppable. When it comes to playoffs in any sport you need to have somethings go your way and work out for you in the end. That is no different in the case with these two programs or anyone I have mentioned above in this article. With that being said people create their own luck and these groups are going to be doing the best they can to make that happen.</p>