Slow start costs Liberty in a 46-35 loss to No. 3 Centennial

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jaime Brandt didn’t charge her team with an absence Saturday afternoon.

Tardy? Yes.

“We didn’t come ready to play in the first half,” Brandt said after Class 5A third-ranked Ankeny Centennial topped No. 13 Iowa City Liberty, 46-35, at Rivalry Saturday at Johnson Hall. “We didn’t match their intensity, and we dug ourselves a hole.”

It was a hole too deep. Down 28-12 at halftime, the Lightning (1-1) climbed within 42-34 on Janessa Mosley’s basket with 2:55 left, but had multiple empty possessions with a chance to get closer.

“We were playing too comfortably,” Liberty’s Jasmine Barney said. “We weren’t going as hard we could.”

And they were shooting as well as they can. Liberty made just 12 of 48 attempts from the floor.

Centennial (3-0) scored 13 straight points — 10 from Kennedy White — for a 13-3 lead.

The Lightning stabilized for a while and got within 15-10 by the end of the quarter, then went without a field goal in the second period, and the Jaguars pulled away.

Barney scored 15 of her team-high 17 points after intermission, mostly on aggressive drives to the hoop.

“We were a lot better in the second half,” Brandt said. “We just have to show up from minute one. We have the skill and the talent. We just need the right mindset.”

White led the Jaguars with 20 points. Mya Crawford added 11.

Ankeny Centennial 46, Iowa City Liberty 35

At Johnson Hall

IOWA CITY LIBERTY (35): Avery Gaudet 0-4 0-0 0, Jasmine Barney 7-12 3-4 17, Kennedy Daugherty 0-1 0-0 0, Ava Meyer 2-13 0-0 5, Maddie Casey 2-8 0-0 6, Janessa Mosley 1-5 2-5 4, Bella Tafolla 0-3 2-2 2, Libby Allen 0-0 0-1 0, Haley Schroeder 0-2 1-3 1. Totals 12-48 8-15 35.

ANKENY CENTENNIAL (46): Jaeden Pratt 0-5 2-4 2, Mya Crawford 4-7 2-4 11, Averi Porter 1-4 0-0 2, Makenna Clark 0-8 3-5 3, Kennedy White 7-12 6-7 20, Ava Martin 1-3 0-0 2, Faith Blackmore 2-5 0-0 6, Tillie Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 13-20 46.

Iowa City Liberty 10 2 11 12 — 35

Ankeny Centennial 15 13 10 8 — 46

3-point goals: Liberty 3-26 (Gaudet 0-2, Mosley 0-4, Barney 0-1, Meyer 1-10, Casey 2-7), Centennial 3-20 (Martin 0-1, Pratt 0-2, Crawford 1-2, Porter 0-2, Clark 0-8, Blackmore 2-4, Smith 0-1). Team fouls: Liberty 16, Centennial 18. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Liberty 27 (Barney 9), Centennial 37 (Crawford 11). Assists: Liberty 3 (three with 1), Centennial 10 (Pratt, Porter 4). Steals: Liberty 3 (three with 1), Centennial 4 (four with 1). Turnovers: Liberty 11, Centennial 14.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com