Third-ranked Ankeny Centennial emerged from a tense back-and-forth game with Davenport North to reach the Class 5A 2016 Iowa High School Girls Basketball State Tournament semifinals.

Tasha Vipond's basket with less than 2 minutes remaining gave Centennial the lead for good and the Jaguars went on to beat No. 8 North 56-52, spoiling the Wildcats' first trip to the state tournament.

The lead changed hands five times in the fourth quarter before Vipond connected on a turnaround shot to put Centennial up 53-52 with 1:41 left. Kendyl Lindaman got the ball back for Centennial with a steal and Keanna Williams sank two free throws to stretch the lead to three points, enough for the Jaguars to hold on.

Lindaman, better known for her power hitting in softball, led Centennial with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. She is the state's career home run leader and still has a season to play.

Vipond made 6-of-9 shots while scoring 14 points. She also snagged 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Jinaya Houston, a 6-foot-1 junior who has committed to Iowa, led North with 18 points. She made 8-of-12 shots, grabbed nine rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked two shots. Another junior, Jacionna Stowers scored 17 points for the Wildcats and Paige Bradford added eight to go with nine rebounds.

Centennial coach Scott DeJong won six state championships at Ankeny High School, but this is the first time he has Centennial in the state tournament. The Jaguars will take a 21-3 record into a semifinal game at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

North has come a long way since going winless four years ago. The Wildcats finish 21-4 after a state tourney trip that came during a tough week for the North community. Athletic director Dave Shovlain's 3-year-old son was killed on Sunday when he was run over by a car in a parking lot.

The Wildcats, who start three juniors and two sophomores, played well but just couldn't quite match Centennial down the stretch.

Story Courtesy of IGHSAU


Davenport North vs Ankeny Centennial
3/2/16 5:00 PM at Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

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VISITORS: Davenport North 21-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Stowers, Jacionna... *  6-20   2-10   3-3    1  2  3   3  17  3  7  0  2  31
05 Houston, Jinaya..... *  8-12   0-1    2-3    2  7  9   1  18  3  1  2  0  27
21 O'Brien, Mckenzie... *  1-4    0-3    0-0    2  1  3   1   2  1  0  0  1  23
30 Dillie, Coral....... *  1-5    1-1    2-2    3  2  5   3   5  3  2  0  1  15
50 Bradford, Paige..... *  4-10   0-1    0-0    4  5  9   4   8  2  4  0  1  23
10 Hicks, T'ahja.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  1  1  0  0  11
15 Ranum, Reese........    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  12
22 Wardlow, Lindsay....    1-4    0-1    0-0    2  1  3   4   2  1  1  0  0  18
   TEAM................                         3  1  4
   Totals..............   21-58   3-17   7-8   18 19 37  16  52 14 16  2  5 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-31 29.0%   2nd Half: 12-27 44.4%   Game: 36.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8  25.0%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game: 17.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half:  2-3  66.7%   Game: 87.5%    0


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HOME TEAM: Ankeny Centennial 21-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 Brandt, Meg......... *  0-2    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   2   0  4  5  0  4  28
14 Wycoff, Sydney...... *  2-10   2-6    2-2    0  2  2   1   8  3  2  1  1  29
23 Lindaman, Kendyl.... *  7-9    0-0    3-5    1  2  3   0  17  1  1  1  1  26
25 Williams, Keanna.... *  3-7    0-0    2-4    1  1  2   2   8  0  0  0  2  20
34 Vipond, Tasha....... *  6-9    0-0    2-2    0 10 10   1  14  0  0  3  1  28
03 Heston, Abby........    2-2    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   0   6  1  1  0  0  11
05 Macke, Kylee........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   0   0  0  2  0  0   6
21 Schon, Rachel.......    1-3    0-0    1-2    3  2  5   1   3  0  2  0  0  10
24 Reinke, Megan.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   21-43   2-6   12-18   6 19 25   7  56  9 13  5  9 160

TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-22 40.9%   2nd Half: 12-21 57.1%   Game: 48.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-4  25.0%   2nd Half:  1-2  50.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half:  5-9  55.6%   Game: 66.7%   3,1


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Officials: Jason Alons, Mike Lawler, Carson Hattel
Technical fouls: Davenport North-None. Ankeny Centennial-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
Davenport North...............   14   11   12   15  -   52
Ankeny Centennial.............    8   18   14   16  -   56

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