Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Nicole Guerin shoots for Fort Dodge on Saturday against Ankeny Centennial. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The Fort Dodge girls basketball team didn’t have an answer for Meg Burns on Saturday, as the Ankeny Centennial senior torched the net in the Dodger gym.

The Jaguar guard was lethal from three-point range early and often as 10th-ranked Centennial (5-4 overall) defeated the Dodgers (3-7) by a final of 71-34.

Burns, a 5-foot-10 guard, was 8-for-10 from three-point range and finished with a game high 24 points. She hit seven threes in the first half. She was 4-for-4 in the second quarter.

As a team, the Jaguars were just as effective, hitting an efficient 15 threes on 24 tries and giving the Dodger defense fits.

Senior Taylor Runchey was 4 of 6 from behind the arc with 12 points for the Jags.

“We tried a couple of different zones against them, because we knew how strong they were down low with their size,” said FDSH head coach Scott Messerly. “But anything we did they had an answer for. It seemed like they couldn’t miss from three.

“We got off to a decent start, but then it just ballooned from there.”

The Jaguars held an 18-7 advantage at the end of the first period, but went on a 20-2 run in the second quarter. In that flurry, the Jaguars sank eight field goals, including a quartet of triples.

Centennial’s offense, paired with a suffocating defense, helped them build a 37-point halftime lead after a 32-6 second-quarter advantage. In the first half alone, the Jaguars hit 12 triples.

The Jaguars were then 12-for-18 from the field in the third quarter (66 percent).

“Our girls played hard, but couldn’t stop them on their ball reversal,” Messerly said. “We hung around, and then all of the sudden they couldn’t miss and we lost our aggressiveness. We were looking for someone to score.”

The Dodgers did make 5 of 10 tries from deep. Sophomore Aleaha Pommer had two treys and led the Dodgers with 10 points, with seven coming in the first half.

Junior Cheyenne Miller-Hameed was next in line with eight points — all in the second half.

“I thought we did a better job in the second half on Burns,” Messerly said. “We put Haley (Wills) on her and she was looking to go to the block, but she forced her out.

“We took away their inside game, but they beat us on the outside.”

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Dodgers, as they’ll face four ranked teams in their final nine games who currently sport a combined record of 21-5.

Up next for Fort Dodge is a trip to Des Moines Roosevelt on Tuesday.

ANKENY CENTENNIAL 71, FORT DODGE 34

Ankeny Centennial — Taylor Runchey 4-6 0-0 12, Jackie Pippett 2-3 0-2 4, Cleao Murray 4-10 0-0 9, Alexandria Keahna-Harris 2-5 0-0 4, Meg Burns 8-11 0-0 24, Elle Street 0-3 0-0 0, Bella Robben 2-2 0-0 4, Lizzie Stron 3-8 1-1 7, Averi Porter 1-1 0-0 3, Olivia Anderson 0-3 1-4 1, Makenna Clark 0-4 0-0 0, Lindsey Wessel 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Becker 1-1 0-0 3, Peyton Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-57 2-7 71.

Fort Dodge — Tory Bennett 1-3 1-2 3, Aleah Pommer 4-7 0-0 10, Cheyenne Miller-Hameed 2-5 3-4 8, Tristin Doster 1-3 1-2 3, Haley Wills 0-3 0-0 0, Jebreauna Clark 0-2 0-0 0, Nicole Guerin 1-2 0-2 3, Jalen Adams 1-2 0-0 3, Elle White 1-3 0-0 2, Rachel Sporrer 0-0 0-0 0, Jacy Daniel 0-2 0-0 0, Lainey Maehl 0-1 0-0 0, Paytene Hiveley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 12-34 5-10 34.

Quarter scores: AC led 18-7, 50-13, 64-25. Three-point goals: Ankeny Centennial 15-24 (Burns 8-10, Runchey 4-5, Strom 1-1, Becker 1-1, Murray 1-6, Porter 0-1); Fort Dodge 5-11 (Pommer 2-2, Guerin 1-1, Adams 1-1, White 0-1, Bennett 0-2, Wills 0-2); Total Rebounds: Ankeny Centennial 22, Fort Dodge 18; Turnovers: Ankeny Centennial 10, Fort Dodge 22; Total Fouls: Ankeny Centennial 10, Fort Dodge 8.