Marshalltown girls basketball pushed the pace to run past Des Moines East, 50-21, at the Roundhouse on Tuesday.
Amairra Johnson scored 10 points with five steals to lead the Bobcats (5-6); Sydney Kapayou added nine points and Kinsley Bowie had eight points with five assists. Frankie Long had a team-leading 13 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass.
“We had a lot of good energy for not playing for a whole week,” said Johnson, a freshman. “We were a little out of breath, but we showed we were that team and came out with a win.”
Leading 15-6 after the first quarter, the Bobcats scored the final 11 points of the half for a 26-8 halftime lead.
“When we spread the floor, push the tempo and look for that person to make the extra pass, things are really good,” MHS head coach Brian Murphy said. “We did a pretty good job of seeing those passes ahead of time where the ball was reaching people in rhythm and catching them off guard, which is something we’ve been really trying to work on all season.”
MHS swept the season series with the Lady Scarlets after a 59-18 romp at East on Dec. 19 in the last game before the new year.
The Bobcats swiped 21 steals compared to just 18 turnovers, energized by a strong start that included a couple three-point baskets from Kapayou.
All nine players who checked in for Marshalltown on Tuesday scored at least two points.
“Seeing shots go in just makes a lot of things easier,” Murphy said. “We were really crashing the offensive boards in that first half, and that comes down to desire to really continue the offensive momentum when you can feel things going right.
“We try to create an opportunity for everybody to attack and everybody to have moments that play to their strengths. … We feel really good about our entire team’s ability to put points on the board.”
The Bobcats are now one win away from matching their best win total in nearly a decade — the 2014-15 Bobcats went 6-16 — but the girls are aiming higher.
“We want a better season than last year, we want a winning record,” Johnson said. “We just have to go our hardest in practice and show our coach how badly we want to be out there.”
MHS is back home on Friday against Waterloo West and then hits the road to Waterloo East on Saturday.
Marshalltown 50, Des Moines East 21
DM EAST (1-10) — Tabitha Hochmuth 1 0-2 3, Brooklyn Smith 0 0-2 0, Kate Stemsrud 0 0-0 0, Lauren Ziaty 0 0-0 0, Asia Thompson 6 2-6 15, Abby Dalton 0 0-0 0, Jaleeyah Hardy 1 1-2 3. TOTALS 8 3-12 21.
MARSHALLTOWN (5-6) — Kinsley Bowie 4 0-0 8, Millie Heitmann 2 0-0 4, Sydney Kapayou 3 1-2 9, Ellie Hughes 3 0-0 6, Frankie Long 2 0-0 4, Amairra Johnson 5 0-0 10, Aubrie Tejada 2 0-0 4, Tania Mora 1 0-0 3, Jorja Janssen 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 23 1-2 5-0.
DM EAST 6 2 7 6 — 21
MHS 15 11 12 12 — 50
3-Point Goals–DM East 2 (Hochmuth, Thompson), MHS 3 (Kapayou 2, Mora). Team Fouls–DM East 7, MHS 14. Fouled Out–none.