DES MOINES — A close game early turned quickly into a blowout victory as the Marshalltown girls’ basketball team walloped Des Moines East 60-17 on Friday.
Four players scored in double figures for the Bobcats (3-1), who were tied at 4-all with the Scarlets (0-4) before rattling off a 18-point run spanning between the first and second quarters.
Marshalltwn kept Des Moines East off the scoreboard for nearly eight minutes, taking a 22-4 lead that turned into a 32-6 halftime advantage as the Bobcats claimed their fifth-straight win in the series.
“We started slow and looked like we had just played the night before,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “We settled for a lot of jumpshot early and allowed two early scores without enough resistance.
“After settling in and moving the ball, we did a better job of running our offense and creating shots instead of settling for them.”
MHS sophomore center Frankie Long led the way with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Long pulled down eight offensive rebounds to help fuel the Bobcat attack.
Jorja Janssen and Morgan Hilderbrand added 11 points each, and Millie Heitmann had 10 points to go with her six assists.
Ellie Hughes had eight points, nine rebounds and six steals, and the Bobcats coasted to their third win of the season.
“The two stats I was happiest about were 15 assists on 27 made baskets, and only seven turnovers total,” said Murphy. “It’s always great to see multiple players in double figures, which most of our regular rotation did.”
The Bobcats close out their three-game road swing with Tuesday’s trip to Des Moines Hoover.
Marshalltown 60, Des Moines East 17
MARSHALLTOWN (3-1) — Millie Heitmann 4 1-2 10, Jorja Janssen 4 2-4 11, Ellie Hughes 4 0-2 8, Sydney Kapayou 2 0-4 4, Frankie Long 7 0-0 14, Niah Lott 1 0-0 2, Mallory Meyeraan 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hilderbrand 5 0-0 11, Rubi Buenrostro 0 0-0 0, Mia Aguinaga 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 27 3-11 60.
DM EAST (0-4) — Da’Myra Lewis 0 0-0 0, Abby Dalton 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Smith 4 0-2 9, Lauren Ziaty 0 0-0 0, Nyabuk Tuoch 3 0-2 6, Abby Castle 0 0-0 0, Aaliyah Buckner 1 0-0 2, Erin Anderson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 8 0-4 17.
MHS 18 14 23 5 — 60
DM EAST 4 2 4 7 — 17
3-Point Goals–MHS 3 (Heitmann, Janssen, Hilderbrand). Team Fouls–MHS 6, DME 9. Fouled Out–none.