ANKENY — The Marshalltown girls’ basketball team saw its losing streak stretch to five games with Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of Class 5A No. 12 Ankeny Centennial, falling 70-19 in cross-CIML action.

The Jaguars (8-4) jumped out to an 18-4 lead after the first quarter and led 42-12 at the half, dropping the Bobcats to 2-10 for the season.

Madi Finch finished with eight points to lead Marshalltown, while Erica Johnson accounted for seven points as the duo combined to score 15 of the team’s 19.

Ankeny Centennial’s leading scorer, Rachel Schon, outdid them all with 17 points. Meg Burns made five 3-pointers for 15 points and Cleao Murray added 13 points off the bench for the Jaguars.

“Unfortunately every turnover for us turns into points for them,” said MHS head coach Stacy O’Hare. “We just don’t put up enough shots or score enough points to compete with them.”

The hardest part for O’Hare on this night was a lack of hustle by her Bobcats when Centennial took a turnover the other direction for a potential fast-break basket.

“Sometimes when we turned the ball over and they were out in transition and we weren’t hustling back thinking they’d make the layup, they missed some layups and we weren’t there,” said O’Hare.

The Bobcats’ head coach was pleased with the way her squad started the game in its 1-3-1 zone defense in the half court, but it didn’t help in transition when Ankeny Centennial took the ball from Marshalltown at the other end.

“We just need to be more aggressive on offense, be prepared to shoot the ball, ready to attack,” O’Hare said. “We can’t relax on offense because any mistake we make turns into points for the other team.

“We need to continue to work hard. The girls want to win. There’s a lot of improvements you might not see in the scorebook.”

The Bobcats play their first home game of the post-holiday schedule with Friday’s CIML Iowa Conference contest against No. 5 Waukee (8-3).

“They’re another really good team, they’re definitely going to press us so that shouldn’t be any surprise,” said O’Hare. “They’re another team that does a nice job in transition, they’re always looking to attack, so we’ve got to get back on defense, talk on defense and be aggressive on offense.”

Ankeny Centennial 70, Marshalltown 19

At Ankeny

MARSHALLTOWN (2-10) — Alyvia Chadderdon 1 0-0 2, Erica Johnson 3 1-2 7, Kyra Feldman 0 0-0 0, Madi Finch 2 4-5 8, Gabby Himes 0 1-2 1, Lily Roberts 0 0-0 0, Shakeiya Taylor 0 0-0 0, Emma Younkin 0 1-2 1, Priscila Vergara 0 0-0 0, Paige Wertzberger 0 1-2 1, Sophie Younkin 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 6 7-11 19.

ANKENY CENTENNIAL (8-4) — Taylor Runchey 1 2-2 4, Rachel Schon 5 7-8 17, Kenna Sauer 0 2-2 2, Alexandria Keahna-Harris 4 0-0 8, Meg Burns 5 0-0 15, Bella Robben 1 0-0 3, Jenny Hagg 2 0-0 6, Lily King 0 0-0 0, Elle Street 0 0-0 0, Jackie Pippett 0 0-1 0, Lizzie Strom 1 0-0 2, Cleao Murray 4 4-5 13. TOTALS 23 15-19 70.

MHS 4 8 2 5 — 19

CENTENNIAL 18 24 16 12 — 70

3-Point Goals — AC 9 (Burns 5, Hagg 2, Robben, Murray). Total Fouls–MHS 14, AC 16. Fouled Out–Himes.