Marshalltown CC’s offensive struggles were present early and often Wednesday night as the women lost to No. 1-ranked Kirkwood 74-39.

The Tigers (1-10) had poor starts to each half of the game, and the second-half slow start put the game out of reach, assistant coach Cody Freland said.

“They figured out after a while that we were trying to slow the game down,” Freland said. “They brought out that half-court pressure and some things like that, and it kind of threw us off a bit.”

Kirkwood jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the first quarter, as Marshalltown’s offensive strategy — which Freland said centered on slowing the game down and hitting 3-pointers from specific set plays — got off to a rocky start, with seven first quarter turnovers limiting the Tigers’ opportunities even more.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

It took two late threes by Heeki Blakey to get the Tigers within 11 at the end of the first period. But the start of the second quarter was taken over by Eva Zaragoza. The sophomore center, one of only two returnees from the 2019-20 roster, hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the second quarter alone. Her scoring helped the Tigers keep in touch on the scoreboard, where MCC trailed by 10 at the break.

This was the type of performance the Tigers have been waiting for from Zaragoza, Freland said.

“That’s the game we’ve been waiting for,” Freland said. “She spaced the floor out, attacked on the floor when she had those opportunities and took advantage of a lot of matchups.”

Blakey and Zaragoza scored all but four of MCC’s first-half points.

There wasn’t much to cheer about from MCC’s standpoint in the second half. Early in the third, Zaragoza picked up two quick fouls and went to the bench with four. Immediately after, Kirkwood stretched the lead from 13 to 23 and with the score 55-32 in the third quarter, the game was out of MCC’s grasp. Tasia Jordan and Kemara Watson each scored 13 points for the Eagles.

The Eagles closed out the game effectively, showing why they are ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA standings. The gap grew to 35 in the final minutes, and the shot clock violations piled up for MCC — a byproduct of the Tigers stalling and generally running offense only in the final 12 seconds of the shot clock. MCC had 19 turnovers.

The Tigers’ shot selection told the tale, both of the strategy and of the execution of their outside-oriented gameplan. MCC took 44 shots — 32 of which were from behind the 3-point arc. The Tigers were 6-for-12 from inside the arc and 9-for-32 from outside the arc. Zaragoza led the team with 13 points and Blakey scored 12.

Up next for MCC is a home game Saturday against Southwestern CC. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Kirkwood CC 74, Marshalltown CC 39

KIRKWOOD (12-0) — Stratton 3-7 1-2 7, Hodges-Johnson 3-8 0-0 6, Drake 4-6 2-3 12, Watson 4-9 3-4 13, Tull 4-8 1-3 9, Rodriguez 1-3 1-2 3, Jordan 6-7 1-1 13, Hatley 0-4 0-0 0, Harmon 0-1 0-2 0, Paulsen 3-7 1-2 7, Kosner 1-3 0-0 2, Whitlock 1-3 0-0 2. TOTALS 30-66 10-19 74.

MCC (1-10) — Blakey 4-7 0-0 12, Rodriguez-Sanchez 4-8 0-1 9, Dorta-Perez 0-3 0-0 3, Castillo 0-8 0-7 0, Zaragoza 5-9 0-2 13, Wright 1-1 0-0 2, Mebratu 1-7 0-0 3, Duncan 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL 15-44 0-3 39.

KIRKWOOD 19 17 23 15 — 74

MCC 8 18 6 7 — 39

3-Point Goals–Kirkwood 4-7 (Drake 2-2, Watson 2-2, Rodriguez 0-1, Hatley 0-1, Paulsen 0-1), MCC 9-32 (Blakey 4-6, Zaragoza 3-6, Rodriguez-Sanchez 1-3, Mebratu 1-7, Rogers 0-1, Dorta-Perez 0-2, Castillo 0-7). Assists–Kirkwood 8 (three with 2), MCC 12 (Dorta-Perez 6). Rebounds–Kirkwood 31 (Tull 6), MCC 22 (Zaragoza 11). Total Fouls–Kirkwood 11, MCC 18. Fouled Out–none.