Class 5A No. 12 Ankeny led 20-2 eight minutes in and 29-6 at the half, opening up a sufficient gap to ease its way to a 49-15 victory and drop Marshalltown to 1-14 overall this season and 1-6 in the CIML Iowa Conference.

Head coach Brian Murphy said the start was down to what Marshalltown was not doing as much as what the Hawks (10-4, 6-1) were doing.

“We knew exactly what to expect, we’ve seen them before, we got two days of prep,” Murphy said. “The first quarter it just took us too long to adjust, and by the time we kind of dug in a little bit it was a pretty good deficit there.”

Only three Marshalltown players got on the scoresheet in the first half, with Rachel Smith, Sophie Younkin and Sara Huffman all scoring two points each. Lily Roberts had a difficult day offensively and scored five points, all in the fourth quarter. Her day was a sign of the scoring woes the Bobcats faced all game long. Murphy said one of Marshalltown’s main issues right now is that its offense can make things harder for its defense with turnovers and impatience.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

The Bobcats’ defense held Ankeny to single-digit points in the second quarter and fourth quarter, but the start of the game and the start of the second half is where the Hawks really had their say.

Ankeny scored 35 of their 49 points in the first and third quarters — in those same quarters the Bobcats scored a total of four points. Marshalltown was outscored by just three points in the other two quarters, 14-11.

It was a frustrating stat for Murphy.

Roberts’ five points led the Bobcats in scoring, with Sophie Younkin close behind at four points. Marshalltown did not attempt a free throw, which compounded the frustration for Murphy when things were not finding any offensive success.

“That is the first game in my career as a coach where the team I was coaching has not shot a free throw,” Murphy said. “That is something that starts to wear on you mentally, where you’re getting banged up and getting in the paint, but you just can’t get a call.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

Up next for Marshalltown is a road trip to play Fort Dodge Monday at 6:15 p.m.

Ankeny 49, Marshalltown 15

ANKENY (10-4, 6-1) — Katelyn Anderson 1 0-0 2, Jenna Pitz 2 2-2 6, Savannah Gage 7 0-0 15, Karsen Jacks 3 0-4 7, Jadyn Filling 3 0-0 8, Zoe Shadravan 0 0-2 0, Abby Rusher 0 0-0 0, Rylee Riesberg 1 1-2 3, Kendra Lewis 2 0-0 6, Jasmine Moser 1 0-0 2, Libby Loftus 0 0-0 0, Cassie Johnson 0 0-0 0, Kendra Winfrey 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20 3-10 49.

MARSHALLTOWN (1-14, 1-6) — Rachel Smith 1 0-0 2, Sara Huffman 2 0-0 4, Lily Roberts 2 0-0 5, Amaya Moore 0 0-0 0, Sophie Younkin 2 0-0 4, Mya Gallegos 0 0-0 0, Malena Kammerer 0 0-0 0, Kaylin Smith 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 7 0-0 15.

ANKENY 20 9 15 5 — 49

MHS 2 4 2 7 — 15

3-Point Goals–Ankeny 6 (Filling 2, Lewis 2, Gage, Jacks), MHS 1 (Roberts). Team Fouls–Ankeny 6, MHS 10. Fouled Out–none.