Jorja Janssen

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Marshalltown girls’ basketball team took too many hits before finally punching back in a 54-21 loss at Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Monday.

The Bobcats (5-11) suffered their fifth straight loss after committing 33 turnovers, many of which led to layups for the host J-Hawks (4-12) according to MHS head coach Brian Murphy.

Marshalltown attempted just five field goals in the first quarter in succumbing to Jefferson’s 1-3-1 half-court trap.

“Despite our offensive struggles, our defense kept us in the game early when we kept them to half-court offense,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately, we gifted them several wide-open layups via their press and the floodgates continued to open in the second quarter.”

Marshalltown trailed 15-4 after the first quarter but the deficit ballooned by halftime to 34-6.

The Bobcats scored 15 points in the second half, with Jorja Janssen scoring all of her six after the intermission. Ellie Hughes scored the game’s opening bucket and finished with six points as well, and Frankie Long chipped in five points.

Long led the team with six rebounds and Hughes had four. Amairra Johnson and Tania Mora both pitched in three points for MHS.

“They pulled back the press in the second half, and our offensive composure improved considerably in the second half by finding some of our posts at the rim and drawing fouls by being aggressive,” Murphy said. “One positive note is that Jorja Janssen continued her streak of very solid play over the last three games. She can be a high-impact player when she’s aggressive on offense, in combination with her help-side defense in the paint.”

Madison Mercil helped Jefferson snap its four-game losing streak by scoring a team-high 14. Danielle Boche added nine points for the J-Hawks, who shot just 8-for-19 from the free-throw line.

The Bobcats are back at home tonight with a game against Ottumwa inside the Roundhouse.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson 54, Marshalltown 21

MARSHALLTOWN (5-11) — Tania Mora 1 0-0 3, Millie Heitmann 0 0-0 0, Sydney Kapayou 0 0-0 0, Ellie Hughes 3 0-0 6, Frankie Long 1 1-2 3, Amairra Johnson 1 1-4 3, Aubrie Tejada 0 0-0 0, Jorja Janssen 2 2-4 6. TOTALS 8 4-10 21.

CR JEFFERSON (4-12) — Ava Erger 3 2-2 5, Danielle Boche 4 0-2 9, Madison Mercil 6 2-5 14, Sophia Kevitt 2 2-2 6, Lillie Spicer 3 0-0 6, Addyson Luvan 0 0-0 0, Angeline Troh 1 0-0 2, Paige Williams 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hewitt 0 1-2 1, Kymara Atwood-Mayes 1 0-0 2, McKenna Felton 0 0-0 0, Lexi Haller 1 1-6 3, Keleigh Yanacheak 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 21 8-19 54.

MHS 4 2 6 9 — 21

CR JEFFERSON 15 19 13 7 — 54

3-Point Goals–MHS 1 (Mora), CR Jefferson 4 (Erger 3, Boche). Team Fouls–MHS 11, CR Jefferson 15. Fouled Out–none.