Bobcat girls flip the script
Marshalltown pounds Polar Bears, 42-2

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Marshalltown Mallory Meyeraan (10) shoots against Des Moines North during Tuesday’s Iowa Alliance Conference basketball game at the Roundhouse. Meyeraan made her first varsity basket to help the Bobcats beat the Polar Bears 42-2.
Tuesday’s game was a welcome sight for Marshalltown girls basketball.
After some offensive frustrations with Monday’s loss to Cedar Rapids Jefferson, the Bobcats bounced back with a 42-2 rout of Des Moines North in the Roundhouse.
Millie Heitmann led MHS with 12 points and Jorja Janssen had 11 as the Bobcats ended a six-game skid.
“We just have a lot of people that need to see the ball go through the hoop,” MHS head coach Brian Murphy said. “We needed this game to help us get back in sync and get some good things going that we can build from.”
Heitmann quickly scored on a designed play off winning the opening tip and the Bobcats were off and running, holding the winless Polar Bears to a single bucket scored with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats had 16 total steals, including four each for Heitmann, Morgan Hildebrand and Kinsley Bowie. Hildebrand and Frankie Long chipped in six points each for the Bobcats.
“We were really trying to focus on our fundamentals, not giving up the middle and denying the high post,” Murphy said. “We did a good job of staying focused even as what North was doing may not have looked like some of the teams we’ve been playing previously.”
The game also featured the first varsity points for freshman Mallory Meyeraan, seeing some extra minutes as Niah Lott did not play as a precautionary measure after being banged up in the JV game on Monday.
“Any opportunities for more players to get in and get them more experience is certainly good,” Murphy said. “Good to get more players in the flow.”
The Bobcats’ latest skid derailed a 4-1 start to the season, but the Bobcats now find themselves one win away from matching last year’s win total with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

“It’s good for us to get another win in the books,” Heitmann said. “I know a couple of us were down after last night and against Ames since our shots weren’t falling, but we’re all a bit happier now and I think we’re ready to play against Roosevelt on Friday.”
Marshalltown 42, Des Moines North 2
DM NORTH (0-8) — Gabriela Velazquez 0 0-0 0, Caroline Brown 0 0-0 0, Faida Margaret 1 0-0 2, Noreli Rocha 0 0-0 0, LaVaya Wilson 0 0-0 0, Mwasite Wilondja 0 0-0 0, Hailey Rocha 0 0-0 0, Ashley Goergen 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 1 0-0 2.
MARSHALLTOWN (5-7) — Kinsley Bowie 1 0-0 2, Millie Heitmann 5 2-2 12, Jorja Janssen 5 0-0 11, Ellie Hughes 1 0-0 2, Frankie Long 3 0-4 6, Mallory Meyeraan 1 0-0 3, Morgan Hilderbrand 2 1-2 6, Mia Aguinaga 0 0-0 0, Rubi Buenrostro 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 3-8 42.
DM NORTH 0 0 0 2 — 2
MHS 15 9 8 10 — 42
3-Point Goals–MHS 3 (Janssen, Meyeraan, Hilderbrand). Team Fouls–DMN 6, MHS 8. Fouled Out–none.
- T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER – Marshalltown Mallory Meyeraan (10) shoots against Des Moines North during Tuesday’s Iowa Alliance Conference basketball game at the Roundhouse. Meyeraan made her first varsity basket to help the Bobcats beat the Polar Bears 42-2.