No two games have been the same for the Marshalltown girls’ basketball team to this point in the young season.

Unless you consider the outcomes.

The Bobcats blasted past the visiting Scarlets to improve to 4-0, claiming a 45-13 triumph on Friday night at the Roundhouse.

Marshalltown claimed its seventh-straight win in the series, recording its greatest margin of victory since, well, the last time it played Des Moines East. The Bobcats beat the Scarlets 53-10 in last year’s regional opener.

MHS senior Millie Heitmann scored a career-high 17 points, highlighted by a stretch of 11 points in a row to close out the first quarter. Heitmann hit three 3-pointers during that span to help the Bobcats get out to a commanding 20-2 lead.

Heitmann shot 7-for-10 from the floor, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range to power Marshalltown’s lopsided win.

“It was great,” MHS head coach Brian Murphy said of Heitmann’s scoring eruption. “In a game like tonight, you hope players can instill some confidence in their shot. … This was an opportunity for girls to build up some of that.

“Like I said after our last game, we have girls that are better shooters than they give themselves credit for, and sometimes you just need game reps to believe in that.”

Heitmann is the third scoring leader in four games for the Bobcats, who scored 25 points in a row in taking a 31-2 halftime lead. Des Moines East (0-3) didn’t score in the second period and got no more than six points in a quarter, but did outscore Marshalltown’s reserves 5-0 in the fourth.

Frankie Long finished with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Heitmann had eight steals. Amairra Johnson and Kinsley Bowie had four points apiece, and Mallory Meyeraan, Keira Halsted and Jorja Janssen got two points apiece. Janssen finished with four steals and three assists, while Hilderbrand and Bowie also handed out three assists.

“At the end of the day we’re 4-0, and that’s something I really want to make sure we take a second to appreciate as a team,” said Murphy. “We always play Newton the week after Thanksgiving, and because we haven’t beaten them, we rarely start with an opportunity to be undefeated. So putting ourselves in that position to keep stacking up wins is something I want to really celebrate for this group.

“And as part of our hopes for the season, that’s an expectation and we’re continuing to do what we need to night after night.”

The Bobcats play two more home games next week with Des Moines Hoover visiting on Tuesday and Mason City coming to town for the Iowa Alliance Conference North Division opener on Friday, Dec. 12.

Marshalltown 42, Des Moines East 13

DM EAST (0-3) — Brooklyn Smith 0 0-0 0, Lauren Ziaty 0 0-2 0, Jaleeyah Hardy 2 0-0 4, Serenity Thompson 2 0-0 6, Araceli Aguilar 1 0-0 2, Da’Myra Lewis 0 0-0 0, Evelyne Douole 0 0-0 0, Ma’lyah Rankins 0 1-2 1, Nyabuk Tuoch 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 5 1-4 13.

MARSHALLTOWN (4-0) — Amairra Johnson 2 0-0 4, Kinsley Bowie 2 0-0 4, Millie Heitmann 7 0-0 17, Jorja Janssen 0 2-2 2, Frankie Long 5 4-6 14, Sophie Boone 0 0-0 0, Mallory Meyeraan 1 0-0 2, Keira Halsted 1 0-0 2, Morgan Hilderbrand 0 0-0 0, Savea Goshon 0 0-0 0, Melanie Fernandez Tadeo 0 0-0 0, Avery Buschbom 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 6-8 45.

DM EAST 2 0 6 5 — 13

MHS 20 11 14 0 — 45

3-Point Goals–DM East 2 (Thompson 2), MHS 3 (Heitmann 3). Team Fouls–DM East 7, MHS 5. Fouled Out–none.