It seemed for a moment like there was nothing the Marshalltown girls’ basketball team could do that was going to break Newton.

The final two minutes, however, told a different story altogether.

The Bobcats scored the game’s final 10 points to overtake the Cardinals and collect their first win in the annual series since 2018, prevailing 40-32 in a back-and-forth affair on Thursday night inside the Roundhouse.

Marshalltown improved to 3-0 and ended a six-game losing skid in the series with its neighbor to the south, driven by back-to-back 3-pointers that proved to be back-breakers for visiting Newton (2-1).

Amairra Johnson’s 3-pointer from the corner with 1:30 remaining gave the Bobcats just their second lead lead since the first quarter, and Jorja Janssen’s subsequent trey with 45 seconds left lifted Marshalltown to its first 3-0 start in at least 20 years.

The Bobcats finished the game from the free-throw line, going 4-for-4 in the final 16 seconds to seal the victory.

“It’s cliché, but we shoot a lot of threes in practice, and regardless of your percentage, we need everybody to shoot like they expect it to go in,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “I think both Jorja and Amairra are better three-point shooters than they give themselves credit for, and sometimes you need some big ones to go in before you believe in yourself.

“Both huge, timely threes, and it makes everything else go a lot easier when you knock a couple down.”

The extra space on the perimeter came courtesy of the Cardinals trying to suppress Marshalltown’s 6-foot-2 junior center Frankie Long and her post presence. Long had scored seven points in a row to start the fourth quarter, putting the Bobcats in front 30-29 before a 3-pointer by Camryn Klein gave the Cardinals control at 32-30 with 2:40 to go.

Newton clogged up the lane to keep the ball out of Long’s hands, and her teammates stepped up when the outside shots were needed.

“Frankie is a force on offense,” said Murphy. “Her absolute gravity is such a game-changer for us, and we’ve been waiting for a team to over-help, and I thought that was finally happening.”

Long finished with eight points and team-highs of 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Janssen led the squad with 10 points, going 2-for-2 from 3-point range, to go with seven rebounds and four steals.

Millie Heitmann had six points, six boards and four assists, and Kinsley Bowie added eight points, six boards, five assists and two blocked shots. Johnson also got eight points in the victory.

“It’s huge for me as a coach and certainly for our seniors,” Murphy said of the win. “This is my seventh year as a coach and it’s the first time I’ve beaten Newton. For our seniors, they’ve lost three times and I would say lost ugly two of the three.

“It’s fitting where we’ve got some seniors on their last opportunity to get some of these teams, and I love that all of our seniors had an opportunity to shine for us and really bring that big win home for us.”

Tori White led Newton with nine points while Camryn Klein and Payton Carkhuff had seven points apiece. Carkhuff left the game in the third quarter with what appeared to be a broken nose after catching a stray elbow in a battle for a loose ball.

Marshalltown is back at home tonight, hosting Des Moines East at 6:15 p.m.

Marshalltown 40, Newton 32

NEWTON (2-1) — Sophia Coady 0 0-0 0, Camryn Klein 3 0-0 7, Payton Carkhuff 2 3-5 7, Addyson Cibula 0 5-8 5, Brook Garvis 2 0-0 4, Tori White 4 1- 9, Emerson Ray 0 0-4 0. TOTALS 11 9-19 32.

MARSHALLTOWN (3-0) — Amairra Johnson 1 5-6 8, Kinsley Bowie 3 0-0 8, Millie Heitmann 2 2-2 6, Jorja Janssen 3 2-2 10, Frankie Long 3 2-6 8, Mallory Meyeraan 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hilderbrand 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 12 11-16 40.

NEWTON 14 6 5 7 — 32

MHS 9 8 6 17 — 40

3-Point Goals — Newton 1 (Klein), MHS 5 (Bowie 2, Janssen 2, Johnson). Team Fouls–Newton 16, MHS 17. Fouled Out–none.