The Marshalltown girls’ basketball team added another new chapter to its unbeaten start to the season: the mercy rule.

The Bobcats invoked the 35-point mercy rule for nearly the entire fourth fourth quarter during Tuesday’s Iowa Alliance Conference clobbering of Des Moines Hoover. The running clock shortened the final period of play as Marshalltown improved to 5-0 with a 44-13 triumph inside the Roundhouse.

MHS scored the game’s first 12 points, added scoring runs of 9-0, 15-0 and 7-0 to hand the Huskies (0-4) their fourth loss in as many outings. Millie Heitmann matched her career-high with 17 points and Frankie Long added a double-double of 10 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Bobcats to yet another victory.

“5-0 is exciting,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “I think after the Newton win, we were really excited in the moment, and I feel like tonight we are already looking ahead to where we know our goals to be.

“We want to be one of the top, if not the top conference team this season, and it starts with Mason City, so we’re pleased with this outcome.”

The Bobcats play host to the Riverhawks in Friday’s Iowa Alliance Conference North Division opener. Mason City (2-3) has taken 30 of the last 31 meetings with Marshalltown dating back to a 2009 split during conference play.

“Having a game like Mason City coming up, I think, goes a long way,” Murphy said. “We need another high-pressure game to push us. It’s a game that we’ve been looking forward to for a while.”

Murphy said it was hard for his team to duplicate the intensity of a division clash during Tuesday’s tilt with Des Moines Hoover (0-4), so the Bobcats took it for what it was worth: a win.

Heitmann scored eight-straight points during a first quarter in which she tallied 10 of her game-high 17 points on the way to a 14-2 lead. It took Hoover more than four and a half minutes to score, by which time the Bobcats were up 12-2.

The Huskies were held to four points or fewer in all four quarters.

“I liked how we came out defensively,” said Murphy. “I think this is the first time that we’ve had easy offense from our defense all season, which is something that we need to do more of.”

Amairra Johnson chipped in five points for the Bobcats in the win, while Kinsley Bowie and Morgan Hilderbrand both hit a 3-pointer. Jorja Janssen scored four points and Mallory Meyeraan added a basket.

Heitmann hit 8-of-12 shots from the field and finished with nine rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots, while Janssen had four assists and three steals. Long added four blocked shots while 11 of her 17 rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Jenesis Brooks-Hayes led the Huskies with five points. Hoover’s 12 points was its lowest output of the season.

Mason City visits the Roundhouse on Friday night at 6:15 p.m.

Marshalltown 44, Des Moines Hoover 13

DM HOOVER (0-4) — Jenesis Brooks-Hayes 1 2-6 5, Malak Nubie 0 2-2 2, Deja Crawford 0 2-4 2, Cora Johnson 0 0-0 0, Lia Jones 1 0-0 2, Meleah Davis 1 0-0 2, Evie Swanson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 3 6-12 13.

MARSHALLTOWN (5-0) — Amairra Johnson 2 1-2 5, Kinsley Bowie 1 0-0 3, Millie Heitmann 8 0-0 17, Jorja Janssen 2 0-0 4, Frankie Long 4 2-8 10, Sophie Boone 0 0-0 0, Mallory Meyeraan 1 0-0 2, Keira Halsted 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hilderbrand 1 0-0 3, Savea Goshon 0 0-0 0, Melanie Fernandez Tadeo 0 0-0 0, Avery Buschbom 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 3-10 44.

HOOVER2 3 4 4 — 13

MHS 14 11 17 2 — 44

3-Point Goals–Hoover 1 (Brooks-Hayes), MHS 3 (Bowie, Heitmann, Hilderbrand). Team Fouls–Hoover 13, MHS 12. Fouled Out–none.