The Pirates stole all of MCC’s momentum the second they started the game.

North Central Missouri College scored the first eight points of Monday’s return trip to face the Marshalltown Community College women’s basketball team, pouring it on for a 72-45 triumph inside the Student Activity Center.

The Pirates (12-7) beat MCC back on Nov. 8 in Trenton, Mo., winning a 28-point game (74-46) in which they made 15 3-pointers. NCMC needed only nine treys to take Monday’s rematch, but six of them came in the first quarter alone.

North Central Missouri made three 3-pointers before Marshalltown (4-12) got its first field goal and pushed ahead to a 33-11 lead after the opening period. The host Tigers won the second quarter and never went away, even though they never really threatened on the scoreboard.

“I think we came out a little flat today,” said MCC head coach Dylan Longley, whose team snapped an 11-game losing streak with a home win Saturday over Southwestern. “I mean, we were down 22 after the first quarter and we played them fairly even the rest of the game.

“Those last three quarters I didn’t think we played very well to our standards and what we can do, but we had effort and energy, and that’s the difference.

“Even when you don’t play well, if you have effort and energy, you’re in games, and I think it’s hard for kids to understand that. It’s about building that mental fortitude of consistently doing it.”

Marshalltown never got closer than 18 points after the opening stanza. The Tigers struggled from the field and were right at their average from the free-throw line, going 14-for-28 at the stripe. The Tigers rank next-to-last nationally (150th) in free-throw shooting percentage (49.5) at this point in the year.

MCC made three 3-pointers in the game, all of them banked in, as the team came up short in its pursuit of a second-straight win without its leading scorer. Freshman guard Jaeda Turner, a Milwaukee native, was getting 14 points per game before the holiday break, but is no longer with the program.

Longley said Saturday’s win was a strong step in the right direction in despite Turner’s absence, and Monday’s loss was otherwise insignificant.

“I think we are a true team right now,” he said. “If we were 6-1 in non-conference, that game matters, but for us right now, it’s all about conference play. Today was about ‘can we play hard, can we play together?’ which I think we did for the most part.”

Mi Amor Mcqueen led MCC with 13 points, Shenell Stewart finished with 11, and Kenijae Cherry tallied seven points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. Cherry ranks second in all of NJCAA Division II women’s basketball with 53 blocks after Monday’s loss.

“She’s the only 6-foot-2 player we’ve got, so she’s always been great on the boards, but offensively is where, coming back in the second semester, we have seen a change from her,” Longley said. “Rebounding and blocking shots have always come naturally, it’s been the offense that’s taken some time.

“She’s a kid that you just love because she does all the right things right now. She’s our anchor.”

Cherry’s presence in the paint helped the Tigers make up for getting beat in the back court by erasing a handful or more of NCMC’s shots in the lane, but the Pirates were awfully persistent.

North Central Missouri ranks 39th in NJCAA D-II in scoring, finishing right at its 72.4 points-per-game average with Monday’s win.

“That team beat us and they put together a gameplan and they’re well coached,” Longley said. “They’re a good team, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think this game was super-helpful for North Central either today.”

The Pirates, coming off consecutive losses, got a game-high 15 points from Peyton Johnson, who made five 3-pointers off the bench. Liz Oliver added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds, Sidney Aeschliman contributed 11 points and Honor Mannings added 10.

Eight different players scored for NCMC, while Marshalltown suited only eight players.

The Tigers take to the road on Wednesday, visiting Southeastern in a 5:30 p.m. conference game in West Burlington, before hosting Iowa Central on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We’ve proven we can play with anybody in this conference,” Longley said. “I think teams one through nine, anybody can win. It’s just who shows up that day — so hopefully we show up on Wednesday.”

North Central Missouri 72, MCC 45

NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI (12-7) — Sidney Aeschliman 3 3-3 11, Keylie Beane 0 0-0 0, Honor Mannings 4 0-0 10, Liz Oliver 5 2-4 12, Tailer Morrison 2 1-1 5, Lexi Burns 3 2-4 8, Addilyn Henke 2 0-0 4, Delaney Richards 0 0-0 0, Laney Uchtman 3 1-2 7, Peyton Johnson 5 0-0 15. TOTALS 27 9-15 72.

MCC (4-12) — Ariyanah Custard 1 3-6 5, Shenell Stewart 4 2-5 11, Mi Amor Mcqueen 5 2-7 13, Zaryah Snell 0 2-2 2, Kenijae Cherry 3 0-2 7, Amijah Nelson 1 0-0 2, Jazmine Williams 0 1-2 1, Olivia Heartwell 0 4-4 4. TOTALS 14 14-28 45.

NC MISSOURI 33 10 14 15 — 72

MCC 11 13 10 11 — 45

3-Point Goals–NCMC 9 (Johnson 5, Aeschliman 2, Mannings 2), MCC 3 (Stewart, Mcqueen, Cherry). Total Fouls–NCMC 18, MCC 10. Fouled Out–none. Technical Foul–Heartwell.