The outcome was more like the first time they played, but the game better resembled their most recent meeting.

The result, however, was just the same.

Marshalltown senior guard Kinsley Bowie scored a career-high 16 points and the Bobcat girls’ basketball team bounced Des Moines Lincoln for the third time this season, beating the Railsplitters 42-27 in Wednesday’s Class 5A Region 3 first-round pairing inside the Roundhouse.

The Bobcats (14-9) beat Lincoln 52-38 in their first meeting more than two months ago, and eight days ago it was a 42-35 triumph for MHS inside the Roundhouse.

Wednesday’s reunion was every bit as contentious as the last one, but turned out just the same as the first.

At this stage in the season, winning is the only important thing.

Marshalltown moves on to face second-ranked Dowling Catholic (18-3) in Saturday’s regional semifinal in West Des Moines.

Bowie’s fast start helped the Bobcats get there, scoring 10 of the team’s first 14 en route to a 17-6 halftime lead.

“It’s big to me because it’s my last game playing in the Roundhouse,” said Bowie. “I kind of put it on my back to do what I had to do to get the win.”

The Bobcats’ three seniors — Bowie, Millie Heitmann and Jorja Janssen — scored a combined 30 points to put away Lincoln (7-15) for the third time this winter.

“That’s a great way for their last home game to go,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “it’s really kind of a microcosm of our season where they may not always end the game with the stat line, but it feels like they usually make the biggest plays.

“The thing I love about what Kinsley did tonight is she really embraced her full potential as far as how many different ways she can impact the ball. She just kept attacking.”

Bowie contributed four of Marshalltown’s 21 steals as Des Moines Lincoln committed 26 turnovers in the loss. The Railsplitters refused to go away, forcing 23 Marshalltown miscues, but they never really threatened to take the lead aside from a brief surge in the third quarter.

The Bobcats went ahead 21-10 on Janssen’s steal and layup, but Lincoln got the next seven points to push back to within four, 21-17. Bowie banked in a bad-angle layup before Janssen swished a high-arching 3-pointer, kicking off a 12-0 Marshalltown run that drew the advantage out to 15 with 4:52 left to play.

Lincoln got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.

“It honestly felt like a similar vibe to the last time we played them, and to Lincoln’s credit they did a really good job of fighting back,” Murphy said. “We were able to create a lot of turnovers, but not a lot of points off those.”

Marshalltown led 11-4 after the first quarter and 17-6 by halftime, but the game felt decidedly more lopsided at the time. Lincoln was already embroiled in foul trouble, but the Bobcats couldn’t make them pay.

You’d better believe Dowling Catholic can. The No. 2 Maroons average 60.24 points per game, while Marshalltown ranks fourth in 5A by allowing just 35.7 points per contest.

“We’ve got to make sure we take care of the ball on offense, and we’ve got to find the balance between patience and aggression,” Murphy said. “And make or miss, we’re going to have to make sure we get back (on defense), and long possessions where we score will certainly help us do that.”

In the win over Lincoln, Bowie finished with 16 points and four steals, while Janssen had 11 points and five rebounds. Heitmann had three points but six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Amairra Johnson chipped in with five points and seven steals, and Frankie Long finished with seven points and 10 boards.

Jumi Kayode led Des Moines Lincoln with nine points and Ava Signs had eight, but the Rails lost their sixth-straight in the series with Marshalltown.

Marshalltown 42, Des Moines Lincoln 27

DM LINCOLN (7-15) — Ava Signs 3 0-0 8, Leiah Ochoa 1 1-2 4, Monique Stonehocker 1 0-2 2, Jumi Kayode 3 3-9 9, Koreylyn Brown 1 0-2 2, Grace Holm 0 0-0 0, Brielle O’Donnell 1 0-0 3, Wala Gabir 1 0-0 2, Tink Gochett 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 10 4-15 27.

MARSHALLTOWN (14-9) — Amairra Johnson 2 1-1 5, Kinsley Bowie 6 2-4 16, Millie Heitmann 1 1-2 3, Jorja Janssen 4 1-2 11, Frankie Long 3 1-2 7, Kendall Brummel 0 0-0 0, Morgan Hilderbrand 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 16 6-11 42.

DM LINCOLN 4 5 11 7 — 27

MHS 11 6 9 16 — 42

3-Point Goals–DM Lincoln 3 (Signs, Ochoa, O’Donnell), MHS 4 (Bowie 2, Janssen 2). Team Fouls–DM Lincoln 13, MHS 13. Fouled Out–none. Technical Foul–Johnson.