Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Shariah Smith drives to the basket earlier this season inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

The Iowa Central women used a balanced attack and a strong inside presence to post a convincing 68-39 victory over Marshalltown here Saturday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Shariah Smith flirted with a triple-double, scoring a game-high 18 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Brittany West, Aaliyah Hull and Kira Ward combined for 34 points.

The Tritons (8-3 overall), playing at home for the final time before the Christmas break, improved to 6-1 on the year at home.

“I thought for the most part, our effort kind of matched the intensity of the game,” ICCC head coach Kelly Kruger said. “There weren’t a lot of people in the gym compared to last weekend (when the Tritons hosted the Great Western Shootout) and this past Wednesday (vs. Kirkwood), but it feels good to be sitting at 8-3 right now.”

Smith, who spent her freshman season playing in Kansas at Neosho, hit on 6 of 7 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. She did not play for much of the fourth quarter with Iowa Central holding a commanding 33-point advantage.

“Shariah had a great game and really took advantage of what the defense gave her,” Kruger said. “Four players were in double figures, so the balance was nice, but we still had too many missed opportunities.”

West scored 13 points, Hull had 11 with nine rebounds, and Ward chipped in 10. Avery Terwilliger grabbed five boards and Ceairra Smith dished out four assists.

For the Tigers (5-8), Karla Collada had 10 points and Dana Stokes seven.

Iowa Central outscored Marshalltown in the paint, 44-14, and had 19 assists on 27 made field goals. Nine different Triton players scored on the day.

Next action for Iowa Central will be this coming Friday when they take on North Dakota Science in the Baymont Inn Classic. The Tritons, who play Lake Region State on Saturday, earned a win last weekend over ND Science, 63-62.

IOWA CENTRAL 68, MARSHALLTOWN 39

Iowa Central — Kira Ward 5-10 0-0 10, Tierra Itula 2-5 2-4 6, Shariah Smith 6-7 4-4 18, Avery Terwilliger 0-3 0-0 0, Brittany West 5-7 3-3 13, Arriyonn Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Ceairra Smith 2-3 0-0 4, Aaliyah Hull 4-10 3-6 11, Alysse Parker 0-1 0-0 0, Jessica Jackson 2-2 0-0 4, Jescenia Mosley 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 27-50 12-17 68.

Marshalltown — Karla Collada 4-11 0-0 10, Dana Stokes 3-15 0-0 7, Eva Carballo 0-4 0-0 0, Anna Jaumandreu 2-6 0-2 5, Danielle Smith 1-3 2-2 4, Whitley Ervin 1-1 3-5 5, Lotte van Malsen 1-4 0-2 2, Laurin Lyons 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 14-49 5-11 39.

Quarter scores: Iowa Central led 19-14, 34-20, 54-28. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 2-12, Marshalltown 6-25. Total rebounds: Iowa Central 42, Marshalltown 26. Steals: Iowa Central 8, Marshalltown 6. Blocked shots: Marshalltown 1. Turnovers: Iowa Central 13, Marshalltown 15. Team fouls: Iowa Central 8, Marshalltown 7.