-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Beth Murman of Fort Dodge goes up for a shot against Des Moines Lincoln on Friday

The Fort Dodge girls basketball team has plenty of work to do from an execution standpoint.

Until the Dodgers get out of their own way and show more consistent emotion, though, the X’s and O’s aren’t going to be Julius Michalik’s main point of contention.

Michalik’s squad suffered their fourth loss in as many tries here on Friday, dropping a 61-51 decision to Des Moines Lincoln.

Danielle Sheppard scored 23 points for the Rails (1-3 overall), who shot over 50 percent from the field and knocked down 7 of their 11 three-point tries.

Fort Dodge trailed by as many as 19 points midway through the fourth quarter before mounting a spirited late rally. While Michalik appreciated the comeback attempt, the Dodgers were far too mercurial during a stretch where a back-and-forth contest became lopsided.

”We’re just not focused enough or tough enough right now,” Michalik said. ”We didn’t make good decisions, we turned the ball over too many times (25) and our defense wasn’t able to keep them in check at all.

”It’s disappointing, because (the opponents) aren’t showing anything we haven’t seen before. For as much of a struggle as it’s been to get our rotations down and match up with (some of the talent), a lot of this is on us for not playing with a sense of urgency.”

Fort Dodge trailed just 32-30 after a Raeya Love three-pointer early in the third quarter. Lincoln reeled off 25 of the contest’s next 33 points, though, with Sheppard and senior teammate Hannah McKinney doing most of the damage.

McKinney added 15 points. The duo was a combined 12-for-20 from the field and 10 of 14 at the free throw line.

The Dodgers led 19-15 in the second period, and still had the upper-hand until right before intermission.

Lincoln’s lead ballooned to 57-38 in the fourth. But thanks in large part to senior Beth Murman, Fort Dodge actually pulled within 58-51 with just under a minute left in regulation. Murman scored eight straight points during the run, and had a three-pointer spin in and out that would’ve trimmed the deficit to four with 45 seconds remaining.

Murman and senior guard Raeya Love had 14 points each for the Dodgers. Making her season debut after being sidelined with mononucleosis, senior Shareece Smith added 10 points.

Fort Dodge is at Des Moines Hoover on Tuesday and at Marshalltown on Friday.

DM LINCOLN 61,

FORT DODGE 51

Des Moines Lincoln — Danielle Sheppard 8-12 7-10 23, Hannah McKinney 4-8 3-4 15, Erika Canada 3-7 1-2 8, Bella Sanders 1-3 0-0 3, Izzy Constable 0-1 0-0 0, Amaya Fuller 3-5 1-1 8, Angel Cart 1-3 2-2 4. Totals: 20-39 14-19 61.

Fort Dodge — Beth Murman 5-8 4-6 14, Raeya Love 5-8 0-0 14, Shareece Smith 5-16 0-0 10, Taelor Lessmeier 3-6 0-1 6, Liza Van Zyl 1-7 0-0 3, Ebonee Altman 1-1 0-0 2, Olivia Camamo 1-1 0-0 2, Morgan Beisch 0-1 0-0 0, Makla Naylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-48 4-7 51.

Quarter scores: Lincoln led 12-11, 29-25, 46-35. Three-point goals: Lincoln 7-11 (McKinney 4-5, Sanders 1-1, Canada 1-2, Fuller 1-3); Fort Dodge 5-15 (Love 4-6, Van Zyl 1-1, Smith 0-4, Murman 0-2, Lessmeier 0-1, Beisch 0-1). Turnovers: Lincoln 29, Fort Dodge 25. Total fouls: Lincoln 11, Fort Dodge 19. Fouled out: Van Zyl.