-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Cheyenne Miller Hameed of Fort Dodge shoots around Des Moines East Melynn Phillips on Tuesday inside Dodgers gym

By JOHN McBRIDE

sports@messengernews.net

  The Fort Dodge girls rode the momentum of a two-game winning streak for as long as they could here last night, but it wasn’t enough as Des Moines East pulled away for a 66-35 victory in the Dodger gym.

The Dodgers (2-17) had beaten Marshalltown and Des Moines North in their last two outings and trailed the Scarlets (12-7) by just three points at halftime.

But East pulled way with a 17-7 third quarter edge to win its fourth game in a row.

“We just couldn’t get a basket in the second half and stop East’s run,” said Dodger coach Scott Messerly. “We played so well in the first half. We fought hard, I can’t fault the girls for that. They played hard.”

East put three players in double figured led by Tanita Hodges-Johnson with 20 points. Justice Ross added 18 and Aaliyah Williams 13.

Cheyenne Miller-Hameed led the Dodgers with 12 points. Tory Bennett and Ebonee Altman had seven each.

“East turned up the pressure in that second half. We had some fast-break points in the first half and we didn’t get them in the second,” said Messerly. “They started to cut us off at the top of the lane and took away some passing lanes. We were a little leery of them. They have played some good teams.

“We just couldn’t get going in the second half and East started hitting some shots and the rim just got bigger for them.”

The Dodgers trailed just 12-10 after the first quarter after falling behind 11-6 early. The Dodgers took a 19-18 lead on a three by Altman with 3:25 left in the second, but East closed with a 6-2 run to lead 24-21 at the half.

“We let them hit some easy buckets right at the end of the second quarter, otherwise we could have had the lead,” said Messerly. “We felt pretty good at halftime.”

Fort Dodge also missed 10 free throws in the first half and finished just 9-for-20 in the game.

Miller-Hameed scored to start the third quarter to pull the Dodgers to within 24-23, but a 17-5 run gave East a 41-28 lead after the third quarter.

The Scarlets then scored the first 12 points in the fourth period to put the game away. Fort Dodge finally scored on a pair of free throws by Altman with 4:18 left.

The Dodgers were just 12 of 43 (28 percent) from the floor and 2-for-8 from three-point range. East was 23-for-50 from the floor and 17-of-22 from the line.

East was 15-for-30 from the field in the second half. The Dodgers were 4-for-22.

Fort Dodge closes the season at No. 3 (4A) Mason City this Saturday. The Dodgers open 5A Regional play a week from tonight at Sioux City West.

DES MOINES EAST 66, FORT DODGE 35

East – Aaliyah Williams 4-8 5-8 13, Tanita Hodges-Johnson 7-15 6-7 20, Justice Ross 7-17 2-3 18, Melynn Phillips 2-7 0-0 4, Jacie Stephenson 1-1 0-0 2, Rachel Puok 1-3 0-0 3, Rachelle Smith 1-5 2-2 4, Marissa Anderson 0-1 2-2 2, Morgan Graves 0-1 0-0 0, Lyric Sellers 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-50 17-22 66.

Fort Dodge – Tory Bennett 3-6 1-4 7, Jalen Adams 1-4 0-0 2, Cheyenne Miller-Hameed 5-14 1-2 12, Tristin Doster 0-2 2-4 2, Ebonee Altman 2-7 2-4 7, Juliet Thompson 0-4 3-6 3, Haley Wills 0-0 0-0 0, Nicole Guerin 1-5 0-0 2, Jacy Daniel 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Sporrer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 12-43 9-20 35.

Quarter scores: East led 12-10, 24-21, 41-28; Total fouls: East 16, Fort Dodge 14. Fouled out: Doster; Three-point goals: East 3-14 (Williams 0-4, Ross 2-7, Puok 1-2, Sellers 0-2) Fort Dodge 2-8 (Adams 0-2, Miller-Hameed 1-3, Altman 1-2, Guerin 0-1).