Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Drake Callon of Fort Dodge goes up for a basket against Ankeny Centennial in the Dodger gym earlier this season.

CARLISLE — Fort Dodge will try to build some much-needed momentum heading into the winter break on Tuesday in a varsity basketball doubleheader at Carlisle.

The Dodger girls (1-3 overall) face the Wildcats (1-3) at 6 p.m. The FDSH boys (0-3) then square off with Carlisle (1-4) at 7:30 p.m.

Both programs are licking their wounds after lopsided decisions last Friday night. The Dodgers were swept on the road at Ankeny; the Wildcats suffered convincing home setbacks against Indianola.

Junior Tory Bennett (8.8 points per game) and senior Tristin Doster (8.6) have led the Fort Dodge girls offensively so far this season. Junior Aleaha Pommer, the team’s third-leading scorer, will likely miss Tuesday’s contest.

Head coach Scott Messerly plans to start Bennett, Doster, senior Cheyenne Miller-Hameed (6.0), junior Jalen Adams and junior Haley Wills.

Bennett (6.0 rebounds) and Doster (5.5) are also team leaders on the glass, and Bennett is averaging nearly four assists per contest. The Dodgers are shooting only 30 percent from the floor and averaging nearly 26 turnovers.

Fort Dodge did defeat rival Mason City at home a week ago, but Messerly’s squad has suffered losses to No. 7 Ankeny Centennial, 13th-ranked West Des Moines Dowling and Ankeny.

Carlisle hasn’t fared much better so far. After routing Perry in their season opener, the Wildcats have dropped consecutive decisions to Winterset, third-ranked (4A) Ballard, No. 11 (4A) Bondurant-Farrar and 15th-rated (4A) Indianola without reaching the 40-point mark once.

Sophomore Katie Keeney is averaging in double figures at 11.3 points per game. Freshman Emma Pitts (5.8) and senior Sydney Berg (5.5) follow.

Keeney records nine rebounds per night, with Berg at seven.

The Dodger boys have dropped consecutive decisions to No. 6 Ankeny Centennial, Mason City and Ankeny. Both senior Averey Martin and sophomore Javion Jondle are scoring in double figures for head coach Tom Daniel’s ballclub, with junior Drake Callon leading the way in rebounding and junior Carson Peterson at the top in assists.

The Carlisle boys pounded Perry to tip off their year, but they haven’t come close in setbacks to Winterset, fourth-ranked (3A) Ballard, Bondurant-Farrar and Indianola.

Junior Tyson Guard (7.5 points per game), senior Cole Osterhaus (7.0), sophomore Ryan Petersen (7.0) and junior Carter Prenosil (6.5) have paced the Wildcats so far. Like Fort Dodge, Carlisle has only one player on its entire roster taller than 6-foot-2.