Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Tyler Anderson/Special to The Messenger: Fort Dodge's Ashlyn Wills goes after a loose ball with Chloe Andersen in pursuit during a Class 4A regional quarterfinal on Wednesday in the Dodger gym.

Behind a fast start and a strong finish, the Fort Dodge girls passed their first postseason test here Wednesday night.

Lainey Maehl scored 19 and both Paytene Hiveley and LJ Maehl added 17 as the Dodgers downed Webster City in a Class 4A, Region 1 contest.

Fort Dodge (12-9 overall) will now face Humboldt (14-7) in Humboldt on Saturday night in a regional semifinal. The winner of that meets either No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes (18-3) or Carroll (11-11) on Feb. 21 in a final.

“We did what we needed to do to get the win, and at this point in the season, that is the most important thing,” FDSH head coach Scott Messerly said. “For the most part, I thought we played well. We were able to really move the ball well early and get some open looks, and we closed the game strong after Webster City made a run on us.

“We knew they had the ability to knock down the 3-point shot, but we handled their run there late.”

Down 47-30 moments into the fourth, the Lynx (6-16) went on a 15-4 run that cut the deficit down to six. Fort Dodge, though, answered behind Lainey Maehl, ending the contest by scoring 16 of the final 20 points.

“Lainey did what a senior should do,” Messerly said. “She took over and did what we needed out of her. I thought LJ had a strong game and Paytene really helped us dominate the boards.”

Over the final eight minutes, Lainey Maehl scored nine points and LJ Maehl added four. Hiveley finished with 16 rebounds, 10 of which came in the opening half.

Mackenzie McIlrath and Meah McCaleb each scored five, with McIlrath recording four steals and McCaleb grabbing seven rebounds with three steals.

For the Lynx, Olivia Gallentine, Chloe Andersen and Joleah Stuhr each scored 13. Andersen had seven rebounds and Alley Odland grabbed five boards.

Andersen and Stuhr each scored 10 in the second half.

This marked the final game for Webster City seniors Andersen, Odland, Reese Casey and Livia Kasch.

With the win, Fort Dodge has now recorded its best two-year stretch for victories, at 21, since the 2006-07 and 07-08 teams combined to win 25 games. The 12 wins in a season is also the most since the 2006-07 squad won 13.

FORT DODGE 67, WEBSTER CITY 49

Fort Dodge — Mackenzie McIlrath 2 1-1 5, Meah McCaleb 2 0-0 5, LJ Maehl 7 2-2 17, Paytene Hiveley 6 5-6 17, Paytene Hiveley 9 1-1 19, Ashlyn Wills 1 0-0 2, Morgan Bodholdt 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Pommer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 9-10 67.

Webster City — Addyson Beaulieu 1 1-2 3, Alley Odland 0 1-6 1, Ava Peterson 0 1-2 1, Livia Kasch 1 2-2 5, Olivia Gallentine 6 0-0 13, Chloe Andersen 3 4-4 13, Joleah Stuhr 6 1-2 13, Alivia Burns 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 10-18 49.

Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 12-5, 26-13, 45-30. Three-point goals: Fort Dodge 2 (McCaleb 1, LJ Maehl 1), Webster City 5 (Kasch 1, Andersen 3, Gallentine 1). Total rebounds: Fort Dodge 36, Webster City 26. Steals: Fort Dodge 14, Webster City 9. Blocked shots: Fort Dodge 2. Turnovers: Fort Dodge 22, Webster City 28. Team fouls: Fort Dodge 14, Webster City 10. Fouled out: Hiveley.