-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Paytene Hiveley of Fort Dodge shoots over Mason City on Tuesday

The numbers, quite simply, didn’t add up.

The Fort Dodge girls basketball team shot nearly 54 percent from the field in their game against Mason City on Tuesday. The Dodgers had four players in double figures, and made half of their three-point attempts.

None of that was enough to overcome 35 turnovers, though, as the Riverhawks clinched the Iowa Alliance Conference Northern Division championship with a 78-57 victory over FDSH to ruin the Dodgers’ Senior Night.

Mason City (12-6 overall, 7-0 in the IAC North) used a dominant second quarter to turn a tight contest into a lopsided score in favor of the visitors. The Riverhawks had 30 points in that period – 15 coming from junior standout Reggi Spotts and 10 from sophomore Machaela Trask – as they flipped a one-point deficit to a 20-point advantage by the break.

“That second quarter was just a struggle on both ends of the court,” FDSH head coach Scott Messerly said. “They got hot, we didn’t identify their open shooters (the Riverhawks swished four triples during that run) and the turnovers were just too much. You can’t give a quality team that many extra possessions and stay in it, no matter how well you shoot.”

The Dodgers were proof positive of that. They had 21 miscues in the first half alone, negating their 58-percent first half showing offensively. The mistakes were more limited the rest of the way, but the damage had already been done.

Mason City, meanwhile, kept the self-inflicted wounds to a minimum, committing only four turnovers before intermission.

Senior Paytene Hiveley and junior Mackenzie McIlrath both had 14 points for Fort Dodge, which fell to 10-9 and 6-3 in its regular-season finale. Senior Lainey Maehl added 13 and freshman LJ Maehl contributed 10.

Hiveley became the 21st player in 5-on-5 program history to reach 500 points for her career, joining Maehl, her classmate. Both are averaging double-doubles this season.

“It was nice to see Paytene reach that mark on Senior Night, even though I know she’d rather get a win,” Messerly said. “We had a good first quarter and played pretty well in the second half overall. We just have to do a better job of valuing every possession and playing with confidence. There are times where we’re just far too hesitant and seem unsure of ourselves.”

Spotts led all scorers with 25. She is averaging over 18 points per game this year. Trask finished with 15 and junior Grace Berding tallied 14, knocking down four of her six three-point tries.

The Dodgers’ regional assignment is expected to be released by the IGHSAU on Wednesday.

MASON CITY 78, FORT DODGE 57

Mason City – Reggi Spotts 8-17 7-10 25, Machaela Trask 5-10 4-4 15, Grace Berding 5-7 0-0 14, Jaelyn Falls 4-6 0-0 8, Kelsey McDonough 1-5 0-0 3, Zaria Falls 1-8 3-5 6, Audra Mulholland 1-3 0-0 2, Isabelle Harty 1-2 0-0 2, Shae Benson 0-0 2-2 2, Abigail Latham 0-1 0-0 0, Maggie Berding 0-0 0-0 0, Gracyn Braun 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-59 16-21 78.

Fort Dodge – Paytene Hiveley 6-12 2-2 14, Mackenzie McIlrath 5-6 1-2 14, Lainey Maehl 6-9 1-3 13, Morgan Bodholdt 1-3 0-0 2, Meah McCaleb 0-3 0-0 0, LJ Maehl 4-9 0-0 10, Ashlyn Wills 0-0 2-2 2, Brooklyn Pommer 1-1 0-0 2, Dakota Pommer 0-0 0-0 0, Edyn Witham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-43 6-9 57.

Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 19-18; Mason City led 48-28, 64-42. Three-point goals: Mason City 10-25 (Berding 4-6, Trask 2-3, Spotts 2-8, McDonough 1-4, Z. Falls 1-3, Abigail Latham 0-1); Fort Dodge 5-10 (McIlrath 3-4, LJ Maehl 2-3, McCaleb 0-2, Lainey Maehl 0-1). Turnovers: Fort Dodge 35, Mason City 18. Total fouls: Fort Dodge 18, Mason City 8.