-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Dakota Pommer of Fort Dodge shoots over Ames on Friday

The Fort Dodge girls hustled, rebounded and played solid defense against Ames in their home opener on Friday night.

What the Dodgers didn’t do enough of — especially in the second half — was simple: score the basketball.

In the Iowa Alliance Conference Northern Division opener for both schools, the Little Cyclones fought back from an eight-point halftime deficit to edge frustrated Fort Dodge, 31-30.

Head coach Scott Messerly’s squad found itself in a defensive slugfest with Ames (2-2 overall), but the Dodgers (1-1) were in control until an extended cold spell allowed the Little Cyclones to rally without much sense of urgency. The FDSH lead, which reached 12 at its peak late in the second quarter, slowly dwindled away as the Dodgers made only three baskets the entire second half on 25 attempts.

“It was just a struggle offensively. Pretty simple,” Messerly said. “We weren’t great in the first half, but good enough (going 6-for-14 from the floor). After that, I think we lost our confidence, forced things a little, and Ames found a physical, junk defense that worked and we didn’t force them to have to go away from it.

“I can’t fault the effort. The defense was phenomenal in the first half. We had girls working hard and diving after loose balls. We rebounded well. The offense just got stale, and we were never really able to break out of that funk down the stretch.”

A Dakota Pommer three-pointer, a traditional three-point play from LJ Maehl, another Maehl basket and two more free throws had Fort Dodge in total control at 19-7 with 2:14 left in the second quarter. The Dodgers managed only 11 points in the final 18-plus minutes of regulation, though, falling behind for the first time all night at 26-25 with 3:57 to go in the fourth period.

A pair of Maehl free throws knotted the score at 30 with 1:57 remaining, but the rivals traded empty possessions until Anisa Percival was fouled and split two foul shots in the closing seconds.

The Dodgers had a chance to win and called timeout to set up a final play, but came up short as the horn sounded.

Maehl had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but cooled off after a 4-for-7 start from the field. No other FDSH player had more than five points.

“I was really proud of Brooklyn Pommer in particular. She was battling,” Messerly said. “Our kids were working hard and wanted it…I just think everyone was trying to do a little too much. I can tell Ames saw some things from the Boone tape and could take advantage of it because they have better athletes.”

Fort Dodge returns to action on Monday at home against Des Moines Hoover. Varsity tip is set for 6:15 p.m.

AMES 31, FORT DODGE 30

Ames — Karsyn Pankonen 4-13 1-4 10, Anisa Percival 1-1 3-7 5, Haley Prakashan 2-9 0-0 4, Abbey McGuire 1-2 1-2 3, Natalya Deardorff 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Wahl 1-4 1-2 4, Victoria Williams 1-6 1-2 3. Totals: 11-38 7-17 31.

Fort Dodge — LJ Maehl 5-19 5-7 16, Ashlyn Wills 0-3 4-6 4, Brooklyn Pommer 1-3 1-4 3, Mackenzie McIlrath 1-6 0-0 2, Meah McCaleb 0-2 0-0 0, Dakota Pommer 2-6 0-0 5, Destinee Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Edyn Witham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 9-39 10-17 30.

Quarter scores: Fort Dodge led 9-5, 19-11, 24-23. Three-point goals: Ames 2-15 (Pankonen 1-6, Wahl 1-4, Prakashan 0-4, Williams 0-1); Fort Dodge 2-13 (Maehl 1-7, D. Pommer 1-5, B. Pommer 0-1). Turnovers: Ames 24, Fort Dodge 25. Total fouls: Ames 14, Fort Dodge 16.