A busy week greets the Fort Dodge basketball teams this week, with a trip to Wells Fargo Arena waiting in the wings.

First, the Dodgers play host to Des Moines Lincoln on Tuesday. Both FDSH squads are in Des Moines on Thursday to take on Waterloo East as part of the special Iowa Wolves High School Hoops Series, followed by a Saturday afternoon road twinbill against Humboldt.

The Tuesday varsity doubleheader in the Dodger gym starts at 6:15 p.m. The special Wells Fargo Arena contests tip at 6 and 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s games are at 2:30 and 4 p.m.

Head coach Willie Williams’ Fort Dodge boys were defeated by Boone and Spencer last week at home to begin the 2024-25 campaign. The Railsplitters prevailed in their opener, 59-51 at Marshalltown, with senior Desmon Campbell scoring 19 points. Senior Mike Mitchell added eight, and junior Bryce Page — the son of 1994 FDSH graduate Ben Page — contributed eight.

The Waterloo East boys have dropped consecutive decisions to Cedar Falls, Des Moines Roosevelt and Waterloo West to begin their year. Senior Da’Shaundis Moore (10.7 points, 6.3 rebounds), freshman Gianni Gary (9.0 points), senior Da Sann Means (7.3 points) and senior Ke’Andre Owens (5.7 points, 6.7 rebounds) have paced the Trojans.

The Humboldt boys were clipped by Manson Northwest Webster in their opener last week, 77-73. Senior Elliot Carlson led the Wildcats with 26 points, but the squad struggled mightily from three-point range, going only 4-for-26.

So far, the Dodgers have been anchored by senior Cade Westerhoff, who has 37 points and 16 rebounds in two games. The Dodgers have suffered from free-throw shooting woes, barely sitting above 50 percent total in the two setbacks.

The FDSH girls are 1-2 after a win over Boone and a narrow loss to Spencer last week. The Lincoln girls are 0-3 after losses to Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Bondurant-Farrar and Marshalltown.

Junior Leiah Ochoa (6.7 points) is the leading scorer for the Rails.

The East girls (0-2) came up short in tilts versus Cedar Falls and Des Moines Roosevelt a week ago. The Trojans’ defense has been sound — surrendering only 89 total points — but their offense has been stuck in neutral.

Juniors Graysyn Downing and Siyanna Cody are the top players back for East this season following an 8-13 campaign in 2023-24, along with senior Ja’Miah Ceaser.

The 12th-ranked (Class 3A) Humboldt girls (2-1) rebounded from an opening loss to No. 5 (1A) Newell-Fonda with victories over Manson Northwest Webster and Webster City. Standout junior Ava Fischer (19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds) and senior Morgan Mann (15 points) power the Wildcats.

The Dodger girls have sputtered offensively in their first three contests, making less than 30 percent of their field goals, 21 percent from the three-point line, and only 46 percent of their free throws. Junior LJ Maehl is averaging 12 points and nearly eight rebounds so far, with senior Meah McCaleb at 8.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 5.3 steals.