Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Malay Hollins of Fort Dodge dribbles up the court against Waverly-Shell Rock on Friday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The Fort Dodge girls basketball team ran into a buzzsaw for their season opener inside the Dodger gym on Friday night.

Waverly-Shell Rock, 9th in the IGHSAU’s Class 4A preseason rankings, shook off a relatively sluggish offensive start and rolled past the Dodgers 72-12.

The Go-Hawks, a perennial power who fell one victory short of state last year, didn’t score until halfway through the first period. By the time the first eight minutes were done, though, they had built a 21-5 lead that continued to grow over the final three quarters.

“I told the girls it’s just one game,” said FDSH coach Scott Messerly. “It’s the beginning of the season and we were going up against a very good team. They shot lights out, but they did that last year against us up there, too.

“We just weren’t very good.”

Fort Dodge returns 10 players with some varsity experience from last season’s team, but the Dodgers managed just 4-of-26 shooting. They also committed 23 turnovers.

“We talked in the locker room that some of us were playing like we did back as freshmen,” said Messerly. “We were doing the same things and making the same mistakes we did then. Our fundamentals were just not there.

“We’ve got a ton of basketball left, though. I told them let’s just get better.”

Standout returning starter Lizzy Frazell led the Go-Hawks with 18 points. Brittney Bodensteiner, another veteran returnee, added 12 and Ava Leichtman had 10 off the bench.

Nine players scored for Waverly-Shell Rock.

The Go-Hawks, who were 19-3 last year, scorched the nets for 25 of 49 shooting. They drilled 10 three-pointers.

W-SR led 47-9 at the half.

Dodge senior LJ Maehl led the team with nine points — all in the first half. She’s now 10 away from hitting the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Fort Dodge managed just three points over the final eight minutes under a running clock.

“LJ was pressing a little bit to get baskets, and they played good defense against her. She doesn’t really care about the scoring, though. She just wants to win,” said Messerly. “We kept playing hard.”

The Dodgers have a long gap before their next game. On Saturday, they’ll travel to Newell-Fonda for a scrimmage.

“We need to work out the kinks and go from there,” Messerly said. “We’ll be better next time out.”

Fort Dodge plays Des Moines East at home on Dec. 1, then at Boone on Dec. 2.

WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK 72, FORT DODGE 12

Waverly-Shell Rock — Anaka Ott 1-2 0-0 3, Lizzy Frazell 6-11 4-4 18, Natalie Beck 3-8 0-0 8, Addie Ott 2-3 2-2 6, Brittney Bodensteiner 3-9 6-7 12, Ava Leichtman 4-5 0-0 10, Kinley Dietz 0-0 0-0 0, Harper Morrison 0-3 0-0 0, Ella Wilker 4-5 0-0 9, Madi Wheeler 1-2 0-0 3, Abby Frazell 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 25-49 12-13 72.

Fort Dodge — Brooklyn Gilliland 0-2 0-0 0, Malay Hollins 0-3 0-0 0, LJ Maehl 3-15 2-2 9, Ellie Doster 0-2 1-2 1, Grace Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, Linnie Pratt 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Lloyd 0-0 0-0 0, Bella Lee 1-2 0-0 2, Charlotte Breeser 0-1 0-0 0, Adele Seltz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 4-26 3-4 12.

Quarter scores: Waverly-Shell Rock led 21-5, 47-9, 64-11.

Three-point goals: Waverly Shell Rock 10-25 (Anaka Ott 1-1, Lizzy Frazell 2-5, Beck 2-7, Addie Ott 0-1, Leichtman 2-3, Morrison 0-3, Wilker 1-2, Wheeler 1-2, Abby Frazell 1-1), Fort Dodge 1-10 (Gilliland 0-2, Maehl 1-5, Doster 0-2, Lee 0-1). Total fouls: Waverly-Shell Rock 5, Fort Dodge 16.