The Fort Dodge girls basketball squad had trouble hanging on to the ball Thursday, and the Dodgers couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole against Iowa Alliance foe Mason City.

The Dodgers (6-11 overall, 0-7 in the IAC North) struggled to find any momentum against the Riverhawks (5-12, 3-4), dropping a 46-34 decision in the FDSH gym.

“We talked about it and we kind of stood around looking for shots instead of being aggressive with our cuts and screens,” said FDSH head coach Scott Messerly. “We can’t be on the three-point line just waiting. We have to create shots and do a better job driving into the basket.”

The Dodgers turned the ball over 30 times and committed 20 fouls, compared to 15 and eight, respectively, for Mason City.

“It’s hard to beat anyone when you have 30 turnovers,” Messerly said. “We were tentative all night and afraid to find any kind of mid-range game.”

Both squads hit 14 field goals, but Mason City had 15 more made free throws to complete the season sweep. The Dodgers did swish five triples — four more than the Riverhawks.

Fort Dodge trailed only 12-11 after the first period. Junior Ellie Doster hit a pair of three-pointers and had seven of the 11 points.

The Dodgers were down double digits by halftime, though, before cutting the deficit to eight heading into the final stanza.

Even with its trouble holding on to the ball, Fort Dodge fought to within 33-29 with 3:59 remaining in the contest. But Mason City continued to dominate with its dribble penetration, getting to the line consistently to salt the game away down the stretch.

The Dodgers turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, holding the Riverhawks to four points.

“We did a good job there and forced some turnovers, but we weren’t able to much out of it (offensively),” Messerly said. “They were operating and working at a couple of gears higher than us.”

The Riverhawks went on a 13-5 run to close out the contest, going 8-for-10 in the final stanza from the stripe.

Mason City’s Anna Latham finished the contest with 24 points. The junior was 7-for-14 from the field and 9 of 11 from the line, consistently getting into the lane with her dribble drives.

Magalli Gonzalez and Gracyn Braun both added 10 each for the Riverhawks.

The Dodgers got a double-digit performance from freshman Brooklyn Gilliland, who was a solid 5-for-6 from the field and knocked down three of her four three-point attempts.

Sophomore Malay Hollins added eight points. Mason City held Dodger leading scorer LJ Maehl to four points — nearly 12 below her season per-game average.

Fort Dodge is back in action on Friday at Ames for a girl/boy doubleheader beginning at 6:15 p.m.

MASON CITY 46, FORT DODGE 34

Fort Dodge — Brooklyn Gilliland 5-6 0-0 13, Malay Hollins 4-10 0-2 8, LJ Maehl 2-7 0-0 4, Ellie Doster 2-4 1-1 7, Grace Nichols 0-1 0-0 0, Macy Wills 1-2 0-1 2, Linnie Pratt 0-0 0-0 0, Bella Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Lloyd 0-4 0-0 0. Totals: 14-35 1-4 34.

Mason City — Magalli Gonzalez 4-7 2-8 10, Leah Dykstra 1-5 0-0 2, Gracyn Braun 2-10 6-10 10, Anna Latham 7-14 9-11 24, Armani Caldwell 0-2 0-0 0, Maggie Donald 0-3 0-0 0, Kate Kotta 0-0 0-0 0, Allana Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-41 16-29 46.

Quarter scores: MC led 12-11, 29-18, 33-25. Three-point goals–Fort Dodge: 5-15 (Gilliland 3-4, Maehl 0-3, Doster 2-4, Lee 0-1, Lloyd 0-3); Mason City: 1-15 (Gonzalez 0-2, Dykstra 0-3, Braun 0-4, Latham 1-3, Caldwell 0-1, Donald 0-2); Total rebounds: Fort Dodge 24, Mason City 15; Total fouls: Fort Dodge 20, Mason City 8; Turnovers: Fort Dodge 30, Mason City 15.