-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Meah McCaleb of Fort Dodge shoots around Waterloo East on Thursday inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines

DES MOINES — The Fort Dodge girls basketball team certainly showed a sense of urgency in the final two-plus minutes of their inaugural Wells Fargo Arena experience here on Thursday.

Head coach Scott Messerly applauded the comeback attempt by his Dodgers, who erased almost all of a late double-digit deficit before running out of steam in a 49-47 loss to Waterloo East.

The lulls — both physical and mental — continue to hamstring Fort Dodge, though. Messerly wants his squad to ditch the split personality and bring the kind of energy and intensity they showed during the rally from the opening tip rather than when things are going well or in spurts of desperation.

“We’ve got to get that figured out, being more consistent with both our play and our (collective) attitude from start to finish,” Messerly said. “Even in the first half, we’d play well in stretches but force way too much or get ahead of ourselves and turn the ball over.

“Everyone is frustrated. But we’re not valuing possessions. We aren’t on the same page at all. You can’t turn the ball over almost 30 times and expect to come out on top.”

Junior LJ Maehl had 20 points for FDSH (2-3 overall), but 15 came in the first half. Maehl didn’t attempt a single shot after intermission until there was 2:44 left in regulation, and at that point, East (1-3) had built a 43-33 advantage.

It was 46-35 with 2:17 to go when senior Meah McCaleb’s basket sparked a 12-3 run to close the contest. McCaleb would add four free throws during that stretch, Ellie Doster knocked down a three-pointer, and Maehl had another basket and a foul shot.

McCaleb pulled the Dodgers within 46-45 with 27 seconds left to close a 10-0 burst and inspire the Fort Dodge fans who made the 95-mile trip, but the Trojans made three of four free throws to escape.

“We kept fighting and played hard. That’s not the issue,” Messerly said. “We just need to be smarter, stop forcing shots and work better together. This is a team sport. We’ve still got a lot of things we need to figure out, and we need to do it together.”

McCaleb had 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. After Maehl and McCaleb, though, no other player scored more than four points.

Maehl was 9-for-12 from the field; the rest of the Dodgers were a combined 8 of 36.

This was the first time Fort Dodge has ever played on the Wells Fargo Arena court. The Dodgers last qualified for the girls state tournament in 1995.

East and FDSH were invited to participate as part of the Iowa Wolves High School Hoops Series.

The Dodgers head to Humboldt on Saturday.

WATERLOO EAST 49,

FORT DODGE 47

Waterloo East – Siyanna Cody 6-9 1-2 17, Ja’Dajh Latiker 3-9 4-6 10, Ja’Miah Ceaser 2-4 2-4 6, Graysyn Downing 0-1 4-6 4, Ka’Jhira Mhoon 1-6 0-0 2, Faith Sykes 2-5 2-4 6, Taliyah Matthews-Martin 2-2 0-0 4, Joselin Zarco-Cruz 0-0 0-0 0, Samiyah Freeman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-36 13-22 49.

Fort Dodge – LJ Maehl 9-12 1-2 20, Meah McCaleb 2-11 8-10 12, Brooklyn Pommer 2-7 0-0 4, Dakota Pommer 1-8 1-2 3, Maddie Hoshaw 1-3 1-2 3, Ellie Doster 1-3 0-0 3, Addie Lentsch 1-2 0-0 2, Bella Lee 0-2 0-0 0, Janelle Derrig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-48 11-16 47.

Quarter scores: East led 11-10, 25-23, 36-32. Three-point goals: East 4-10 (Cody 4-4, Sykes 0-3, Mhoon 0-1, Caeser 0-1, Latiker 0-1); Fort Dodge: 2-9 (Maehl 1-1, Doster 1-2, D. Pommer 0-3, McCaleb 0-2, B. Pommer 0-1). Turnovers: East 29, Fort Dodge 27. Total fouls: East 22, Fort Dodge 19.