-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Brooklyn Pommer of Fort Dodge puts up a shot against Mason City on Monday

With six minutes left in regulation, it was anyone’s ballgame between the Fort Dodge girls basketball team and arch rival Mason City here on Monday.

One final prolonged cold spell on a night full of them spelled doom for the Dodgers, though, as the visiting Riverhawks pulled away for a 44-32 Iowa Alliance Conference Northern Division victory.

This game — a make-up contest from the front end of a twinbill postponed due to icy road conditions last month — saw plenty of strong defense and intense play. What it lacked, quite simply, was offensive execution.

Mason City (5-4 overall) prevailed despite misfiring on 20 of its 21 three-point attempts and shooting only 27 percent overall from the floor. Fort Dodge (4-4) struggled in similar fashion, making just 24 percent of its shots and 16 percent from deep.

The difference ultimately wound up being the Riverhawks’ persistence to get second, third and sometimes fourth looks on the offensive glass, and an 11-0 knockout punch after the Dodgers had pulled to within 32-30 with 6:37 remaining.

Fort Dodge went scoreless over the subsequent six minutes.

“It was just kind of a sloppy game,” FDSH head coach Scott Messerly said. “Very physical. We responded well after a slow start in the third quarter (with 15 points), and we were right there during the early stages (of the fourth period). But we had too many empty possessions and turnovers (down the stretch) to stay in a position to win.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort. Both teams played hard. We just didn’t give ourselves much of a chance (the Dodgers only attempted six total shots in the last eight minutes) because we weren’t executing offensively and kind of reverted back to what happened in the first half, when there was just too much one-on-one stuff going on.”

Mason City took an immediate lead on a three-pointer by its leading scorer, Machaela Trask. That would be the only triple the Riverhawks would hit the rest of the evening despite 20 more tries.

Fort Dodge started to dig out of an early 11-4 hole, and pulled within 13-10 on a traditional three-point play by freshman Malay Hollins. A basket by LJ Maehl finally pulled the Dodgers even at 20-all with 3:58 left in the third quarter, but Mason City responded by scoring 10 of the last 15 points in the period.

Down 32-25 in the last frame, Maehl had five consecutive points to pull Fort Dodge back within a bucket. That’s when the Dodgers hit a wall, though, as the Riverhawks slowly but surely pulled away.

Senior Meah McCaleb was 3-for-5 from the floor for FDSH, but the rest of the team went a combined 8-for-40. Trask, who was averaging nearly 14 points coming in, was just 2 of 15 for Mason City.

The Riverhawks did get strong contributions from sophomore Anna Latham and junior Gracyn Braun. Latham went to the free throw line 14 times, making eight and finishing with a game-high 16 points. Braun, who was averaging less than three points per contest before Monday, added 10 — including eight after halftime.

Mason City out-scored the Dodgers 13-7 at the foul line, attempting 24 free throws to Fort Dodge’s 11. Messerly’s squad was whistled for 22 fouls; the Riverhawks were called for 11.

The Dodgers return to action on Tuesday at Ames (4-5 overall). The Little Cyclones had a four-game win streak snapped on Monday in a 45-34 loss at Urbandale.

MASON CITY 44, FORT DODGE 32

Mason City — Anna Latham 4-11 8-14 16, Gracyn Braun 5-10 0-2 10, Machaela Trask 2-15 4-4 9, Maggie Berding 1-6 1-2 3, Brogan Evans 0-3 0-0 0, Savannah Davis 2-8 0-0 4, Piper Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Armani Caldwell 0-0 0-0 0, Magalli Gonzalez 0-1 0-2 0. Totals: 15-55 13-24 44.

Fort Dodge — LJ Maehl 3-16 3-4 10, Meah McCaleb 3-5 0-0 6, Dakota Pommer 1-9 2-4 4, Ellie Doster 1-4 0-0 3, Brooklyn Pommer 1-2 0-0 2, Bella Lee 1-7 1-2 4, Malay Hollins 1-2 1-1 3, Janelle Derrig 0-0 0-0 0, Charlotte Breeser 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-45 7-11 32.

Quarter scores: Mason City led 11-4, 15-10, 30-25. Three-point goals: Mason City 1-21 (Trask 1-7, Davis 0-5, Latham 0-4, Berding 0-3, Evans 0-1, Braun 0-1); Fort Dodge 3-19 (Maehl 1-6, Doster 1-4, Lee 1-4, D. Pommer 0-4, McCaleb 0-1). Turnovers: Mason City 17, Fort Dodge 23. Total fouls: Mason City 11, Fort Dodge 22.