It’s hard to argue with him.

Still without Lily Roberts and Rachel Smith, and playing the second-straight game after one practice in a week, the Bobcats (1-16, 1-8 CIML Iowa) fell behind 26-2 in the first half and lost 66-20 to the Dodgers (7-9, 2-7).

Murphy said he was impressed with the effort of the team, but felt in the first half as though the minutes were getting to his players.

“In the first half, especially, we looked like a team that had one practice and a game last night and weren’t in physical shape,” Murphy said. “As a coach you never want to make excuses, but I thought we got outrun up the floor a lot in the first half.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

The Bobcats were on the back foot the entire first half — Fort Dodge built a 37-8 lead at the break thanks to scoring from Tory Bennett and Aleaha Pommer.

One bright spot was Zaielah Newman, who was in her second game starting at point guard in the absence of Smith. Newman scored six points and was able to break the Fort Dodge press more often than the Bobcats have been able at most points this season.

Murphy said Newman’s growing confidence has allowed her to take on a bigger role.

“You can see her growing more confident almost every possession, every attack,” Murphy said. “She’s certainly stepped up and filled that aggressive void we’ve been missing for a lot of the season, especially with Lily and Rachel out. Zaielah’s been really really strong, and we’re hoping she can keep pushing that forward and believe in herself.”

The second half saw more offensive impetus from the Bobcats, who scored 12 points but took a lot more shots and were more aggressive than in the first 16 minutes. Sophie Younkin scored all eight of her points in the second half to lead the team, including a 3-pointer — her second straight game with a deep shot.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

The Dodgers were led by Pommer, who scored 26 points and hit four 3s. Bennett finished with 14.

Up next for Marshalltown is a substate game next Saturday at Southeast Polk.

Fort Dodge 66, Marshalltown 20

FORT DODGE (7-9, 2-7) — Tory Bennett 7 1-2 18, Jalen Adams 2 0-0 4, Aleaha Pommer 10 2-4 26, Tristin Doster 0 1-2 1, Haley Wills 1 0-2 2, Cheyenne McIlrath 0 0-0 0, Ellie White 2 2-4 6, Taytum Davidson 0 0-0 0, Morgan Nelson 0 0-0 0, Paytene Hiveley 1 0-0 2, Lainey Maehl 3 1-2 7, Taelore Presswood 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 26 7-16 66.

MARSHALLTOWN (1-16, 1-8) — Zaielah Newman 3 0-0 6, Sara Huffman 0 0-0 0, Malena Kammerer 0 0-0 0, Sophie Younkin 2 3-6 8, Kaylin Smith 2 0-0 4, Mya Gallegos 1 0-0 2, Carlye Castillo 0 0-0 0, Amaya Moore 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 8 3-6 20.

FORT DODGE 21 16 17 12 — 66

MHS 2 6 6 6 — 20

3-Point Goals–FD 7 (Pommer 4, Bennett 3), MHS 1 (Younkin). Team Fouls–FD 9, MHS 9. Fouled out–none.