The last time the Marshalltown girls’ basketball team faced Fort Dodge, the Bobcats broke a 21-game Iowa Alliance Conference losing streak and an 11-game slide against the Dodgers with a one-point win on the road.

Friday’s triumph has the Bobcats seeking a new streak.

Jorja Janssen scored a game-high 13 points and the MHS girls made it two in a row against Fort Dodge, fighting off the scrappy Dodgers for a 35-27 victory on Friday night inside the Roundhouse.

Janssen’s baseline jumper gave the Bobcats (7-1, 2-0) a 25-14 lead with a minute left in the third quarter, but a lengthy scoring drought opened the door for Fort Dodge (2-6, 0-3). Marshalltown’s carelessness with the basketball enhanced the Dodgers’ comeback chances, but the Bobcats held on by scoring the game’s final four points.

Fort Dodge closed to within four, 31-27, on LJ Maehl’s jumper in the lane with 50 seconds left, but that was the last the Dodgers would score. Janssen made 1-of-2 free throws and turned a long rebound into a runout layup to help the Bobcats finish off the win.

“I think historically there’s teams that probably would have folded,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “They pulled to within four, got a couple steals off the press, and we were able to collect ourselves, break [the press], and then get a good possession. That speaks to the maturity of this team, even compared to the last couple of years — they’re maturity and resilience is really something to be commended.

“This is one of those games where at the end of the day, it’s a win and you celebrate those just as hard as the ones that are a little bit lopsided.”

The Bobcats managed to overcome 26 turnovers against Fort Dodge’s packed-in 2-3 zone defense, but not by shooting from outside. Amairra Johnson made the game’s only 3-pointer and finished with 10 points for MHS, which returns from the holiday break with a home game on Jan. 6 against Waterloo East.

Frankie Long finished with just four points but pulled down nine rebounds and blocked eight shots. Janssen had seven rebounds and five steals, while leading scorer Millie Heitmann helped out without scoring. She had four rebounds, four steals and four blocked shots.

Kinsley Bowie contributed five points and three assists, while Keira Halsted hit a layup at the back end of the Bobcats’ press break.

“They did a really good job of packing the paint against us, and they were certainly very physical in there as well,” Murphy said of Fort Dodge’s defense. “If we get a couple shots from the outside to fall, I think it looks like a different game where they’ve got to come out (and guard us). Obviously outside shots not falling makes offense a lot harder, so credit to them for taking away our inside game and forcing us to play from the outside.”

Maehl led the Dodgers with 12 points while Brooklyn Gilliland finished with eight. Linnie Pratt picked up four points and Malay Hollins added three.

“I can’t say enough about the job Millie Heitmann did on LJ,” Murphy said of the Dodgers’ leading scorer, who averages 16.6 points per game. “There are not a lot of players in the state that can match up with her like Millie can, and she kind of takes that pressure on. It’s something she likes to do.”

Maehl scored 11 of her 12 points after halftime, but the rest of the Dodgers managed only eight points after the intermission.

Marshalltown 35, Fort Dodge 27

FORT DODGE (2-6, 0-3) — Brooklyn Gilliland 4 0-8 8, Linnie Pratt 2 0-0 4, Malay Hollins 1 1-2 3, LJ Maehl 4 4-7 12, Ellie Doster 0 0-0 0, Emma Lloyd 0 0-0 0, Bella Lee 0 0-0 0, Addison Lentsch 0 0-0 0, Macy Wills 0 0-0 0, Grace Nichols 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 11 5-17 27.

MARSHALLTOWN (7-1, 2-0) — Amairra Johnson 4 1-2 10, Kinsley Bowie 2 1-2 5, Millie Heitmann 0 0-2 0, Jorja Janssen 6 1-2 13, Frankie Long 1 2-6 4, Keira Halsted 1 0-0 2, Morgan Hilderbrand 0 1-4 1. TOTALS 14 6-18 35.

FORT DODGE 5 3 11 8 — 27

MHS 9 7 9 10 — 35

3-Point Goals–MHS 1 (Johnson). Team Fouls–FD 17, MHS 17. Fouled Out–none.