PHOTO BY BRITT KUDLA/FORT DODGE MESSENGER - Marshalltown senior Millie Heitmann shoots over Fort Dodge’s Brooklyn Gilliland (2) on Tuesday in Fort Dodge. Heitmann had a team-leading 11 points in the Bobcats’ 34-31 win.

FORT DODGE — There’s no stat category for appearance, so a win’s a win.

The Marshalltown girls’ basketball team overcame 25 turnovers another skittish offensive performance for a 34-31 victory over Fort Dodge, reaching 10 wins for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.

The Bobcats (10-6, 4-2) endured a trio of lengthy scoring droughts to hold off Fort Dodge, securing their first season sweep against the Dodgers since 2012-13. Millie Heitmann had 11 points, six rebounds, five steals, four blocked shots and three assists to help MHS improve to 3-5 since the turn of the calendar.

Jorja Janssen added nine points, three assists and three steals, and Frankie Long finished with six points, nine boards and three blocks to help the Bobcats hold on to the win.

“That game certainly is not going to win any awards for aesthetics,” said MHS head coach Brian Murphy. “Overall, I am proud of the way our girls overcame exhaustion after playing a real tough game last night. You could see in much of the first half that a lot of our decision-making was being driven more by fatigue than it was making decisions that I feel like we normally make.”

A night after losing at Grinnell, the Bobcats bounced back with a much-needed Iowa Alliance Conference win. Fort Dodge’s LJ Maehl scored a game-high 15 points to become the school’s all-time leading scorer, but the celebration didn’t include a victory as well.

Until Brooklyn Gilliland’s last-second, 3-point heave hit the front of the rim and missed, the Dodgers (6-10, 0-6) were still in the mix.

Marshalltown led by as much as six late in the third quarter, 28-22, as 3-pointers by Kendall Brummel and Janssen sparked the ‘Cats, but the Dodgers rallied back to within one, 30-29, before the final horn sounded. The Bobcats’ 4-for-15 free-throw shooting kept hope alive for the host Dodgers.

“Again, this is a game where I’m not really concerned about the way it looked,” Murphy said. “I’m mostly just proud of the way that the girls dug deep and made enough plays to come out with a win regardless of how the game may have started.”

The Bobcats close out a four-game road swing with Friday’s visit to Waterloo East. The Trojans topped MHS in an overtime thriller on Jan. 6 at the Roundhouse, 53-52.