MARISSA HEDEEN shoots for Webster City against Hampton-Dumont/CAL on Tuesday night. (DFJ Photo by David Borer)

For three of the four quarters here Monday night, the Webster City girls were right there with Hampton-Dumont/CAL.

A tough third, though, kept the Lynx from picking up a second consecutive win, falling to the Bulldogs, 65-50.

Olivia Gallentine had 17 points with Addyson Beaulieu adding 11. Marissa Hedeen scored nine and grabbed five rebounds.

“Really give Hampton a ton of credit; that’s one of the tougher defensive teams we have seen this year,” WCHS head coach Mark Fisher said. “Especially with the Valley twins up top. They pressure the ball and recover extremely well behind. I was extremely happy with how our girls competed again.

“For most of the game, they were able to respond and make plays anytime Hampton tried to make some distance. It’s been really fun to continue to watch our girls get better within our offense.

“Not just shooting the ball, but in the reads and plays they are able to make. Our ball movement, our execution and our overall IQ on that side of the ball just continues to improve every day and every game. And I thought we saw more of that against a very good defense.”

The Bulldogs grabbed a slim 11-10 lead after one and were ahead by two going into the break. They outscored the Lynx in the third, 20-7, as the two played to a 15-15 draw over the final eight minutes.

Hedeen knocked down three 3-pointers, as did Beaulieu, with Gallentine, Izzy Grossoehme, Ady Poppen and Tristyn Wright each sinking one.

“Defensively, this one falls on me,” Fisher said. “I thought our girls battled and competed. I thought they did a nice job with the adjustments we made in game. I just needed to have more options ready for them with their ball-screen offense.

“We hadn’t seen them run that this year, but…I needed to be better about helping us have multiple coverages so we could mix it up more, but that’s something we can fix moving forward.”

Webster City hosts North Central Conference leader Humboldt on Friday.