NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT — STC sophomore Oliva Hala drives to the basket against Benton.

The STC girls basketball team hosted the Benton Bobcats on Tuesday night, Jan. 14. It was a matchup of two teams excited to get a victory as their seasons enter the home-stretch.

The opening quarter saw both teams get off to a slow offensive start. Bobcat sophomore Avery Kramer hit an early 3-pointer to put Benton ahead 3-0. A few minutes later, Trojan senior Aubrey Dolezal hit a 3-pointer of her own to cut the Bobcat lead to 5-3. But the scoring slowed from there, and the Bobcats held a 7-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Trojans managed to add only one field goal: a 3-point basket from freshman Dyan Keahna. A total of 10 first-half turnovers hurt STC, and Benton pulled away to a 18-7 halftime lead.

After the halftime break, the scoring picked up for the Trojans, who got baskets from five different players: freshman Scout Ridout, Dolezal, Keahna, junior Rylee Ridout, and sophomore Olivia Hala. But the Bobcats got a game-high 13 points from junior Aubrey Kelly and pulled away in the second half for a 39-24 victory.

On the evening, STC was led in scoring by Keahna with 8 points. She was followed by Dolezal with 5 points and the Ridout sisters, who both contributed 4 points. Rylee Ridout led the team with 11 rebounds. Senior Janette Cervantes chipped in 6 rebounds and 2 steals on the night.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT — Trojan junior Rylee Ridout fends off a Benton defender.

Both teams struggled with turnovers, as Benton finished with 22 and South Tama with 21.

With the loss, the Trojans fall to 2-11 on the season. The Trojans host Williamsburg on Friday, Jan. 24. South Tama will then travel to face Vinton-Shellsburg on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The final game of their regular season will be a home matchup against Marion on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT — Freshman Scout Ridout sets up the offense against Benton.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT — Freshman Dyan Keahna launches a shot against Benton. Keahna led the Trojans in scoring on the night with 8 points.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT — Senior Janette Cervantes guards Benton's Hailey Suiter.