It was senior night on Tuesday, Feb. 4, for the STC girls basketball team. On the night when they honored three senior players, the Trojans were looking to beat the Grinnell Tigers for the first time since Feb. 5, 2013 — nearly 12 years to the day. Grinnell won the first matchup of this season by nine points, 39-30, on Jan. 17. Their second match up was even closer.

The Trojans got off to a very strong defensive start in the game, forcing eleven Grinnell turnovers in the first half alone. The Trojans jumped out to a 3-0 lead when two of their seniors, Jannette Cervantes and Aubrey Dolezal, opened the scoring. But the Tigers answered with three-point baskets from junior Mayci Andrews and sophomore Ella Seney. Scoring slowed for both teams after that, and Grinnell held a 21-15 advantage at the halftime break.

After the Tigers came out of the locker room and scored the first six points, the Trojans suddenly found themselves with a 12-point deficit of 27-15. But the Trojans finally got the offense spark they were looking for when their third senior, Madison Hitchcock, hit a three-pointer. Her teammates took it from there, with junior Rylee Ridout and freshman Dyan Keahna scoring the next 14 points (7 each) for the Trojans. By the end of the third quarter, STC had cut the Tiger lead to 35-32.

After back-to-back baskets by Keahna and Hitchcock to open the fourth quarter, STC had their first lead since the opening moments of the game, 36-35. But Grinnell’s junior Aiden Gosselink answered with back-to-back baskets of her own to help the Tigers regain the lead, 39-36.

The Trojans, however, kept fighting, and a late basket by Ridout gave STC a 41-40 lead. But soon after, the decisive score of the game when Tiger freshman Hope Dana scored her first points with two minutes left — a three-pointer to give the Tigers a lead they would never give-up, 44-41. Keahna added a late basket for STC to cut the lead to a single possession. But the Trojans misfired on four possessions in the final 1:15 of the game, and Grinnell left Tama/Toledo with a 47-43 victory.

On the night, Grinnell was led by Gosselink’s 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 steals. The Trojans received solid performances by all three of their seniors, who were honored before the game: Cervantes (5 points, 7 rebounds), Dolezal (1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 steal), and Hitchcock (7 points, 2 rebounds). STC was led in scoring by Ridout and Keahna with 11 points each. Kapayou added 5 points; freshman Scout Ridout added 3 points.

The Trojans (2-18) now begin postseason play when they travel to face the Prairie City-Monroe Mustangs (18-3) in their first round regional playoff game. The game will be held in Monroe on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m.