South Tama’s Kailee Meek (1) shoots a layup over the outstretched arm of Saydel defender Ryley Carney (12) during the first half of their non-conference girls basketball game on Monday in Tama. Meek scored eight points as the Trojans earned their first win, 38-34. -- Photo by Noah Rohlfing

First there was chaos, then there was victory.

South Tama County girls’ basketball picked up its first win of the season in a 38-34 battle with Saydel Monday night. The game had a little bit of everything, with an ejection in the fourth quarter and a strong defensive performance from the hosts.

Head coach Dina Keahna said the Trojans did well to calm things down and adjust in the game after a difficult first quarter.

“Once they got more focused and started to settle in we were okay,” Keahna said. “We switched up our style of defense to a different type of defense and tried to take control of the game.”

The Trojans trailed by as much as six early in the second quarter, but after going down 13-7 South Tama ended the first half with a 14-0 run to take control of proceedings and head into the break with a substantial lead.

The defensive change was the path back into the game for South Tama and allowed the Trojans to get easy offense on the other end, Keahna said. Saydel found it difficult to get into the paint and create scoring opportunities.

Holding a lead throughout the third quarter and stretching the gap as big as 11 points, the Trojans’ lead was consistent at seven-to-nine points through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.

Lauren Veit led the Trojans in scoring with nine points, but she was ejected in the final minutes of the game after a skirmish with a Saydel player near mid-court. The gap trimmed from nine, to seven, to four points as South Tama learned in real time how to play with a lead and kill off the clock.

A fast-break layup from Kailee Meek after a steal put the Trojans up 38-32 with less than a minute left and helped the Trojans keep Saydel at bay, taking home an important victory before the winter break.

Keahna said in the midst of a difficult schedule, picking up this win was big.

“We can be competitive against other teams but when we start blowing up on ourselves and turn the ball over, that’s the frustrating part,” Keahna said. “If we can just take care of the ball and stay competitive, who knows what we can do in the fourth quarter. This is just one of those games where we thought, ‘This is the one we’re going to get,’ but we’ve got to stay focused and we’ve got to stay competitive.”

The Trojans wrapped up the week on the road against Vinton-Shellsburg. The Vikettes dominated the night winning 83-15.

South Tama 38, Saydel 34

SAYDEL (0-8) — Brooklyn Leydens 1 7-10 9, Kaydence Butters 4 2-2 11, Rylee Carney 0 0-0 0, Kathryn Van Houten 1 1-2 3, Josie Rhodes 2 0-4 4, Paige Rummans 2 0-0 4, Maci Lowe 0 0-0 0, Kailyn Valenzuela 1 1-5 3. TOTALS 11 11-23 34.

SOUTH TAMA (1-6) — Kailee Meek 4 0-0 8, Adriana Cervantes 2 1-2 5, Kayla Heck 2 0-0 4, Takia Rosenberger 1 0-0 2, Lauren Veit 4 0-0 9, Janette Cervantes 1 0-0 2, Emma Hartwick 1 0-0 2, Arro Lyons 3 0-2 6. TOTALS 18 1-4 38.

SAYDEL 11 2 6 15 — 34

SOUTH TAMA 7 14 7 10 — 38

3-Point Goals-Saydel 1 (Butters), STC 1 (Veit). Total Fouls-Saydel 9, STC 21. Fouled Out-none. Flagrant Ejection-Veit.