South Tama’s Janette Cervantes (5) blocks the shot attempt of East Marshall’s Makayla Hala (25) during Monday’s non-conference basketball game in Tama. Photo by Noah Rohlfing.

TAMA — The amount of twists and turns Monday night in the non-conference girls’ basketball matchup between South Tama County and East Marshall were too numerous to keep track of. From effective pressing to last-second free throws and missed opportunities, the Mustangs’ 40-39 rollercoaster of a win over the Trojans was anything but straightforward.

East Marshall (2-6) relied on offense from Morgan Neuroth to take an early lead, holding a 13-4 advantage late in the first quarter. Neuroth scored all 13 of the Mustangs’ first-quarter points, 17 of their 21 halftime points, and 28 of their 40 points over the course of the game. She was a singular force that was difficult for South Tama to get under control. Undersized and undermanned, the Mustangs need Neuroth’s consistency to encourage other team members to take their chances, head coach Chris Hungerford said.

“It’s always impressive. She does it every time,” Hungerford said. “We’re just trying to get those other kids to hopefully step up and work on their skills. We work on that, but it takes time. It’s not an easy game.”

In the second quarter, the Trojans began to show signs of offensive improvement and a full-court press on defense that caused issues for the Mustang ballhandlers. East Marshall held a 21-16 lead at the break.

STC head coach Dina Keahna said this was the most effective the Trojans’ press had been all season.

“Most of the season, we haven’t been able to put in our full-court press,” Keahna said. “So it was probably a good time for us to practice and do the press to that extent and try to capitalize on our numbers. For me, it was about trying to find a combination that worked best.”

For much of the third quarter, the Trojans were getting stops and had opportunities to narrow the deficit to one score — but shots were not falling, and chances went begging.

On offense, the hosts were getting a boost from guards Zeara Kapayou and Martha Flores. Both provided solid ball-handling and calmness in the offense, and Kapayou would go on to lead the Trojans with 12 points. Kayla Heck contributed eight points, and Arro Lyons had seven, while in total, seven different STC players scored points.

Early in the fourth, it looked as though the game was slipping away from the Trojans after a Neuroth three put East Marshall ahead 35-28. But slowly and surely, the STC press caused turnovers that led to easy baskets. It became a four-point game and then a two-point game. Late in the fourth, Neuroth fouled out controversially as there was disagreement between the scoreboard and the scorebook keepers for both teams over the number of fouls she’d committed. Eventually, she was ruled to have fouled out.

Without their top scorer, the Mustangs had to hold on. They led 38-37 with just over 20 seconds to play and with the ball in South Tama’s hands when sophomore guard Sophie Shuckahosee was fouled. She buried both free throws to give the Trojans a 39-38 lead in the final seconds.

A foul call on a rebound with three seconds left sent Makayla Hala (nine points) to the line for East Marshall with the opportunity to win. She buried both, and the Mustangs walked out winners. Keahna was left hoping the Trojans learn from missed chances.

“I have to commend them for not giving up and continuing to work hard and try to keep everything straight and do everything at this high rate of speed,” Keahna said.

South Tama visited Vinton-Shellsburg at 6 p.m. Tuesday. East Marshall is scheduled to host BCLUW on Thursday night.