Sophomore Oliva Hala pulls up for a jumper against Vinton-Shellsburg. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

VINTON — The STC girls basketball team turned in one of their best performances to close out the early season before the holiday break. But they came up just short, falling 51-48 to the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes on Friday, Dec. 20.

STC dug themselves an early hole to start the game. Turnovers have hurt the Trojans all season long and they committed 8 of them in the opening quarter alone. Combined with back-to-back 3-pointers by Vinton senior Addy Phippen, the Vikettes jumped out to a 10-0 lead. But the Trojan defense toughened up and two field goals by STC junior Rylee Ridout helped cut the Vinton lead to 18-6 at the end of the first quarter.

As the second quarter opened, STC got a spark off their bench from two freshmen. Stella Zmolek entered the game for the first time and quickly ignited the Trojans. Scoring 6 points, Zmolek helped the Trojans get right back in the game, cutting the Vinton lead to 20-16. A few minutes later, STC freshman Scout Ridout gave the Trojans their first lead of the game by chipping in 4 points late in the quarter. STC outscored the Vikettes 18-2 in the second quarter and took a 24-20 lead into the halftime break.

The third quarter, however, belonged to Vinton. Behind two more Phippen 3-pointers, the Vikettes outscored the Trojans 18-6 and took a 38-30 lead into the final quarter of the game.

But STC was not finished. Less than ten seconds into the fourth quarter, freshman Cahysia Kapayou drilled a 3-pointer to cut into the Vinton lead. This was followed by a stretch early in the quarter where Rylee Ridout made three straight baskets to cut the Vikette lead to three points. When freshman Dyan Keahna’s hit a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the game, the Trojans had climbed all the way back to tie the game at 45.

Senior Janette Cervantes attempts to block the shot of Vinton-Shellsburg’s Addy Chvala. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

Over the next two Vinton possessions, they scored on two free-throws and connected on their only field goal of the quarter by junior Lily Griffith. The Vikettes led 49-45 with 32 seconds left. But Keahna hit another 3-pointer to bring the Trojans to within one point, 49-48. On the ensuing possession, Vinton turned the ball over and STC had a chance to take the lead. A missed Keahna 3-pointer was rebounded by Phippen and the Trojans quickly fouled her and sent her to the free-throw line. After she hit both free-throws, the Vikettes held a slim 51-48 lead with 10 seconds left to play. Once again Keahna got a good look at a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. But it missed and the Trojans fell in the back-and-forth, hard fought game, 51-48.

For the game, STC was led by Rylee Ridout with 12 points. She was followed in scoring by the four freshmen: Keahna (8), Scout Ridout (6), Zmolek (6), and Kapayou (5).

With the loss, the Trojans reach the holiday break with a record of 1-6. Following the break, STC gets back to action when they host East Marshall on Monday, Jan. 6 at the STC High School gym.

Trojan Freshman Cahysia Kapayou guards Vinton-Shellsburg’s Addyson Phippen. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

STC junior Paige Croskey guards Vinton-Shellsburg's Addyson Phippen. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

Freshman Stella Zmolek handles the ball in the post for the Trojans. Zmolek finished with six points on the night. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT

STC Freshman Scout Ridout locks down on defense for STC. PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT