GAME-WINNER — Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther’s Brooke Grathwohl (5) releases the eventual game-winning shot over Nicollet/Loyola’s Hayley Selby during Valley Conference basketball action Tuesday night in Granada. The Jaguars’ Katelyn Diegnau (far right) and Kianna Preston (3), along with the Raiders’ Marah Hulke (1) and Samantha Rist, watch the action. (Photo by Greg Abel)

GRANADA — The Jaguars kept their composure through foul trouble.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther held on for a 43-41 Valley Conference basketball win over the Nicollet/Loyola Raiders on Tuesday night in Granada.

Although the Jaguars had two starters reach four fouls and two more players ended up with three, all four played key roles down the stretch.

“We were in foul trouble in the first half, but they did a good job in the second half moving their feet,” Jaguar head coach TJ Pytleski said. “Other girls stepped up and did a good job of helping each other out.”

Michaelah Petrowiak hit two free throws with 8:31 left, putting the Jaguars ahead 36-34, then the teams went back and forth down the stretch.

Hatti Hansen assisted Hayley Selby for a post layup to tie the game at 36, then Eden Studer hit a free throw to put the Jaguars back up by one with 7 minutes left.

Petrowiak scored a putback to push the Jaguar lead to three, then Josi Hansen turned a steal into a Marah Hulke layup and Brooklyn Bode turned another steal into a 2-pointer for the Raiders to put Nicollet/Loyola up 40-39 with 4:16 left.

Selby extended the lead to two with a free throw, scoring the Raiders’ final point with 3:51 left.

Petrowiak tied the matchup at 41 with a layup off a Kianna Preston assist with 1:26 left. With 31.5 seconds left, Brooke Grathwohl forced a steal, one of the 37 total turnovers the Jaguars’ defense caused, before Pytleski used a timeout to set up a play.

Petrowiak collected a pass on the ensuing play at the 3-point arc on the right wing, then dished the ball to Grathwohl near the right-corner baseline. Grathwohl drove past her defender into an open look for a mid-range jumper and sank it to give the Jaguars their final lead with 18.6 seconds left.

The Jaguar defense then forced a turnover, but couldn’t make their ensuing free throw on a one-and-one, giving the Raiders another chance with 14.3 seconds left.

Katelyn Diegnau stole a pass with 3 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Jaguars.

“We played sloppy to be honest,” Pytleski said. “We threw the ball away way too many times and passed without looking. We didn’t play our best.”

While the Jaguar defense forced 37 turnovers, the offense committed 31, with the Raiders poking away 17 steals.

Three Jaguars reached double-digit scoring, with Diegnau and Petrowiak each contributing 12 points, while Grathwohl scored 10. Petrowiak added three steals and three rebounds, while Grathwohl complemented her scoring with four steals and four assists.

Preston dished out four assists and grabbed a co-team high five rebounds, while Kaelynn Meixell set up her teammates’ shots four times.

Mallery Geistfeld also brought down five rebounds, complementing her co-team high four steals.

Selby reached a double-double for the Raiders with 11 points to complement 10 caroms, while adding a co-team high four steals. Hulke added 11 points and nine boards to nearly reach a double-double, while Bode had 11 points and four steals.

“We’ve got to work on some stuff and continue to get better,” Pytleski said. “We went into overtime in our last game and this game almost did. It’s nice to win the close ones. The girls did good, they did keep their composure toward the end and that’s really what helped us.”

The Jaguars (6-5) swept the season series with the Raiders (6-6) after GHECTML won 63-48 to open the season on Jan. 16. The Jaguars travel to Fairmont for a nonconference matchup at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Nicollet/Loyola plays host to Cleveland at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Nicollet.

NIC/LOY 23-18–41

GHECTML 20-23–43

GHECTML (43)

Diegnau 6-11 0-1 12, Petrowiak 5-13 2-2 12, Grathwohl 5-9 0-0 10, Studer 2-6 1-4 5, Geistfeld 1-8 0-0 2, Balcom 1-3 0-0 2, Preston 0-1 0-1 0, Meixell 0-4 0-0 0, Stauter 0-4 0-0 0, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Bentz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-60 3-9 43.

NICOLLET/LOYOLA (41)

Selby 4-9 3-6 11, Hulke 3-15 5-6 11, Bode 4-6 3-6 11, J. Hansen 2-8 2-2 7, Whitmore 0-2 1-4 1, Robertson 0-3 0-0 0, Gohr 0-1 0-0 0, H. Hansen 0-1 0-0 0, Rist 0-0 0-0 0, Kramer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-45 14-24 41.

3-pointers: GHECTML 0-5; NL 1-9. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: GHECTML 30 (Preston & Geistfeld 5 each); NL 32 (Selby 10, Hulke 9). Assists: GHECTML 16 (Preston, Meixell & Grathwohl 4 each); NL 6. Steals: GHECTML 20 (Grathwohl & Geistfeld 4 each, Petrowiak & Balcom 3 each); NL 17 (Selby & Bode 4 each). Blocks: GHECTML 6; NL 2.

Martin County West 48, St. Clair 36 — The Maverick defense held the Cyclones to 15 points in the first half to take a Valley Conference win Tuesday in St. Clair.

Marissa Whitehead led the Mavericks with 17 points, while Kari Matejka and Emily Anderson each contributed eight points.

Emily Dunlop added seven points to the Mavericks’ offensive efforts.

Emily Olson led the Cyclones with 12 points, while Steph Cink had 10.

The win marks MCW’s fifth consecutive, while ending St. Clair’s seven-game winning streak.

Martin County West (8-3) plays host to Madelia at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Trimont.