By FRED KRONER
fred@sjodaily.com
St. Joseph-Ogden’s girls’ basketball team won the championship at the Lady Falcon/Bunnie Tip-Off at Gibson City, handing Villa Grove/Heritage its first loss in the finals on Friday.
Meanwhile, Oakwood’s girls’ team extended its winning streak to three games to start the season.
St. Joseph-Ogden
No opponent of the Spartans has come closer than 26 points through the season’s first four games.
SJ-O (4-0) overpowered Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 66-39 on Thursday and returned to the court a day later and handled VG/Heritage 56-22.
Peyton Crowe and Hannah Dukeman were a potent 1-2 punch against GCMS. Crowe hit a season-high 21 points and Dukeman also reached a season high with 18 points.
Bree Trimble scored 10 points and Ella Armstrong had seven points.
In the finals, the Spartans put up 23 first-quarter points and held the Blue Devils to four field goals during the final three quarters.
Crowe scored 11 points and Maclayne Taylor became the fourth squad member to score in double figures, also reaching the 11-point mark.
Trimble had nine points and Dukeman scored eight.
The Spartans will play their home-opener on Tuesday against Urbana.
Villa Grove/Heritage
The Blue Devils (3-1) reached the title game by virtue of a narrow 40-38 conquest over Unity (3-1) on Thursday.
Three players scored in double figures, led by Kyleigh Block with 17 points. Aliya Holloman added 11 points and Samantha Campbell chipped in with 10 points.
VG/Heritage, which trailed 17-7 after one quarter and 24-17 at halftime, took control with a 17-6 third-quarter spurt. Block nailed three three-pointers and scored 11 points in the third stanza.
Against the undefeated Spartans in the finals, only Block (10 points) scored in double figures.
VG/Heritage returns to action on Tuesday against Tuscola.
Oakwood
The defensive-minded Comets (3-0) continued their early season dominance with a 59-10 win over Chrisman on Friday and a 45-16 verdict over Blue Ridge (1-4) on Saturday in the Oakwood Comet Classic.
Against Chrisman (1-2), Oakwood led 19-0 after one quarter.
Kylie Neuman tossed in 22 points, Aaliyah Denius had 12 points and Paiton Frerichs 11 against the Cardinals.
On Saturday, Oakwood led 16-2 after one quarter.
Katelyn Young scored all of her game-high 19 points in the first half. Neuman scored 10 points and Aubrey Wells added eight points.
Oakwood committed just three fouls in the game and kept Blue Ridge off the free throw line.
The Comets return to action on Monday with a Comet Classic game against Judah Christian, an opponent they beat by 31 points on Tuesday.
