By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometdaily.com
The Oakwood girls’ basketball team (19-5) won games on consecutive nights and will play Bismarck-Henning (21-5) for the championship of the Vermilion County Tournament on Friday at Palmer Arena, in Danville.
The top-seeded Comets dispatched Hoopeston Area 63-29 on Tuesday and followed up on Wednesday with a 48-18 triumph over Westville (13-10)
In the tournament opener, Katelyn Young scored all of her game-high 24 points in the first half, helping Oakwood build a 37-12 lead at the break.
Teammate Kylie Neuman finished with 16 points and Paiton Frerichs scored seven points.
In Wednesday’s game, Young tallied 19 points and Neuman made 15.
The Comets’ defense against Westville yielded only three first-half field goals as the team zipped into a 25-8 lead after the opening 16 minutes.
Oakwood made 13 of 19 free throws.
Four Comets have made at least one three-pointer in the first two games of the County tournament, but only Grace Davis has one in each of the games.
Friday’s championship game will start at approximately 8 p.m.
St. Joseph-Ogden
The winning streak reached five on Monday for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team.
The Spartans (18-4) scored more points in the first quarter than they allowed for the game, zooming past Monticello 67-21.
SJ-O led, 23-8, after one quarter and 42-11 at halftime.
Peyton Crowe scored a game-high 17 points. Bree Trimble had 14 points. Maclayne Taylor added seven points on a night when 10 Spartans reached the scoring column.
For Trimble, it was the 20th game this season for scoring in double figures.
SJ-O, the state’s 10th-ranked Class 2A program this week, is scheduled to return to action tonight at home against Pontiac.
Villa Grove/Heritage
The second-seeded Blue Devils (16-5) opened play in the Little Okaw Valley Conference Southeast Division Tournament on Wednesday with a 64-44 semifinal thumping over third-seeded Oblong in Martinsville.
Aliya Holloman scored 12 of her season-high 32 points in the first quarter as VG/H surged into a 22-8 advantage.
Kyleigh Block added 15 points and Sophia Wegeng added seven. Holloman and Block teamed up to nail seven three-point shots.
VG/Heritage hit 11 of 17 free throws.
VG/Heritage has won four games in a row entering tonight’s 8 o’clock championship game against top-seeded Tri-County (18-4).
Boys’ basketball
St. Joseph-Ogden
The Spartans (11-8) opened Illini Prairie Conference play on Tuesday with a win on the road.
SJ-O upended St. Thomas More (11-8) 63-48 in Champaign.
Chance Izard ripped the cords for 28 points, including eight three-pointers. He hit six of his three-pointers in the second period.
Jack Cook scored 15 points and Joel Orcutt added 11 points to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.
Teammates Payton Cain and Keanen Swanson each handed out three assists.
SJ-O is scheduled to return to action on Friday at home against Olympia.
Oakwood
Four players scored at least nine points on Tuesday as the top-seeded Comets (11-7) started into Vermilion County Tournament play with a 58-25 decision over Georgetown-Ridge Farm at Danville’s Palmer Arena.
Zane Priest led the way with 13 points. He was followed by Bryce Jones (11 points), Trevan Garrett (10 points) and Noah Ruch (nine points).
The Comets expanded a 13-9 lead after one quarter into a 31-11 cushion at halftime.
Oakwood returns to action tonight at Palmer Arena against Salt Fork at 6:30 p.m.With a win, the Comets will advance into Saturday’s 8 o’clock championship contest.
Villa Grove/Heritage
Four players scored between 10 and 13 points on Tuesday as the Hawks (15-5) handed Chrisman a 63-29 loss.
VG/Heritage led 17-14 after one period but its lead grew to 42-19 at halftime thanks to a 25-5 second-quarter run.
Bruce Dalle matched his season’s high with 13 points.
Other team leaders were Jake Eversole (12 points), Evan Wilson (10 points) and Will Wilson (10 points).
The Hawks return to action on Tuesday in the LOVC Southeast Division Conference Tournament at Cumberland.
