By FRED KRONER
fred@sjodaily.com
Basketball and success have been synonymous for the Trimble family for more than 60 years.
St. Joseph-Ogden senior Bree Trimble is carrying on a long-established family legacy with a state-ranked team that is seeking the school’s first sectional championship in the sport since she was in kindergarten.
The 25-4 Spartans, and their 12-game winning streak, will participate in the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Class 2A Sectional, starting with a semifinal game tonight against the host Falcons (24-5) at 7:30 p.m.
Trimble is part of a potent 1-2 scoring punch for SJ-O, teaming up with another senior, Peyton Crowe, to combine for nearly 28 points per game.
Each is a member of the 1,000-point club for their prep careers.
This season, both Crowe and Trimble have had multiple games where they have scored more than 20 points.
“I feed her the ball. She feeds me the ball and we can get the job done,” Crowe said. “We’ve had each other’s back.
“It’s helpful that it’s not only her. We have a bunch of weapons.”
Four of their teammates have also scored in double figures and two (Hannah Dukeman and Maclayne Taylor) have had games with at least 18 points.
***
Crowe and Trimble grew up as competitors, not teammates.
Crowe attended Prairieview Ogden. Trimble was a student at St. Joseph Middle School.
“Even when we played each other, we knew we’d end up playing in high school together,” Crowe said. “We’ve gone to a lot of the same camps.”
Each was promoted to the varsity during their freshmen season and started some games for a team that won a regional title.
For Crowe, it took a while to feel comfortable.
“Freshman year, I was not really confident,” she said. “I got it my junior year.”
As she grew into an upperclassman, Crowe also realized the importance of putting time into the game.
“I worked on my shot over the summer and would keep on practicing until I couldn’t practice any more,” said Crowe, a Parkland College recruit who has scored 1,087 varsity points.
***
Bree Trimble was literally raised around basketball.
Her grandfather, Bob Trimble, ranks fifth all-time in scoring at Oakland High School with 1,240 points. He graduated in 1961.
Bob Trimble went on to become the winningest boys’ basketball coach in history at Monticello High School, compiling a 22-year record of 383-201 before retiring in 1994.
Among his players for the Sages was Thad Trimble — Bree’s father — who amassed 1,546 points and ranks third in scoring all-time at Monticello.
Bree’s brother, Brandon, set the boys’ scoring record at SJ-O, finishing his career in 2017 with 2,115 points.
Bree Trimble is also among her high school’s all-time elite.
She enters sectional competition with 1,543 career points and is third in SJ-O’s girls’ record books.
Ahead of her are 2007 graduate Ashley Runck (2,316 points) and 1991 graduate Nicki Bryant (1,670 points).
For the three generations of Trimbles in East Central Illinois, that’s a composite of 6,444 career points. And counting.
***
SJ-O’s second-year head coach, Kevin Taylor, has seen the progression and development in Crowe and Trimble that he expected.
“They’ve matured as players and leaders,” Taylor said. “They are more complete players.”
Neither of the senior standouts is a one-dimensional scorer.
“They’re both good outside shooters, they can take it off the dribble and they can score down low,” Taylor said.
Beyond being good players, they are good teammates.
“They have a good relationship on and off the court,” Taylor said. “They feed off of each other and push each other along.
“It’s nice to have two who can score at the level they do. Defenses have a harder time keying in on two.”
***
There shouldn’t be a lot of surprises for the Spartans, ranked fourth in the state, at the GCMS sectional site.
SJ-O has played and beaten two of the three qualifiers, GCMS and Bismarck-Henning. Only Watseka is a team the Spartans have not played this season.
“We’ve been watching a lot of film and doing anything to prepare,” Crowe said. “We just want to do what we know we can do.”
The Spartans’ rematch with GCMS is a showdown between schools that played early in the season.
“We know the personnel and have an idea how they go about things, but teams change,” Taylor said. “We look forward to the challenge.”
Crowe said the position of prominence in the state polls is not a detriment.
“We have a huge target on our backs, but we focus on each game one at a time,” she said. “We don’t let it pressure us too much.”
Taylor said the state rankings have never been a point of emphasis.
“It’s an honor that people notice the program,” he said, “but at the high school level, it’s hard to get something that is 100 percent accurate.”
With a win tonight,the Spartans will be among the final 16 remaining teams in Class 2A.
