One set of statistics helps to paint the most accurate picture of the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team this season.

Ten squad members have led the team in scoring at least once. All 10 have also had games where they didn’t score a point.

“All season we’ve had girls step up,” SJ-O coach Kevin Taylor said. “It’s a credit to the girls for hanging tough.”

Thursday night was no exception.

The school captured its third successive girls’ basketball regional title on Thursday on its home court, topping Villa Grove/Heritage 50-34.

“Our defense was good all night and we had a stretch late in the third quarter where we had a good run,” Taylor said.

The Spartans led at halftime 24-18, but fell behind 27-26 before recovering.

The comeback began, Taylor said, “when we played hard and controlled the boards.”

SJ-O reaped the benefits from lessons learned during a late-season four-game losing streak.

“We were in most of those games, but lost focus and it cost us,” Taylor said. “In the postseason, we’ve done a great job of staying mentally tough.”

The Spartans’ score sheet looked different in the regional finals than it did in the semifinals.

On Thursday, Katie Cramer scored a team-high 12 points and Abby Behrens added nine points, including four fourth-quarter free throws. Payton Vallee also hit nine points.

In the semifinals, none of those three players scored. The top two SJ-O scorers in the semis, Ella Armstrong and Hannah Dukeman, were scoreless on Thursday.

The SJ-O defense held VG/H scoring leader Aliya Holloman to nine points, just the fourth game this season she didn’t hit double figures.

Payton Jacob was the primary defender on Holloman, with help from Dukeman.

“We wanted to keep her off the three-point line,” Taylor said, “and when she came off screens, we jumped out and helped.

“I’m happy for the girls. There were stretches they had to grind it out, but they have hung in there all year.”

SJ-O (21-10) returns to action on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the sectional semifinals at Paris against either the host school (which is undefeated and top-ranked in Class 2A) or Sullivan. Their regional championship game will be played tonight in Sullivan.

“It will definitely be tough, but we will prepare the best we can and go give it our best shot,” Taylor said.

VG/Heritage ends with a 25-6 season record.

Taylor enjoyed the enthusiastic crowd which helped fill the stands on Thursday for the Spartans’ final home game of the year.

“There were a lot of fans and we appreciated the support,” Taylor said. “It’s nice to be at home where you are more familiar with everything.”

SJ-O’s regional crown was its fifth in girls’ basketball in the last eight years.

The post Mental toughness leads Spartans to IHSA Regional Championship first appeared on SJO Daily.

Aliya Holloman led the Blue Devils in scoring for the 20th time this season on Tuesday, firing in a team-high 26 points in a 65-20 triumph over Judah Christian in Champaign.

Holloman scored 12 points in the first quarter as VG/H opened up a 22-4 lead.

The Blue Devils allowed Judah just two second-half field goals.

Kyleigh Block scored 11 points, Vanessa Wright had 10 points and Samantha Campbell ended with nine points.

On Monday, Holloman tallied 29 points in a 63-33 romp at home over Toledo Cumberland.

Block contributed 15 points and Campbell totaled eight.

VG/H vaulted into an 18-7 lead after one quarter. Holloman netted 11 points in the opening frame and Block had five.

The Blue Devils (23-5) return to action tonight in their Senior Night home finale against Argenta-Oreana. VG/H is 8-1 in Lincoln Prairie Conference action.

Holloman and Jordyn Ray are the seniors who will be honored before their final home game.

The team has five consecutive wins and victories in seven of its last eight contests.

VG/H will play next week in the St.  Joseph-Ogden Class 2A regional. VG/H opens at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 against the winner of a Monday game between Schlarman Academy and Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

The post Holloman leads Blue Devils over Judah Christian and Toledo Cumberland first appeared on SJO Daily.

Aliya Holloman scored 16 points and Kyleigh Block added 12 on Saturday, but VG/H was unable to keep up with top-seeded Tri-County and suffered a 62-49 loss in the championship game of the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament at Villa Grove.

The Titans led 16-12 after one quarter and 32-29 at halftime.

Jordyn Ray hit a season-high 11 points for VG/H,

Block and Holloman each made 16 points Thursday night as the Blue Devils overpowered Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond 57-39 in a semifinal tournament game at Villa Grove.

Madie Burwell matched her season’s high with 11 points.

Samantha Campbell contributed eight points.

The Blue Devils led 13-7 after one quarter and 29-19 at halftime.

VG/H (18-5) returns to action tonight at home against Decatur Lutheran.

The post VGH girls’ lose Lincoln Prairie Conference championship to Villa Grove first appeared on SJO Daily.