Unbeaten and top-ranked Paris ended the girls’ basketball season for St. Joseph-Ogden on Monday with a 62-35 win in a Class 2A sectional semifinal game at Paris.

The Tigers scored all 62 of their points in the first three quarters. Paris led 18-13 after one quarter and 39-21 at halftime and had doubled the score (62-31) after three quarters.

Katie Cramer drained three three-point shots and made a team-high 11 points for SJ-O. Payton Jacob contributed 10 points.

Cramer netted a team-high 46 three-pointers for the season.

SJ-O ended the season with a 21-11 overall record.

Ten different squad members led the Spartans in scoring in at least one game this season.

Cramer was the leader in 11 games. She was followed by Ashlyn Lannert (six games), Payton Jacob (five games), Ella Armstrong (four games), Taylor Barnes (three games), Payton Vallee (three games), Atleigh Hamilton (two games), Taylor Wells (two games), Abby Behrens (one game) and Alyssa Hamilton (one game).

The team’s top individual scoring performances were by Jacob (19 points), Barnes (18 points) and Armstrong (17 points).

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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.

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The Spartans’ 10th loss of the season, Thursday’s 54-52 setback at Bloomington Central Catholic, was the team’s fifth loss settled by nine points, or less.

SJ-O led 29-24 at halftime, but attempted just two free throws in the Illini Prairie Conference encounter. Katie Cramer converted both attempts in the fourth quarter.

Taylor Wells netted a season-high 16 points and led SJ-O in scoring. Cramer chipped in with 12 points as did Ella Armstrong.

Wells hit 10 of her points in the second quarter, helping the Spartans open up a halftime lead.

The Spartans (19-10) return to action in their own Class 2A regional on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against either Tuscola or Clinton.

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Katie Cramer hit a three-pointer for the 14th consecutive game, but St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball dropped a 47-29 decision at Mattoon on Tuesday in a makeup game.

Mattoon built a 34-16 halftime lead and kept SJ-O off the free-throw line. The Spartans attempted just two free throws, both of which Payton Vallee made in the third quarter.

Vallee scored a team-high eight points. Ella Armstrong and Atleigh Hamilton each contributed six points.

The Spartans (19-9) return to action tonight in their regular-season finale at Bloomington Central Catholic.

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St. Joseph-Ogden hit 5-of-5 fourth-quarter free throws on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to help the team to a victory in the Sangamon Conference/Illini Prairie Conference Shootout at Maroa.

Auburn edged the Spartans 42-40. The teams were tied at halftime, 18-18.

The game was the 15th this season for SJ-O settled by nine points, or less.

Katie Cramer tallied a team-high 11 points for SJ-O. Ella Armstrong had eight points and Hannah Dukeman totaled six points.

The Spartans will be the top-seeded team in a Class 2A regional they will host.  SJ-O’s postseason opener will be on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. between the winner of a Feb. 10 game between Tuscola and Clinton.

SJ-O (19-7) returns to action on Thursday in its regular-season finale at Bloomington Central Catholic.

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The Spartans’ four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday as visiting Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin posted a 47-31 non-conference victory.

In a game where SJ-O made 7-of-7 free throws, senior Hannah Dukeman made her first appearance of the season and scored two points. In her return from an injury, Dukeman made 2-of-2 free throws.

Katie Cramer led the Spartans with 11 points. Ella  Armstrong ended with eight points. Payton Jacob contributed four points.

B-H/R-A (23-5) jumped into an 18-7 lead after one quarter and led at halftime, 22-14.

Armstrong scored a team-high 17 points on Monday as the Spartans won at Rantoul, 52-25.

Armstrong and Cramer netted five points apiece in the first stanza as SJ-O opened up a 13-6 cushion.

Cramer finished with 12 points and Taylor Barnes contributed nine points.

The Spartans led 24-11 at halftime.

SJ-O (19-7) returns to action on Saturday in the Sangamon/Illini Prairie Conference Challenge. The Spartans will play Auburn at 6 p.m. in a game held at Maroa-Forsyth High School.

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Ella Armstrong hit two tie-breaking free throws with 2.6 seconds left on Saturday as the Spartans captured an Illini Prairie Conference win at Pontiac, 44-42.

The Spartans held a 13-3 lead after the first quarter, but had lost the lead in the fourth quarter.

Katie Cramer matched her season’s high with four three-point baskets and led SJ-O with 12 points. Armstrong totaled nine points, six from the free throw line.

Cramer’s final three-pointer, in the last 30 seconds, created a 42-42 deadlock.

The Spartans are 5-2 in conference action.

SJ-O (18-6 overall) returns to action tonight at Rantoul.

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Taylor Barnes scored a season-high 18 points on Monday and teammate Payton Vallee grabbed 13 rebounds to lead St. Joseph-Ogden past visiting Monticello 47-39 in a girls’ Illini Prairie Conference basketball game.

SJ-O held a slim 21-20 halftime lead, but built its advantage to 34-27 after three quarters. Five Spartans scored in the third quarter, but no player hit more than three points in the stanza.

Katie Cramer finished with eight points and Ella Armstrong contributed six.

SJ-O helped its cause by sinking 11 of 15 free throws.

The game was the 13th in 23 games played by the team this season that have been settled by nine points, or less. SJ-O is 10-3 in those contests.

The Spartans (17-6) return to action tonight at Pontiac. The team is 4-2 in conference games.

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The benefits of being on a team run deeper than wearing a school-issued uniform.

This is a lesson St. Joseph-Ogden High School’s Katie Cramer learned as a fifth- and sixth-grade student-athlete when she was mentored by her dad, who played at Elmhurst College.

“My dad was my fifth- and sixth-grade basketball coach. He also coached me in the St. Joseph Youth basketball program during the winter,” Cramer said. “(He) has helped me improve my game throughout the years.”

She grew up knowing that something special happened on the Spartan court.

“I love the competitiveness of the program,” she said.

The senior shooting guard is no stranger to team success.

As a member of the St. Joseph Middle School program, Cramer played a part in the Panthers placing second in the IESA State Tournament. In 2019, she was part of the St. Joseph-Ogden team that placed third in the 2A IHSA state tournament.

But being a senior leader has required something extra.

“This year I am trying to be more of a vocal leader,” she said. “This is making me step out of my comfort zone because I am very quiet. I usually choose to lead by example.

“I try to bring positive energy each time I step on the court. I think that it is important to always be positive because it helps me and my teammates forget about mistakes that we may have made.”

Averaging 6.3 points per game, Cramer has reached a game-high of 14 points twice during the 2019-2020 season. She leads the Spartans with 25 three-point field goals, and has led the team in scoring six times.

As the end of January is in sight, the 16-6 Spartans continue to look at what they need to do to come out as champions of the Illini Prairie Conference and their 2A IHSA Regional.

“The team has definitely improved as a whole,” Cramer said. “Everyone is working very hard and we can always say we give 100-percent each game.”

Even more than the point totals at the end of each game, Cramer feels blessed to have been part of a program and community that fosters relationships and support.

“Our team chemistry is one of the best I have ever been a part of,” she said.

“The support we get from our community is great. I have lived in the SJO community my whole life. I am very appreciative to grow up in a school with challenging academics and competitive athletics.”

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Three players scored in double figures on Thursday as the St.  Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team denied Prairie Central its 20th victory of the season with a 51-44 conquest at home.

Payton Jacob hit a team-high 14 points. Teammates totaling 12 points apiece were Taylor Barnes and Katie Cramer.

Cramer drained three three-pointers and Barnes hit two three-point shots.

The Spartans carried a 35-34 lead into the fourth quarter. Barnes scored five points and Cramer four in the last stanza to help SJ-O pull away.

SJ-O is 16-6 overall. Prairie Central is 19-4.

The Spartans return to action tonight at home against Monticello. SJ-O is 3-2 in Illini Prairie Conference contests.

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