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).

The post Top-ranked Paris ends St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball season first appeared on SJO Daily.

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.

The post Mattoon tops St. Joseph-Ogden first appeared on SJO Daily.

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.

The post Barnes and Vallee help grab Illini Prairie Conference win for St. Joseph-Ogden first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph-Ogden’s girls’ basketball team recovered from an early-game deficit on Monday at Mahomet-Seymour and extended its winning streak to four games.

SJ-O rallied past the Bulldogs 41-30 in a game it trailed 7-4 after one quarter. An 18-2 second-quarter spurt created a double-figure lead at halftime and the Spartans pulled away.

Ashlyn Lannert scored a team-high 12 points for the Spartans.

Payton Vallee contributed eight points and Abby Behrens added five points.

SJ-O hit 13 of 22 free throws and scored all eight of its fourth-quarter points on free throws, including four by Katie Cramer.

The Spartans (8-1) return to action tonight, starting a four-game homestand with a game against Teutopolis.

The post Lannert leads all scorers in win over Mahomet-Seymour first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Spartans (7-1) continue to flourish in close games.

SJ-O followed up on a seven-point Thursday win at Danville (52-45) with a one-point triumph (41-40) on Saturday at Oakwood.

For the season, five of the team’s seven wins have been by margins of seven points, or less.

Against Danville, Payton Jacob and Payton Vallee each notched 10 points to lead SJ-O.

Ella Armstrong scored seven points.

The Spartans led at halftime, 29-13, but the Vikings closed within four points (36-32) entering the fourth quarter.

Against Oakwood, SJ-O needed a late free throw from Vallee to register the non-conference win. Her decisive point came with four seconds remaining.

Armstrong drained three three-point shots en route to a team-high 13 points. She hit five of her points in the fourth stanza.

Abby Behrens added seven points and Taylor Barnes contributed six.

Vallee scored both of her points from the free throw line.

The Spartans trailed Oakwood 13-6 after one quarter, but surged into a 24-23 advantage by halftime.

SJ-O will play its third road game in five days tonight when it travels to Mahomet-Seymour.

The post St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball off to 7-1 start first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph-Ogden’s girls’ basketball team won the championship in the Lady Falcon/Lady Bunny Tournament on Friday at Fisher.

SJ-O (4-0) pulled out close wins in both the semifinals and the finals.

The Spartans edged Villa Grove/Heritage 46-43 in Thursday’s semifinal contest.

Katie Cramer drained four three-point shots and scored a team-high 14 points. Taylor Barnes added 13 points and Payton Jacob scored seven points.

SJ-O needed overtime in the championship game, a 45-43 decision over Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

No Spartan scored in double figures, but Cramer led the way with nine points. Alyssa Hamilton scored eight points and Jacob added seven.

Four players scored for SJ-O in the 4-minute extra session: Hamilton, Ashlynn Lannert and Payton Vallee each hit two points and Barnes added the last of her six free throw conversions.

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday in its home-opener against Paris.

The post St. Joseph-Ogden Girls’ Basketball wins Lady Falcon/Lady Bunny Tournament first appeared on SJO Daily.

St. Joseph-Ogden’s girls’ basketball team opened the season with two wins in two nights this week and had different scoring leaders in each game.

On Monday, the Spartans handed Fisher a 39-22 setback in the first round of the Lady Falcon/Lady Bunny Tournament at Fisher.

Alyssa Hamilton drilled two three-point shots and led SJ-O with nine points. Teammate Payton Jacob added eight points, including one basket from three-point range.

The Spartans’ Payton Vallee scored seven points on Monday, two days after playing in the third-place state tournament volleyball match in Normal.

Fisher led 6-5 after one quarter, but SJ-O captured the lead at halftime, 19-14 and built its margin to 15 points after three quarters.

Taylor Barnes and Ashlyn Lannert each added six points for the Spartans.

On Tuesday, SJ-O overpowered Iroquois West 49-16.

Lannert knocked down a game-high 15 points.

Hamilton drained nine points. Barnes and Katie Cramer each hit six points.

All three of Cramer’s baskets after two games have been from beyond the three-point arc. Barnes also has three three-pointers.

SJ-O’s defense limited Iroquois West to one first-half basket while building a 26-5 lead at intermission.

SJ-O (2-0) returns to action tonight at Fisher in the 5:30 p.m. game against Villa Grove/Heritage (2-0).

The winner will advance into Saturday’s championship game. The loser will play in Saturday’s third-place game.

The post Diverse scoring leads St. Joseph-Ogden Girls’ Basketball to two wins first appeared on SJO Daily.

2 Ashlyn Lannert G 5’4″ 2022
4 Nora Walden F 5’6″ 2021
5 Taylor Campbell G/F 5’4″ 2021
10 Payton Jacob G/F 5’9″ 2022
11 Taylor Wells F/C 6’1″ 2022
12 Atleigh Hamilton G 5’5″ 2021
13 Kathryn Cramer G 5’5″ 2020
14 Abby Behrens G 5’4″ 2022
15 Taylor Barnes G/F 5’9″ 2020
21 Alyssa Hamilton G/F 5’8″ 2022
22 Payton Vallee F 5’10” 2021
23 Ella Armstrong G/F 5’9″ 2022
33 Anna Wentzloff F 5’7″ 2020

The post 2019-2020 St. Joseph Ogden Girls Basketball Roster first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Spartans had two players eclipse the 100-yard mark in rushing on Friday and continued their unbeaten start to the season with an 18-7 conquest of visiting Bloomington Central Catholic.

One highlight for SJ-O was the play of the defense, which head coach Shawn Skinner said was “outstanding.”

He continued: “I thought our DBs were solid all night. Drew Coursey was a factor at outside linebacker getting pressure on their quarterback and setting an edge to stop their outside runs.”

The SJ-O defense limited the Saints to 48 yards rushing on 22 attempts.

Keaton Nolan ran for a game-high 107 yards and Brayden Weaver gained 104 to lead SJ-O, which registered 339 yards of total offense.

Weaver’s first-quarter touchdown accounted for the only scoring until Nolan reached the end zone in the final 90 seconds of the first half.

Crayon Burnett, who completed 6 of 16 passes for 131 yards, added the final TD in the fourth quarter.

Brady Buss caught two passes from Burnett and turned them into gains of 83 yards. Other teammates with receptions were Ty Pence (two), Payton Cain (one) and Coby Miller (one).

“The offense took some strides in throwing the ball,” Skinner said, “but we left some plays on the field.

“Obviously, when you get two backs who run for over 100 yards, it’s a credit to your offensive line and the ability to get those backs free.”

The Spartans (3-0) return to action on Friday at Unity (2-1).

“We need to keep getting better,” Skinner said. “It’s really that simple.

“If we continue to play with effort and come to practice focused, and continue to play better, that’s all we can ask as coaches.”

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

Brandon Mattsey placed 56th for SJ-O on Saturday in the 505-runner Class 2A division of the First to Finish race at Detweiler Park in Peoria.

Mattsey’s 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 30.2 seconds.

SJ-O had a team score of 702 and ended in 24th place. There was a total of 59 full teams. Meet champion Kaneland had a score of 71 points.

Other leaders for the Spartans were Eric Poe (120th in 17:05.5), Elijah Mock (146th in 17:22), Luke Stegall (182nd in 17:34.3), Charlie Mabry (220th in 17:54.1), Logan Wolfersberger (293rd in 18:27.5), Lukas Hutcherson (298th in 18:28.6), Braden Clampitt (327th in 18:43.8) and Ethan Blackburn (353rd in 18:59.9).

In a separate open race, SJ-O’s Tad Pettit was 363th in 19:56.5.

SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

SJ-O placed ninth in the 47-school First to Finish Class 2A race on Saturday at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.

The first five Spartans placed among the top 100 in a field of 412 competitors.

Hannah Rajlich was the team-leader, completing the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 48.5 seconds. She was 45th.

Teammates following her were Ava Knap (59th in 20:00.9), Ashlyn Lannert (80th in 20:18.6), Ally Monk (83rd in 20:20.9) and Kailyn Ingram (97th in 20:32.2).

SJ-O compiled a team score of 364 points. Meet champion Vernon Hills had a score of 87.

Other Spartan times were Hope Rajlich (141st in 21:21.4), Hanna Eastin (149th in 21:29.6), Addie Allen (160th in 21:37.6), Kendra Riddle (170th in 21:43.6) and Malorie Sarnecki (220th in 22:17.5).

There was a separate girls’ 3-mile open race for runners who did not participate in any other race.

A total of 817 runners finished the open race.

SJ-O’s leaders were Sidney Davis (404th in 24:47.8), Kaytlyn Baker (477th in 25:45.2), Taryn Sexton (490th in 25:53.4), Mary Hinrichs (634th in 28:07.4), Izzy Sexton (691st in 28:35.0), Teagan Miller (707th in 29:09.2) and Lili Wentzloff (804th in 35:45.3).

Of the 52 full teams that competed in the open race, SJ-O was 41st with 1,232 points.

The Spartans will return to action Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.

SJ-O Soccer

In a match which was officially scoreless, the SJ-O soccer squad earned a victory on Friday over Oakwood/Salt Fork in the Hoopeston Area Cornjerker Classic.

The teams were tied 0-0 after regulation before the Spartans prevailed on penalty kicks 3-2.

When the schools played to open the season, that match also ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

SJ-O (2-7-1) lost its other two matches in the tournament, falling to eventual third-place finisher Iroquois West 6-1 and to eventual champion Monticello 5-0.

The Spartans return to action at home on Tuesday against Monticello, which is 8-0-1 for the season.

SJ-O Volleyball

All-tournament pick Kennedi Burnett paced SJ-O to four two-set sweeps before the Spartans lost in Saturday’s championship match of the Bulldog Invitational to the host Mahomet-Seymour squad.

The Spartans (10-3) opened with pool play victories over the St. Teresa JV team 25-10, 25-5, Springfield Southeast 25-10, 25-6 and Peotone 25-11, 25-12.

In the semifinals, SJ-O upended Manteno 25-15, 25-18.

In the finals, against an M-S team the Spartans had beaten earlier in the season, the Bulldogs prevailed 25-9, 25-22.

For the five tournament matches, Burnett swatted 31 kills and contributed 35 digs. Emily Bigger had 99 assists as well as 28 digs and seven service aces.

Other Spartan leaders were Katelyn Berry with 30 kills and 33 digs, Rylee Stahl with 28 digs and Payton Vallee with 18 kills.

SJ-O returns to action tonight at home against Hoopeston Area.

The post SJ-O football remains unbeaten, Soccer places third at Cornjerker Classic, Volleyball second at Bulldog Invite first appeared on SJO Daily.

SJ-O Boys’ cross-country

With Brandon Mattsey and Eric Poe finishing second and third, respectively, the SJ-O Spartans opened the boys’ cross-country season on Saturday by winning the Doc Acklin Memorial Invitational, at Paris.

SJ-O had a team score of 25. Runner-up Marshall had a score of 49.

Mattsey ran the 3-mile course in 17 minutes, 1.4 seconds. Poe finished in 17:07.6.

The Spartans had five runners among the top 10 in a field of 81 competitors.

Elijah Mock was seventh (17:44.0), followed by Luke Stegall in eighth (17:46.8) and Charlie Mabry in 10th (18:04.1).

Rounding out the team’s top seven were Braden Clampitt in 21st (18:55.1) and Lukas Hutcherson in 22nd (19:00.3).

SJ-0 returns to action on Saturday in Chrisman’s Cowchip Classic.

SJ-O Girls’ cross-country

The Spartans placed second to Marshall in Saturday’s 11-school Doc Acklin Memorial Invitational, in Paris.

Marshall had a composite score of 28. SJ-O totaled 34 points.

All of the Spartans’ top seven runners finished among the top 18 in a field of 56.

Jillian Plotner ran the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 35.2 seconds and finished third individually.

She was two spots ahead of teammate Hannah Rajlich, whose time was 20:37.9.

Ava Knap was seventh (20:44.8) and Ashlyn Lannert was 10th (21:06.3).

Other team leaders were Ally Monk (11th in 21:11.7), Hope Rajlich (12th in 21:13.5) and Kailyn Ingram (18th in 21:47.6).

The Spartans’ next meet is Saturday at Chrisman in the Cowchip Classic.

SJ-O Soccer

Zac Seeley scored three goals – one on a penalty kick – and SJ-O won its first match of the season on Monday, 5-1 against visiting Schlarman Academy.

The teams were tied, 1-1, at intermission.

Wes Seeley and Brayden Grimsey each had one goal for the Spartans (1-3-1).

Goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum had two saves.

SJ-O returns to action tonight at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin.

SJ-O Volleyball

The Spartans (4-1) won their fourth consecutive two-set match on Tuesday, dealing visiting Cissna Park a 25-7, 25-9 loss.

Kennedi Burnett had team-high totals in kills (seven), digs (five) and blocks (two).

Emily Bigger put up 21 assists and Lacey Kaiser landed five service aces in addition to four kills.

Katelyn Berry chipped in with four aces, four kills and four digs. Payton Vallee added five kills.

SJ-O returns to action tonight at Teutopolis.

The post SJ-O cross country begins season strong, Soccer and Volleyball pick-up wins first appeared on SJO Daily.