The Comets opened postseason play on Monday with a 53-25 victory over Westville at Maroa-Forsyth High School in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal game.

Katelyn Young scored 20 of her game-high 29 points in the first half.

Oakwood led 28-13 at intermission.

The Comets (23-7) return to action on Thursday at Maroa in a Class 2A regional semifinal game against Tolono Unity in a tournament game that was postponed from Wednesday.

The post Young’s 29 powers Oakwood over Westville first appeared on SJO Daily.

The past and the future of Oakwood girls’ basketball came together nearly a decade ago.

A promising young player, Katelyn Young, was getting her start in organized basketball as a grade-schooler. One of her coaches was the former Stacie Calhoun, who set Oakwood’s all-time scoring record – for boys or girls – before graduating in 1985.

“She told my parents when I was in grade school that I could score that many points,” Young said.

That many points was a lot, 2,314 to be exact.

To reach that plateau, a player would need to be a four-year varsity regular and average more than 19 points a game throughout her prep career.

Turns out Calhoun was not just a good scorer. She was also a good prognosticator.

In her 119th varsity game on Friday, Young replaced Calhoun atop the all-time Oakwood basketball scoring list.

Her record-setting point came on a basket with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in a Vermilion Valley Conference game at Danville Schlarman.

 By game’s end, Young had added five more points to her total, finishing with 26 and extending her career record to 2,320 points.

“I didn’t know that (basket) was the one,” Young said.

It wasn’t long, however, before she realized it.

The game was stopped moments later and the Comets’ senior was presented the game ball.

It will join two other balls she has, one for reaching 1,000 points as a sophomore and the other for hitting the 2,000-point mark in the team’s 13th game this season.

When she entered high school, Young didn’t think much about the prediction made by her former youth coach.

“Not at all,” she said. “I didn’t think I would score a thousand.”

Schlarman won Friday’s game 56-51 to clinch its sixth consecutive Vermilion Valley Conference championship.

Oakwood coach Stephanie Marsh wasn’t surprised that Young has achieved at a high level.

“As a freshman, she made an impact on our program,” said Marsh, who didn’t reveal to Young how close she was to the mark entering the regular-season finale.

“She had her focus on playing the game and didn’t want to know the exact number,” Marsh said. “That’s just one more thing to worry about.”

Young has remained an effective scorer as a senior even though her role on the team has changed as she helps Aubrey Wells get the ball up-court.

Beyond that, Marsh said, “she has stepped up as far as being a leader.

“She’s a great kid to have on the team. I can count on her to help with the younger kids.”

Young has maintained a 19.5 scoring average during her Oakwood years and has hit the 20-point mark as a senior in 20 of her 27 games.

She is well-known as the team’s top-scoring option.

“When you’re double- or triple-teamed you have to get creative on what to do to score and get other teammates open,” Young said.

Young has it on good authority that Oakwood’s former career scoring leader is fine with her newfound hold on the top spot after Calhoun held it for 35 years.

“Her daughter (Hayley Mascari) is in my grade and told me her mom wanted me to beat her record,” Young said.

In Friday’s game, Oakwood held a 29-22 halftime lead, but was outscored 19-9 in the third quarter.

Karsen Rupp scored 10 points and Addie Wright had nine for the Comets. Young hit 14 of her points in the first half.

The Comets (22-7) return to action tonight at 7:30 in a first-round Class 2A regional tournament game at Maroa-Forsyth against Westville.

During Young’s varsity career, Oakwood has amassed 98 wins. Young is looking to add to that total.

“If we play our game,” she said, “we’ll have a pretty good chance.”

The post Young becomes Oakwood’s All-Time Leading Scorer first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Comets’ defense held Westville scoreless in the third quarter on Thursday and Oakwood emerged with a 60-15 Vermilion Valley Conference victory on the road.

Oakwood led 27-10 at halftime and limited the Tigers to two second-half field goals.

Katelyn Young scored eight of her game-high 29 points in the opening frame as the Comets jumped into a 14-6 advantage.

Mikayla Cox and Karsen Rupp each tallied eight points. Addie Wright chipped in with seven points.

Young’s career point total stands at 2,271. The senior is 44 points away from breaking the school’s 35-year-old career scoring mark. Stacie Calhoun tallied 2,314 points before graduating in 1985.

The Comets (21-6) return to action tonight in their Senior Night home finale against Georgetown-Ridge Farm. Oakwood is 9-2 in Vermilion Valley Conference games.

Oakwood has been assigned to a Class 2A regional at Maroa where it will open postseason play at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10  against Westville. The winner of that game will play Tolono Unity in a semifinal game on Feb. 12.

The post Oakwood picks up Vermilion Valley Conference win over Westville first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Spartans extended their winning streak to five games on Saturday with a 79-44 conquest at Westville.

SJ-O led 25-19 after one quarter, but scored the first 10 points of the second period in a 4-minute, 14-second span and took a commanding lead.

Ty Pence led the Spartans in scoring (19 points) and rebounding (eight).

Two teammates had their highest-scoring games of the season. Payton Grimsley tossed in 16 points and Jordan Kelly netted 14 points.

Payton Cain also scored 14 points.

Pence collected five steals and Grimsley grabbed four rebounds. Kelly chipped in with four steals and three assists. Chance Izard led with a team-high six assists.

On Friday, the Spartans posted a come-from-behind 56-49 verdict over visiting Prairie Central in an Illini Prairie Conference game.

Cain tallied a team-high 14 points and also contributed seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to the SJ-O cause.

Izard scored 13 points and Pence added 10 points. Izard collected four assists and Pence grabbed four rebounds.

The Spartans’ top rebounder, with eight, was Drew Coursey. Kelly finished with three assists.

SJ-O (15-6) returns to action on Tuesday at home against Monticello. The Spartans are 5-0 in IPC action.

The post Spartans on five-game win streak first appeared on SJO Daily.

After hitting a season-low for points scored in a game (19) in its previous contest, Oakwood achieved a season’s high on Monday in a 70-29 win at home against Chrisman.

The Comet led 23-3 after one quarter en route to their 20th win of the season.

Katelyn Young hit the 30-point mark for the sixth time as a senior, tossing in a game-high 31 points.

Addie Wright chipped in with 14 points and Ashlynn Pinnick contributed 10 points.

Pinnick scored eight of her points in the first quarter and Young hit 17 of hers in the second quarter.

Young’s career point total stands at 2,242. The senior is 73 points away from breaking the school’s 35-year-old career scoring mark. Stacie Calhoun tallied 2,314 points before graduating in 1985.

The Comets (20-6) have a minimum of four games left in their season. They return to action tonight at Westville. Oakwood’s 20-win season is its fourth in a row in girls’ basketball.

The post Comets rebound for big win over Chrisman first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Comets needed a basket by Brevin Wells and four free throws by Isaiah Ruch in overtime to seize a win from Westville, 49-46, on Saturday in the fifth-place game of the Vermilion County Tournament at Danville’s Palmer Arena.

The teams were tied 43-43 after regulation. Oakwood carried a 36-27 lead into the final period.

Ruch tallied a team-high 14 points. Josh Young added 13 points. Elijah Harden and Jackson Powell each contributed seven points.

In Thursday’s game, the Comets dropped a 50-38 decision to Salt Fork in the county tournament.

The Storm jumped into a 14-7 first-quarter lead and built its margin from there.

Sophomore Young hit for 12 points and led the team in scoring for the third game in a row.

Powell drained three three-point shots and finished with 11 points. Wells added nine points.

Oakwood (11-11) returns to action on Tuesday at Armstrong-Potomac.

The post Wells and Ruch score last six points to secure win over Westville first appeared on SJO Daily.

The state-ranked Comets dropped a narrow 31-30 decision to Danville on Thursday in Westville.

Three Comets posted pins: Connor Hutson, Colby Smiley and Josh Miller.

Reef Pacot was dominant with a 15-0 technical fall triumph.

Caide Borden won a major decision and Caleb Lashuay won a regular decision.

Oakwood (14-5) returns to action on Jan. 21 at home against Hoopeston Area and Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

The post State-ranked Comets lose to Danville first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Comets (14-4) continue to move up in the Class 1A state rankings released on Tuesday by The Illinois Best Weekly.

The Comets are ranked 14th, an improvement of three positions from the previous state poll.

Oakwood returns to action tonight at Westville in a meet that also includes Danville.

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The Hawks tallied 20 first-quarter points in a rare Thursday night home game, but were unable to keep pace with visiting Schlarman Academy thereafter and fell 74-69 despite reaching their highest point total of the season.

Jake Eversole and Logan Nohren were the top VG/H scorers with 17 points apiece. Ierik Sorenson added a season-high 11 points. Blake Smith chipped in with eight points.

The Hawks (4-2) return to action on Tuesday at Westville.

The post Hawks fall to Danville Schlarman, Eversole and Nohren lead VGH scorers first appeared on SJO Daily.

Villa Grove/Heritage Boys’ basketball

The Hawks tallied 18 of the 21 first-quarter points in Tuesday’s home-opener against Urbana University High and went on to decision the Illineks, 64-22.

Juniors Jake Eversole (16 points) and Logan Nohren (15 points) were the top VG/H scorers. Matt Gullick contributed seven points.

VG/H led at halftime, 34-9.

The Hawks (4-1) return to action tonight at home against Schlarman Academy.

 Villa Grove/Heritage Girls’ basketball

Aliya Holloman scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the first quarter on Monday to spark VG/H past visiting Westville, 57-22.

The Blue Devils led 15-9 after one quarter and 32-13 at halftime.

The Tigers managed just four second-half field goals.

The post Eversole, Nohren and Holloman led VGH to wins first appeared on SJO Daily.