July 8, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Jacob, Cramer and steady defense spark SJO girls’ basketball ahead of difficult stretch this week

The race for first place in the Illini Prairie Conference is in full swing.

And the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team is looking to keep pace with the contenders.

The Spartans won two of their three games in the first week of the new year, all coming against league opponents, heading into Monday night’s showdown at rival Unity. The Spartans (15-5, 2-1 Illini Prairie) square off against Unity (13-6, 1-1) at 7 p.m. on Monday.

The game against the Rockets came after SJO lost 42-33 at Olympia last Thursday, snapping a four-game win streak by SJO. The Spartans opened 2020 with a 55-19 home win against Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central on Jan. 4 and followed that up with a 42-25 home win against St. Thomas More last Monday.

SJO played Olympia even for three of the four quarters last Thursday in Stanford, but a decisive third quarter pushed Olympia past SJO. The two teams were tied at 4 after the first quarter and tied at 11 entering halftime before Olympia outscored SJO 16-7 in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter ahead 27-18.

Senior guard Katie Cramer paced SJO with a team-high 10 points against Olympia, while sophomore guards Ella Armstrong and Payton Jacob each added seven points apiece.
Prior to the loss against Olympia, SJO overcame a halftime deficit against STM to post its 15th win of the season.

The Spartans trailed the Sabers 19-16 at halftime, but limited STM to only six points and one field goal in the second half to earn the win. Sophomore center Taylor Wells scored a team-high 12 points for SJO, with sophomore guard Ashlyn Lannert contributing eight points. Jacob (six points), Armstrong (five points) and senior forward Taylor Barnes (four points) also chipped in.

Strong defense once again helped lead SJO to its win against Chillicothe IVC. The Spartans led the Grey Ghosts 17-6 at the end of the first quarter, 29-1 at halftime and 47-18 to start the fourth quarter, holding Chillicothe IVC to only seven made field goals the entire game. Jacob produced a game-high 14 points and Cramer joined her in double figures with 10 points as both Spartans sank two three-pointers. Wells (eight points), Armstrong (six points), Lannert (four points) and senior forward Anna Wentzloff (four points) also came up with big buckets for the Spartans.

After Monday night’s game at Unity, SJO returns home to face Prairie Central (18-3, 1-1) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in a key Illini Prairie game before venturing out of league play for a 12:30 p.m. tip at Mattoon (18-1) on Saturday in nonconference action.

Banner
Related Posts

Meyer, Knott shine in Rantoul for Spartans

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

Two trips to Rantoul in a three-day span produced some quality performances from the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ track...

Landrus, Waller help SJO baseball get off to strong start

April 1, 2024

April 1, 2024

Playing a competitive schedule is nothing new for the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team.Neither is racking up win after win after...

SJO girls’ track and field wins eighth straight sectional title, qualifies 13 athletes for state

May 13, 2019

May 13, 2019

Winning sectional titles and sending multiple athletes to the state meet. That’s the standard the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’...

Izard, Cain, Pence key SJO boys’ basketball to sixth-place finish at State Farm Holiday Classic

January 3, 2020

January 3, 2020

The small-school State Farm Holiday Classic ended on a sour note for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team....

Get to know SJO volleyball player Grace Goldenstein

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? our communication What is your favorite thing about volleyball and the...

Postseason quest begins for SJO baseball after strong finish to regular season

May 15, 2019

May 15, 2019

The regular season ended on a positive note for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Now, the Spartans hope...

Relays shine for SJO track and field

March 25, 2019

March 25, 2019

A St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and field relay team won a title at a prestigious indoor meet, the...

Immke ties IHSA single-season home run record as SJO softball gears up for regional play

May 16, 2023

May 16, 2023

Some big home runs.Some big wins.Coincidence? Perhaps not. The St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team has recovered from a slow...

Heritage softball hires new coach

March 8, 2019

March 8, 2019

Greg Immke is no longer the Heritage softball coach. The Heritage Board of Education accepted his resignation at their February...

SJO to discuss basketball in December

December 3, 2020

December 3, 2020

The St. Joseph-Ogden Board of Education decided to wait until December to make any final recommendation about basketball. The state...

Wells, defense shine as balanced SJO girls’ basketball team wins regional title

February 22, 2022

February 22, 2022

The high school girls’ basketball season has taken St. Joseph-Ogden High School all across the state of Illinois. With plenty...

Harper sparks SJO soccer to another win

September 25, 2024

September 25, 2024

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ soccer team has proven this season it can find the back of theopponent’s net. Frequently. The...

Vogelsang resigns as SJO soccer coach; superintendent expresses frustration over ‘unfortunate’ situation

December 20, 2019

December 20, 2019

St. Joseph-Ogden High School will need a new soccer coach for the 2020 season. Dan Vogelsang has resigned from the...

‘They are all so unselfish’

February 22, 2019

February 22, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden Girls Basketball team is going to make history this weekend by bringing home a State trophy. And...

All conference basketball teams announced

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

The 2021 Illini Prairie Conference Girls Basketball All Conference Team has been announced. Junior Taylor Wells from St. Joseph-Ogden was...

Comments
Leave a Reply