Postseason play is right around the corner for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team.
And the Spartans continue to test themselves.
SJO sustained a 47-31 loss at home on Wednesday night against nonconference foe Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, snapping a four-game win streak by the Spartans.
Senior Katie Cramer — one of four Spartans honored on senior night along with Taylor Barnes, Hannah Dukeman and Anna Wentzloff — led SJO with a team-high 11 points. Sophomore Ella Armstrong added eight points for the Spartans, who trailed 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, 22-14 at halftime and 40-29 to start the fourth quarter.
Prior to its loss against BHRA, SJO picked up two Illini Prairie Conference wins in the last week, with both on the road.
The Spartans rallied for a 44-42 win at Pontiac last Saturday and then topped host Rantoul 52-25 on Monday night.
SJO (19-7, 6-2 Illini Prairie) received steady contributions from Armstrong and Cramer in the win against Rantoul. Armstrong drained three three-pointers and wound up with a game-high 17 points to lead the Spartans, while Cramer sank two three-pointers and finished with 12 points.
Barnes (nine points) and junior Atleigh Hamilton (six points) also contributed offensively as SJO built a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, expanded it to 24-11 at halftime and led 43-19 to start the fourth quarter.
Cramer used her outside shooting prowess to spark the win at Pontiac, with her fourth and final three-pointer of the day tying the game with about 30 seconds left before Armstrong made two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to secure the win.
Cramer led the Spartans with a team-high 12 points, while Armstrong added nine points. Sophomore Payton Jacob chipped in six points, while Barnes, and sophomores Abby Behrens, Ashlyn Lannert, Taylor Wells each finished with four points.
The Spartans are set to get back into action at 6 p.m. on Saturday against Auburn during the inaugural Illini Prairie/Sangamo Challenge that takes place at Maroa-Forsyth.
SJO will then end the regular season with two games next week, traveling to Mattoon for a 7:30 p.m. game next Tuesday in a rescheduled game after the two teams were slated to play Jan. 18 before inclement weather became a factor. The Spartans are then set to end the regular season with a 7 p.m. Illini Prairie game at Bloomington Central Catholic on Feb. 6.
Note: Posteason pairings were released on Friday afternoon and SJO will host a six-team Class 2A regional set to begin on Feb. 10. The Spartans, who are the No. 2 seed, will open up postseason play with a regional semifinal game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11. The Spartans will play either No. 7 Tuscola or No. 9 Clinton. Those two teams meet at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10 in a regional quarterfinal game.
The other regional semifinal game pits No. 3 Villa Grove/Heritage against either No. 6 Schlarman or No. 12 Georgetown-Ridge Farm at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11.
Schlarman, the two-time defending Class 1A state champion, will meet G-RF at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10.
The two regional semifinal winners will meet at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 in the regional championship game, with the winner moving on to the Paris Sectional. The SJO Regional winner will meet the winner of the Sullivan Regional at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 in a sectional semifinal game. Paris is the top seed in the sectional, while No. 4 Sullivan, No. 6 Fairfield, No. 7 Marshall, No. 10 Shelbyville and No. 11 Flora are the six teams in the Sullivan Regional.
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