May 28, 2023 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Armstrong, Dukeman key as SJO girls’ basketball vies for regional championship on Thursday night

Adversity will hit teams during the postseason.

For the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team, a two-point third quarter on Tuesday night saw the Spartans facing a four-point deficit against Tuscola in a Class 2A regional semifinal game in St. Joseph.

But, when SJO needed to make the plays, the Spartans delivered, this time to the tune of a narrow 34-32 win against Tuscola.

Because of that, SJO will aim for its third straight regional championship at 7 p.m. on Thursday night when the Spartans (20-10) square off against Villa Grove/Heritage (25-5).

The winner of Thursday night’s game will advance to next Monday’s Paris Sectional semifinal game against either top-ranked Paris (32-0) or Sullivan (22-6) at 7:30 p.m. Those two teams are slated to meet at 7 p.m. on Friday for the Sullivan Regional championship.

SJO trailed Tuscola 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, but led 21-16 at halftime. The third quarter, however, saw the Spartans struggle offensively, with senior Taylor Barnes contributing the only field points for SJO’s only two points in the eight-minute quarter as Tuscola went ahead 27-23.

But senior guard Hannah Dukeman, only in her second week back playing after missing most of the season because of wrist surgery, chipped in six of her seven points in the fourth quarter. Barnes, who finished with four points, also made a critical bucket for the Spartans while sophomore guard Ella Armstrong drained her third and final three-pointer of the game in the fourth quarter.

Armstrong paced SJO with a game-high 15 points. Besides Dukeman and Barnes, junior Atleigh Hamilton (four points), sophomore Payton Jacob (two points) and sophomore Taylor Wells (two points) also produced points for the Spartans.

SJO will try to knock off Villa Grove/Heritage for the second time this season on Thursday night. The two teams met back in the first week of the season, with the Spartans earning a 46-43 win during the Falcon/Bunnie Tip-Off Classic in Fisher.

Banner
Related Posts

SJO baseball on roll as Haley collects 300th career win

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

Some convincing wins have ensued recently for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. And a historic win happened for...

SJO girls’ basketball reaches Sweet 16

February 12, 2019

February 12, 2019

One more win and the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team can celebrate its first sectional championship in 12...

Rydell looks to the future

April 23, 2021

April 23, 2021

Jackson Rydell’s first football season is his last football season. The senior is playing playing football for the first time...

Burnett, Steinbach lead SJO volleyball to season-opening win

August 24, 2021

August 24, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team opened its season Monday night with a solid win. The Spartans went on...

Spartan Classic up next after Mattsey, Plotner run well in Peoria

September 27, 2019

September 27, 2019

It’s the only chance for St. Joseph residents to see the St. Joseph-Ogden High School cross-country teams in action in...

Bagby picks Indiana State

March 21, 2019

March 21, 2019

Next year, Cassidy Bagby will be a Sycamore. Earlier this month, St. Joseph-Ogden senior Cassidy Bagby signed her letter of...

SJO girls’ basketball tips off season tonight

November 14, 2022

November 14, 2022

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team has lofty expectations each winter. This winter is no different for the...

Pence breaks scoring record; SJO boys’ basketball runs win streak to 10

February 14, 2023

February 14, 2023

The past two weeks have seen nothing but success for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team. Individually and...

Plotner’s dedication to cross country pays off

October 4, 2019

October 4, 2019

Jillian Plotner works hard every day to be the best she possibly can be. St. Joseph-Ogden Cross Country Head coach...

SJO softball wins Mattoon Tournament, but fall twice in conference play

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

Coaches always are eager to see how their teams respond after losses. For St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball coach Larry...

Getting to know SJO football Captain Aidan McCorkle

October 29, 2022

October 29, 2022

We asked the SJO football team captains five questions. Here are Aidan McCorkle’s responses. Why is being a team captain...

Martinie, Frick propel SJO girls’ basketball in two straight wins

January 23, 2023

January 23, 2023

More losses than wins have unfolded so far this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team.But the...

Student-Athlete of the Month Rylee Sjuts

September 3, 2019

September 3, 2019

Every month in season coaches at St. Joseph-Ogden High School nominate athletes to be the student-athlete of the month. A...

Athlete of the Month-Hannah Dukeman

August 29, 2019

August 29, 2019

Every month a committee of coaches selects a student-athlete of the month from nominees in–season coaches supply. We then ask...

A numbers game: Interest in golf, girls’ tennis at SJO increase, but both aren’t
board-approved sports

September 9, 2022

September 9, 2022

 St. Joseph-Ogden High School doesn’t want to be mediocre. To Athletic Director Justin Franzen that means making sure student athletes...

Comments
Leave a Reply