Behrens, Vallee help Spartans continue strong start

So far, so good for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team.

The Spartans made the short drive to Champaign on Monday night and
opened Illini Prairie Conference play with a convincing 52-31 win
against St. Thomas More.

The Spartans (2-0, 1-0 Illini Prairie) will try to extend their win
streak to three when they are scheduled to host Rantoul at 7 p.m. on
Thursday.

SJO earned its second win by double digits thanks to strong scoring
efforts from Abby Behrens and Payton Vallee.

Behrens scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the second half and
sank three three-pointers. Vallee also joined Behrens in double
figures with 12 points, and Vallee tallied 10 of those of those points
in the first half to help SJO lead 16-9 at the end of the first
quarter and 25-14 at halftime.

The Spartans expanded their lead to 39-21 to start the fourth quarter.

Peyton Jones nearly reached double figures as well and finished with
eight points while making a three-pointer.

Atleigh Hamilton chipped in five points, Taylor Wells and Ella
Armstrong each added four points, Payton Jacob sank a three-pointer to
account for her only points of the night and Alyssa Hamilton
contributed two points to round out the scoring for SJO.