December 12, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

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

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

With plenty of wins to follow for the Spartans during the past three months.

The latest road trip — and most important one of the season — SJO will take will see the program travel north on Interstate 57 on Tuesday. With a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

SJO (23-7) will face Prairie Central (24-8) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in a Class 2A Peotone Sectional semifinal game. If the Spartans can beat the Hawks — they already own a 69-48 win against Prairie Central back on Jan. 10 in St. Joseph — then SJO will advance to play either Fieldcrest (31-2) or Paxton-Buckley-Loda (12-17) at 7 p.m. on Thursday in a sectional championship game in Peotone.

The latest game to transpire for SJO is taking place after another superb performance by the Spartans allowed them to celebrate a 2A regional championship this past Friday night. SJO easily defeated Kankakee Bishop McNamara 51-17 on Bishop McNamara’s home court, sealing the 18th regional title in program history and fourth in the last five seasons.

Defense propelled the Spartans past the Fighting Irish, with SJO holding Bishop McNamara scoreless in the first quarter to take an 11-0 lead. The Spartans’ offense picked up production in the second quarter, taking a convincing 33-7 lead into halftime and then holding a 49-15 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Balanced offense once again paced the Spartans in their regional title win.
Taylor Wells scored a game-high 10 points for SJO, with Payton Jacob not far behind with nine points. Ella Armstrong and Peyton Jones each supplied eight points, while Addison Frick tallied seven points and Ashlyn Lannert chipped in five points.
Alyssa Hamilton and Alison Kearney also got in on the offensive fun, each scoring two points apiece.

Banner
Related Posts

Taylor wins twice for Spartans at Rantoul meet

April 10, 2019

April 10, 2019

The first big outdoor invitational is the season is nearly here for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ track and...

Five key SJO baseball games to watch for in 2019

March 5, 2019

March 5, 2019

The 2018 baseball season for St. Joseph-Ogden High School was another successful one. Under the leadership of coach Josh Haley,...

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...

Get to know SJO Volleyball player Chloe harper

October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

What do you think makes the team so successful? I think the motivation and fight our team has is what...

Groundbreaking takes place at new baseball field

April 9, 2021

April 9, 2021

A ground breaking ceremony took place this week at the new home of the Royal Giants and the St. Joseph-Ogden...

Price is right: SJO baseball off to solid start

April 12, 2023

April 12, 2023

The spring weather is starting to get nicer outside. And the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team is starting to...

SJO softball remains unbeaten

March 28, 2019

March 28, 2019

A strong offensive showing by the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team and baseball teams led to wins earlier this...

SJO cross-country teams eager to start season off and running

August 31, 2019

August 31, 2019

The end goal for every high school cross-country runner in Illinois is to end the season racing at Detweiller Park...

Ingram, Behrens lead SJO soccer in spring season

April 21, 2021

April 21, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ soccer team experienced a whirlwind of aseason during the 2020-21 school year. A season they’ll likely...

SJO baseball reaches Sweet 16, faces Tuscola in sectional title game

May 25, 2019

May 25, 2019

Strong offensive games have happened here and there this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. The Spartans...

SJO softball vies for 11th straight regional title on Saturday

May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

A year ago, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team defeated Maroa-Forsyth to win a Class 2A sectional title. On...

Dowling wins Gatorade Player of the Year, SJO softball bows out in sectional semifinals

June 6, 2019

June 6, 2019

Late May provided bittersweet moments for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team. Sweet in the sense junior shortstop Bailey...

‘This team loves to compete’ SJO girls’ track and field continuing to train from home during pandemic as they wait for season to start

March 30, 2020

March 30, 2020

Fresh off tying for third place in Class 1A a season ago, needless to say the St. Joseph-Ogden High School...

Armstrong leads balanced offense in win against Pontiac

February 25, 2021

February 25, 2021

Recovering from a tough home loss with a road win is always a good sign.Especially with multiple road games on...

First night game in program history in books, SJO soccer looks to continue successful start

September 11, 2023

September 11, 2023

The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team was scheduled to play Uni High on Thursday, Aug. 24. At a normal time for...

Comments
Leave a Reply