April 3, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Armstrong, Cramer help lead SJO girls’ basketball in two wins

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.

Banner
Related Posts

Frick, Brooks deliver, but SJO girls’ basketball loses twice

January 16, 2023

January 16, 2023

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team kept it close in its two Illini Prairie Conference games last week,...

Panthers on the prowl for state title

May 18, 2019

May 18, 2019

St. Joseph Middle School Head Track and Field Coach Zachary Steele couldn’t be prouder of his team. “We had a...

Nolan, Weaver help SJO football stay unbeaten

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

Two running backs topping 100 yards usually adds up to a good Friday night for a high school football team....

Wesley showcases love of baseball with Spartans, travel teams

April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Sam Wesley has been playing his favorite sport since he was very young. Wesley, a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden High...

SJO girls’ basketball looks to bounce back against Tuscola

November 29, 2021

November 29, 2021

Playing the Paris girls’ basketball team is always a challenge, with the Tigers as one of the premier small-school programs...

Orcutt named Student Athlete of the Month

January 30, 2019

January 30, 2019

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Joel Orcutt isn’t just a standout basketball player. He is also an artist. “I enjoy doing art...

Knott named Student Athlete of the Month

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

Hayden Knott had a stellar track and field season. The sophomore won the Illini Prairie Conference meet shot put and...

Spartans kick off season with 1-1 record

March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021

SJO 28-Pontiac 0 The Spartans dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage in defeating the Indians 28-0 in...

Spartans win Toyota of Danville Classic as Jacobs earns MVP honors

December 5, 2023

December 5, 2023

How well the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball team would fare this season without current Illinois State guard Ty Pence in...

Ingram, balanced run game and opportunistic defense lead SJO football to first win

September 23, 2021

September 23, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team needed a win. In a big way. The Spartans delivered one. In a...

Duval, SJO boys’ basketball ‘embrace high expectations’ ahead of upcoming season

December 2, 2019

December 2, 2019

More than nine months have elapsed since the last time the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team played a...

Parker looks to succeed at Purdue

June 27, 2019

June 27, 2019

Dalton Parker has seen his share of ups and downs during his baseball career. Parker, a 2016 graduate of St....

Mattsey, Poe highlight SJO boys’ cross-country’s recent success, while Plotner, Rajlich do the same for SJO girls’ cross-country

October 22, 2019

October 22, 2019

All the miles, all the training and all the preparation will come to a head this Saturday for the St....

Thanks for the memories

November 9, 2019

November 9, 2019

We asked the St. Joseph-Ogden Cross Country team to share their favorite memories from the 2019 season. Here are their...

5 Question Friday with senior Goalie Hunter Ketchum

September 30, 2022

September 30, 2022

What is the best part about playing soccer for SJO? The environment. Everyone is here to compete and we are...

Comments
Leave a Reply