Payton Jacob and Katie Cramer teamed up to score 24 points, enough to have beat Illinois Valley Central on their own in the St. Joseph-Ogden girls first home game of 2020.
"We tried to make sure we stayed calm and not focus on their record," said Jacob about their Illini Prairie Conference foe. The Grey Ghost had only one win on the books heading into their bout against SJO. "If you just looked at their record it would have been easy to go out and assume we had the win." Not wanting to take IVC lightly, the Spartans concentrated on their execution to dominate nearly every facet of the game. "We made sure we were focus on our game and not on the way they were playing," said Jacob. Taylor Wells came off the bench yet again this season for yet another solid output on both sides of the court. In addition to the sophomore's eight points, she battled under the rim snagging four defensive boards and a pair of offensive ones for a total of six. Payton Vallee led the team in rebounds with 11 on the day. Even with a 29-10 first half advantage fueled by Jacob's 11 points, the Spartans kept their foot on the gas adding another 18 points in the third quarter before coasting to the final buzzer. Remarkably, IVC sent the Spartans to the free throw line just once in the 32-minute affair with Jacob capitalizing on both shots in the third-quarter. "She's been really working on her shot and some other things," said head coach Kevin Taylor about Jacob. "Today, it paid off. It's nice to see was rewarded for the extra work she has been putting in." In typical fashion this season, the rout was built on a balanced scoring effort. Abby Behrens and Ashlyn Lannert distributed five assists apiece allowing 10 different players to put points on the scoreboard. "We're excited to get conference play going and wanted to start the right way," said Taylor after leading SJO to their 14th win of the season. "Overall it was a good effort by the girls to start conference." Next up, Jaoob and Cramer face St. Thomas More at home on Monday. Varsity tip-off is slated for 7pm.
Jacob, a sophomore, led all scorers with a game-high 14-point performance. Cramer finished with 10 points.
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After a quick dive, Ella Armstrong scoops up the ball in SJO's home game against Illinois Valley Central. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
"We tried to make sure we stayed calm and not focus on their record," said Jacob about their Illini Prairie Conference foe. The Grey Ghost had only one win on the books heading into their bout against SJO. "If you just looked at their record it would have been easy to go out and assume we had the win." Not wanting to take IVC lightly, the Spartans concentrated on their execution to dominate nearly every facet of the game. "We made sure we were focus on our game and not on the way they were playing," said Jacob. Taylor Wells came off the bench yet again this season for yet another solid output on both sides of the court. In addition to the sophomore's eight points, she battled under the rim snagging four defensive boards and a pair of offensive ones for a total of six. Payton Vallee led the team in rebounds with 11 on the day. Even with a 29-10 first half advantage fueled by Jacob's 11 points, the Spartans kept their foot on the gas adding another 18 points in the third quarter before coasting to the final buzzer. Remarkably, IVC sent the Spartans to the free throw line just once in the 32-minute affair with Jacob capitalizing on both shots in the third-quarter. "She's been really working on her shot and some other things," said head coach Kevin Taylor about Jacob. "Today, it paid off. It's nice to see was rewarded for the extra work she has been putting in." In typical fashion this season, the rout was built on a balanced scoring effort. Abby Behrens and Ashlyn Lannert distributed five assists apiece allowing 10 different players to put points on the scoreboard. "We're excited to get conference play going and wanted to start the right way," said Taylor after leading SJO to their 14th win of the season. "Overall it was a good effort by the girls to start conference." Next up, Jaoob and Cramer face St. Thomas More at home on Monday. Varsity tip-off is slated for 7pm.
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Abby Behrens dribbles the ball down the court with pressure from Illinois Valley Central's Lilly Madl. Behrens was held to just one field goal in the victory and was credited with five assists. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
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Anna Wentzloff makes a pass during second half action against the Grey Ghost. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
"I've been off kind of lately. It is kind of nice to be back in the rhythm of things." ~ Senior Katie Cramer
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Payton Jacob keeps the ball away from Grey Ghosts' Marley Williamson. Jacob scored 11 of her game-high 14 points in the first quarter. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
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Ella Armstrong takes a shot over IVC's Aynna Johnson. Armstrong, who finished with six points, was one of 10 SJO players that put points on the scoreboard on Saturday. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
Box Score
| Team 1 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 8 | - 55 |
| Illinois Valley Central | 6 | 4 | 8 | 1 | - 19 |
Scoring
St. Joseph-Ogden: Ashlyn Lannert 4, Payton Jacob 14, Taylor Wells 8, Atleigh Hamilton 2, Katie Cramer 10, Abby Behrens 2, Taylor Barnes 3, Payton Vallee 2,
Ella Armstrong 6 and Anna Wentzloff 4.
Illinois Valley Central: Johnson 2, Williamson 5, Madl 1, Wolf 5 and Palmer 6.
Seventy-six St. Joseph-Ogden High School seniors earned honor roll recognition in the final quarter of the year. Of that number, 50 students were awarded earned High Honor Roll status.
Students who earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on the school's 4.0 scale are recognized as Honor Roll students. Those whose GPA soared above 3.74 are receive High Honor Roll recognition.
Click on individual names to discover more Sentinel articles about each Honor Roll student.
