The 8-1 St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team earned a #4 seed out 16 small school programs set to square off at this year's State Farm Holiday Classic.
The Spartans open their bid for another tournament title this season at Normal Community High School, one of four tournament sites in Bloomington-Normal, against #13 Bishop McNamara at 8pm on December 26. Depend on how they fair against Fightin' Irish, they will face either Normal University High or Rockford Lutheran in either the championship or consolation semifinals on Friday.
Other teams in the upper portion of the bracket with SJO is Rock Falls, El Paso-Gridley, Oakwood and Annawan.
The boys squad, led by Chance Izard and frosh Ty Pence, were awarded the #6 seed.
They will tipoff at 5pm across town at Normal West at 5p against the Annawan Braves leaving plenty of time for Spartan fans to make both games the day after Christmas.
The Spartans, who opened their season on a 5-0 win streak and won the Toyota of Danville Classic title this past week, will be put to the test at the Classic.
The other six teams in the bottom half of the bracket with them include Rockford Lutheran, Tri-Valley, Rock Falls, Fieldcrest, Bishop McNamara and fellow conference team the #2 seeded Bloomington Central Catholic Saints. The complete boys bracket is here.
Single session passes are $8.00 for adults and $6.00 for students (K-12), senior citizens, active military and veterans. Admission for children under 5 years of age is free. All-Day and All-Tournament passes are also available. Find more ticket information here.
ViewPoint | Navigating dementia during the holidays
Guest Commentary by Diane Rock
Holidays can be a wonderful time of year when families get together and catch up on each other’s busy lives. All too often is also the time that you may find that things aren’t quite the same with our aging family members.

Diane Rock is the Community Resource Director at Amber Glen Alzheimer's Special Care Center located at 1704 E Amber Lane in Urbana. Learn more about Amber Glen and the memory care services they provide by visiting their website at www.amberglenalz.com.
This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and viewpoints from readers who make up our diverse audience.
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