Prairie Central capitalized on five three-pointers in the second quarter to surge past the Unity in their Illini Prairie Conference game back on February 20. The Rockets taking another loss on the chin, lost at home, 55-33.
Taylor Henry led the team with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the weekender. Head coach Dave Ellars said she continues build on her role has a future team leader.
"Taylor is a winner; she will do what ever it takes for the team," he said. "She sees the floor well and does a great job of reading the defense."
Meanwhile, the team lone senior, Chloee Reed, finished with a team-high 12 points. She packaged one steal, three boards and two assists as best she could to help keep the game competitive as possible.
Another Unity player showing signs of making great strides in contributing to the team effort is freshman Katey Moore. Despite having to train in a crazy pandemic restricted year, she has made steady improvement as first year varsity player for the Rockets.
"Katey is very athletic and is always working on ways to improve," Ellars said. His plebe player scored 7 points and added the same number of boards to her Saturday afternoon stats. "As a freshman she is learning the speed of the game at the varsity level and has adjusted."
Erika Steinman, who had one steal and credited with two rebounds, was the only other Unity player to make a scoring contribution with four points.
The visiting Hawks were paced by Mariya Sisco's four treys and 16 points outing. Sister Chloe Sisco was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and good for 12 points. Senior Natalie Graf chipped another six points to round out the team's top three scorers.
| Prairie Central | 19 | 15 | 13 | 8 | - 55 |
| Unity | 12 | 4 | 8 | 9 | - 33 |
Unity
C. Reed 3 (2) 0-0 -- 12,
England 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Miller 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Stringer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Steinman 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4,
B. Henry 0 (0) 0-2 -- 0,
M. Reed 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Moore 3 (0) 1-2 -- 7,
Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
T. Henry 4 (0) 2-5 -- 10,
Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.
Head coach Kiel Duval credited his team's "limiting turnovers and (having) a couple guys stepping up and hitting big shots" as the key factors securing the W on Saturday, February 20. He add, "Ingram and (Andrew) Beyers gave us a huge lift with some big time shots."
A tough game the night before and a long bus ride less that 12 hours later for the Spartans did not lead to a very impressive start against the Maroons.
"I wasn't impressed in the first 3 minutes of the game with how we came out of the gates. We were not ready to play right away," Duval said. "(We) didn't lock into the scouting report or details that we talked about before the game."
After Robinson's Jeff Goble banked one in from inside the free throw lane to put the first digits on the scoreboard, Jackson Rydell found net for the first SJO bucket on a pass from Ingram to tie the score at 2-all in the first quarter.
The Spartans sloppy play contributed to a five point deficit, falling behind 10-5 at one point in the period. During a timeout Duval reminded each player of their role and strategy that was laid for the game. Their focus where it needed to be, the team got it into gear.
"We responded well after that," Duval said. "(They) got stops - made some big buckets when we needed them."
In the final 2 minutes and 14 seconds of the quarter SJO clawed their way back into the contest. Outscoring the Maroons 9-5 and still behind on the scoreboard, the Spartans trailed by one to start the next quarter, 15-14.
The second quarter looked much like first with Robinson pulling ahead by five again. And once again, St. Joseph-Ogden played catch-up basketball until the last 1:10 of the half when a Luke Hutcherson shot passed through the rim to give his team a 24-23 advantage.
The lead was short-lived. Fifty-some seconds later Goble, who finished the game with a team-high 12 points for the Maroons, hit a jumper from in front of the free throw line to give his team a 25-24 halftime lead. Gobel went on to lead his team's scoring effort with 12 points and secured nine of team's 25 total rebounds.
After the two teams returned to play the second half, St. Joseph-Ogden would go on to outscore the Robinson 29-18 to stretch their perfect record to 5-0.
Pence led all scorers with 16 points for the Spartans, eight of those from inside the free throw lane. The sophomore had 10 rebounds and was credited with one assist.
Ingram led the team in steals with two and qualified as the game's second leading scorer with 13 points. Beyer added another needed 12 points to the SJO cause.
| Robinson | 15 | 10 | 5 | 13 | - 43 |
| St. Joseph-Ogden | 14 | 10 | 14 | 15 | - 53 |
Robinson
Gilmore 3 (0) 4-4 -- 10,
Goblee 6 (0) 0-0 -- 12,
Jackson 4 (0) 0-0 -- 8,
Johnson 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3,
King 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
N. Weber 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3,
Shindler 2 (0) 3-5 -- 7.
St. Joseph-Ogden
Brazelton 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Costa 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3,
Hutcherson 2 (1) 0-2 -- 7,
Smith 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Burch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Grindley 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Wetzel 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Rydell 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2,
Beyers 4 (0) 4-4 -- 12,
Atwood 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Pence 4 (1) 5-7 -- 16,
Ingram 0 (4) 1-2 -- 13.
"Abby is sneaky," said head coach Kevin Taylor on Behrens' ability to deceive opposing players. "She has a laid back attitude but has been playing really good on the ball defense and knows how to score on the offensive side as well. She can drive or shoot the open shot."
Meanwhile, starter Payton Vallee scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half to help give SJO a nine-point lead at halftime. Taylor was happy to see the senior step up and take the opportunity to lead.
"Vallee helps this team with her experience and leadership. She has been very reliable over the years," he said. "But (she) is also a very smart competitor on the floor."
The Sabers were paced by Emma Dovocelle's 13 points. Kennedy Ramshaw added 10 point effort and Bridget Delorenza's five points rounded out the host's top three scorers.
Taylor pointed out improvement on his squad's defensive effort on Tuesday.
"I think we settled in after making some early fouls and kept them from driving or shooting over the top of us."
Two things that has impressed Taylor so far this season is how well players are fairing under the current pandemic protocols.
"I am impressed with how the girls are adapting to the new rules. Mainly wearing a mask while playing," Taylor said. "But, what impresses me the most so far is the depth of this team. (We have) several girls (that) are contributing."
The Spartans are back on the floor of the Main Gym at home Thursday night against the Rantoul Eagles with Behrens and Vallee hoping to extend the team's undefeated record on more game. The JV contest is slated to begin at 5:30pm, varsity tipoff is at 7pm. Both games can be watch via live stream on the NFHS Network.
| St. Joseph-Ogden | 16 | 9 | 14 | 13 | - 52 |
| St. Thomas More | 9 | 5 | 7 | 10 | - 31 |
St. Joseph-Ogden
C. Leibach 0 (0) 0-1 -- 0, T. Devriese 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, A. Dickerson 0 (0) 1-2 -- 1, B. Delorenza 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, E. Devocelle 2 (2) 3-4 -- 13, M. Swisher 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, S. Gileas 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, G. Kreps 0 (0) 0-2 -- 0, C. Monahan 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, K. Ramshaw 4 (0) 2-7 -- 10, E. Graham 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, C. Pembele 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.
