SJO girls fall in opener at State Farm Holiday Classic, Erickson leads scoring effort

NORMAL - Two minutes and 41 seconds into the first quarter of the St. Joseph-Ogden girls' first game at the State Farm Holiday Classic, the Spartans took a one-point lead over Bishop-McNamara (9-4). For the next 46 seconds, the Spartans enjoyed their only advantage in the 41-29 loss to the Lady Irish in their tournament opener at Normal Community High School.

Katie Erickson looks for an open teammate during SJO's Country Financial Shootout game. The senior led the Spartan scoring effort in their first game at the State Farm basketball tournament.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Katie Erickson led the hardwood effort with three treys for nine points. Kayla Osterbur finished with seven points, Timera Blackburn-Kelley contributed four points, and Addison Brooks was held to just three points for SJO.

Down 24-12 at the half, the Spartans pulled it together, matching McNamara point for point with 17 second-half points. Despite a much improved defensive effort, the first-half drought proved too much.

Moving to the consolation bracket, Erickson & Company have a day to regroup. The Spartans return to tournament action tomorrow at Bloomington High School to face the loser between Eureka and Normal U-High at 2 PM. The Lady Irish advance to face the winner from that game at 9 PM at BHS.

Bishop McNamara duo Jaide Burse and Trinity Davis combined for 16 points, scoring eight each. Leigha Brown rounded out the top three contributors with six points to advance to the quarterfinals.

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Related articles:

• St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball squad secures first win of the season
• Blackburn-Kelley leads SJO in road loss
• Martinie leads SJO in post-season opener over Prairie Central
• SJO holds off comeback to defeat ALAH 49-39 at Country Financial Shootout

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Spartan basketball team takes on Teutopolis for sectional title tomorrow

ST. JOSEPH - The bracket is set. St. Joseph-Ogden (27-6) will face Teutopolis (21-10) for the Shelbyville sectional championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The boys' basketball team needs all the support they can get in their second meeting of the two teams this season. The Wooden Shoes prevailed at home in early January with a 13-point victory, 53-40, over the SJO.

"We want to try to get as many people as we can to this game to support our team," St. Joseph-Ogden athletic director Justin Franzen told The Sentinel earlier this week.

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The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team hopes to have, as they enjoyed at Unity on February 9, hundreds of supportive fans on March 1 for their sectional title game against T-town. The Wooden Shoes will be well-represented for the game just 35 miles from their home. (Photo: PhotoNews Media)

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Ticket info:

Tickets for the game are available online now for just $7. Fans attending the game can order them at https://gofan.co/event/1410359?schoolId=IL15331. Spartan fans can also buy tickets at the door for $8 at Shelbyville High School.

Teutoplis advanced to the title game after defeating Unity last night in a close game, 48-39. The Rockets, who beat the Wooden Shoes back on December 2 by 12, closed their season with a 26-5 record.

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Photo of the Day | February 12, 2023

Three on 3

ST. JOSEPH - SJO's Ty Pence, Tanner Siems, and Coy Taylor (left to right) form a defensive wall on Unity junior Andrew Thomas during first-half action on Friday. Down by two with 2:28 left in the second quarter, St. Joseph-Ogden rallied with a 13-point unanswered run to go up 35-24 on the Rockets. The Spartans improved to 24-4 with a week to play in the regular season after taking down the Rockets 67-50. The two conference foes are looking at a possible rematch, this time on a neutral court with a regional title on the line, at the Bismarck-Henning Regional on February 24.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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*02-13-23* The caption misidentified Tanner Siems as Garrett Siems upon initial publication. The story now shows the correct name of the player in the photo.