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.



The ultimate skincare guide for the winter holidays

Photo provided
Look and feel your best during the holidays with a few helpful skincare suggestions.

BRANDPOINT - While this may be the most wonderful time of the year in many ways, it's not ideal for your skin. Between frigid temps, brisk wind outside and ultra-dry, overheated air inside - not to mention holiday busyness and stress - your face may not be glowing along with the season.

Here are practical tips to help you care for your skin, so you can look and feel your best as you celebrate with friends and family.

1. Empower your shower
While not everyone can improve their hard water with a water softening system, it's not hard to install a showerhead filter. Especially if you have dry, itchy or sensitive skin, a showerhead filter can make a huge difference. Good showerhead filters will remove impurities such as chemicals and minerals that could be irritating your skin on a daily basis, improving how your hair and skin look and feel. You can find plenty of options available, as well as videos online showing how to install them.

2. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize
Yes, you've heard it before, but it's even more true during these challenging winter months. It may seem like an uphill battle, but if you approach moisturizing from a few different angles, you'll notice the difference.

Your environment: Moisturize the air where you spend the most time. Whether that's a whole-home humidifier or portable humidifiers in your home office or bedroom, keeping the air around you from getting too dry will pay dividends.

Your body: Skin care specialists and nutritionists alike will tell you staying hydrated on the inside helps keep your skin from getting too dried out, so this may be a great resolution to start ahead of the new year.

Fill up that water bottle and keep it handy. Don't love plain water? Flavor with a little lemon or lime or sip sparkling water throughout the day.


woman doing skin care

Illustration: Seidenperle/Pixabay

Your skin: How you moisturize your skin from the outside is crucial. Here's where quality products stand out.

Maintain your holiday glow by prioritizing effective skincare during the busy season - a little self-care goes a long way. Products like Neocutis Bio Cream Firm smoothing and tightening cream includes proprietary peptides to help support collagen and elastin production, addressing signs of aging including uneven tone and texture and wrinkles. Illuminating and tightening eye creams help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, crow's feet, puffiness and under-eye darkness.

Miami Board-certified Dermatologist Dr. Roberta Del Campo recommends these during the holiday season, noting "holidays can be particularly challenging for your skin with all the travel and festive gatherings. To keep your skin healthy and radiant, I recommend using intensive moisturizing products that support collagen and elastin production, like the Neocutis Bio Cream Firm for an instant glow. In addition to this, I recommend using a rich illuminating eye cream that will vanish any trace of a dark circle, such as the Neocutis Lumière® Firm."

You can also give your skin an additional hydration boost with an intensive hydrating serum that is oil-free and includes a deeply moisturizing formulation with multiple types of pure Sodium Hyaluronate, plus key ingredients to help promote smooth, soft and supple skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

These products are non-comedogenic and dermatologist tested, free of color additives and fragrances.

3. Double cleanse to remove heavy party makeup
After a fun time celebrating, you'll want to be sure that you've removed every trace of makeup from your skin before calling it a night.

Once you've gently removed all of your eye and face makeup, it's recommended to protect the delicate skin around your eyes with high-quality illuminating eye cream like the Neocutis Lumière® Firm Riche Eye Cream to help with your post-party or travel recovery.

woman sleeping
Photo: Kinga Howard/Unsplash
4. Upgrade your pillowcase
Sleeping on a clean pillowcase can help you maintain your ideal skincare routine. Many dermatologists recommend using a silk pillowcase, because silk is less absorbent than other fabrics like cotton, so it's less likely to soak up facial products you're applying before bedtime. Some users also find it less irritating to sensitive skin that's prone to dryness and itchiness.

Be sure to wash silk pillowcases according to recommended manufacturer's instructions. You may want to consider having a few available so you can switch them out frequently to keep your skin cleaner overnight.

5. Protect from the sun - even in winter
While you may not be sunbathing when it's chilly outside, any time spent out in the sun can potentially damage your skin. Whether you're into winter sports or just going for a wintry walk, don't forget to protect your skin with sunscreen just as you would during the summertime.

Following these tips, you'll be able to keep your skin looking and feeling wonderful, so you can relax and enjoy the holiday season.



More Sentinel Stories



Photo Galleries


2025 Illinois Marathon Photo Gallery
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.

Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks