Sentinel area basketball scores for December 20

PHOTO: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Kenzie Atwood and Hayden Dahl fight for rebound under the basket with LeRoy's Sadee Owens. The Spartans defeated the Panthers (8-4) on Friday, December 19, by 19 points, 59-40. The Spartans are back in action at home on Monday, hosting Watseka (10-1). Beating Rantoul back on December 3, SJO will be the Warriors' second Illini Prairie foe this season.

Here are scores and recaps for our area prep basketball teams from Saturday, December 20.

Girls Basketball

Heritage girls win two at Walsh tournament


BEMENT -The Heritage Hawks won two games on Saturday, improving to a 12-3 record after beating Arthur-Okaw Christian and Unity Christian at the annual Mike Walsh Memorial Tournament

The Hawks jumped out to a 10-point first quarter lead against the Conquering Riders and never looked back, winning 52-43. Avery Herschberger drained 25 points for AOC in the loss.

Heritage picked up their second win after knocking off Unity Christian 48-43 in tournament play. The Hawks face Windsor-Stewardson-Straburg (5-4) on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Eagles outlast Conquering Riders in tournament play


BEMENT - Rantoul held off a fourth-quarter rally from Arthur-Okaw Christian (7-5) for another win on Saturday, beating the Conquering Riders, 53-51. Josie Roseman and Erykah Baltimore led the Eagles with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Jayden Rosenberger went 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Enjoying a three-game win streak, he Eagles improved to 8-9 on the season.

Brileight Mast grabbed eight team-high rebounds for AOC, finishing with six points. Sophomore Avery Herschberger led all scorers with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists. Elsie Beever scored 12 points to keep the game with in reach at the Mike Walsh Memorial Tournament in Bement.

Rantoul 56, Unity Christian 51


BEMENT - The Rantoul girls basketball team defeated Unity Christian 56-51 in tournament play on Saturday thanks behind 23 points from senior Josie Roseman. Erykah Baltimore, who shot 67% from the free throw line, finished with 14 points. Laniece Johnson chipped in 11 points against the Lions.

Girls' Area Scoreboard


Mt. Zion 57, Unity 25
St. Joseph-Ogden 68, Charleston 37
Rantoul 56, Unity Christian 51
Rantoul, 53, Arthur-Okaw Christian 51
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 42, St. Thomas More 23
Watseka 56, Centennial 19
Heritage 52, Arthur-Okaw Christian 43
Heritage 48, Unity Christian 43


Boys Basketball

Boys' Area Scoreboard


Urbana 51, Romeoville 42
Oakwood 55, Watseka 54


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TAGS: SJO girls basketball beats Charleston, Heritage wins back-to-back tournament games, Rantoul wins at Mike Walsh Memorial Tournament, Oakwood Comets basketball team defeats Watseka Warriors
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Saturday, January 17 area prep basketball scores

Here is a quick roundup of basketball scores and performances for area teams on Saturday, January 17.


Girls Basketball

Huge bench contribution secures Rantoul victory

Up 48-17 at the half, Rantoul (11-11) cruised to an easy win on Friday. Junior Erykah Baltimore led the Eagles with 15 points and Addyson Sherrick finished with ten points, leading a balanced scoring effort from Rantoul in their 73-44 non-conference win over Schlarman Academy.

The Hilltoppers' offense was led by Addison Forsyth's game-high 20 points.

Next up, Rantoul host the Unity Rockets in Illini Prairie Conference action on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Schlarman (2-9) will host Cissna Park in Danville.


Girls' Area Scoreboard


Rantoul 73, Schlarman 44


Boys Basketball

Rockets rock the Red Devils at shootout

#4 ranked Unity boys basketball team extended their 2026 win streak to six games after crushing Hall at the Central Catholic MLK Shootout on Saturday, 80-47. Four players contributed double figures in the Rockets 15th win of the season.

Trey Hoggard and Tyler Henry finished with 14 points each. Colton Langendorf scored 12 and Carter Schmid added ten to the scoreboard for the hottest team in central Illinois. Dailed in from the free throw line, Unity sank five of their six shots from the stripe.


Boys' Area Scoreboard


Mattoon 58, St. Joseph-Ogden 49
Unity 80, Hall 47
Bismarck-Henning 63, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 28
Kankakee 70, Centennial 57
Heritage 67, Judah Christian 41


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Area prep basketball scores for Tuesday

Here are recaps and scores from area girls and boys basketball games yesterday.

Boys Basketball

Maroons fall in conference tilt to the Generals

Cayden Love had 14 points and nine rebounds in Central's loss at home to Decatur MacArthur (21-1). Sophomore Elijah Young stepped up as the team's second leading scorer with 12 points. Love and the Maroons (7-12) drop to 2-4 in conference play and play Manual on the road in Peoria on Friday.

Heritage misses victory in thriller

In their second meeting on the hardwood, hands down, Heritage played a better game against Tri-County, closing out regulation time tied at 67-all. In their game two weeks earlier, the Titans dominated the Hawks, 71-58. This time Heritage fell short by two, 72-74.

Senior Rylan White dropped a team-high 27 points with James Dillon (13 points) and Clark Roland (11 points) contributing heavily in the effort. White finished with 11 rebounds and Dillon snagged 10 of his own.

Unity beats Central Catholic on the road

KeShaun Manney's 29-point romp, the Rockets held the Saints to 17 points in the second half for another Illini Praire Conference victory, improving to 20-2 on the season.

Dane Eisenmenger scored 11 points in the second quarter, giving the Rockets a one-point deficit at the half. He finished the road game with 19 points and Coleton Langendorf was good for 18. Tre Hoggard finished with 11 much needed points, nine in the second half to help the team stay undefeated in conference play.

ALAH turn one-point lead to 11 at conference tourney

Seven players contributed to the Knights win over Villa Grove in Lincoln Prairie Conference tournament action on Tuesday. Will Hilligoss led the way for ALAH with 10 points. Marcus Otto and Cruz Hale finished with eight points each.

Hoopeston Area takes down Cissna Park

Junior Nick Cardenas led the Cornjerkers with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. JJ Martinez chipped in eight points and two steals. Senior Cole Miller five points and six boards in the home conference game. Improving to 10-11 on the season, Hoopeston goes on the road Friday to take on Bismarck-Henning.


Boys' Area Scoreboard


Illinois Valley Central 64, St. Joseph-Ogden 49
Unity 66, Bloomington Central Catholic 52
Bismarck-Henning 72, Watseka 22
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 45, Villa Grove 34
St. Thomas More vs Prairie Central - not reported
Centennial vs Lanphier - not reported
MacArthur 65, Champaign Central 51
Tri-County 74, Heritage 72 (OT)
Oakwood 67, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 57
Pontiac 45, Rantoul 36
Mahomet-Seymour 65, Bloomington 55
Hoopeston Area 41, Cissna Park 38


Girls Basketball

Rantoul falls in lopsided affair to Pontiac

Josie Roseman scored 12 points and Erykah Baltimore added ten more in the Eagles loss to Pontiac. Rantou falls to 12-13 overall and 2-4 in Illini Prairie Conference.

Urbana suffers 8 consecutive loss

Lai'yonna Harper put 12 points on the scoreboard and collected five steals but it wasn't enough to help lift the Tigers over the visiting Trojans on Tuesday. After a nine-all first half, Charleston outscored Urbana 30-17 for a non-conference win.

Kaya Hill was credited with eight steals and finished with seven points in the Tigers' 12th consecutive loss this season.

Scoring drought sinks Spartans at IVC

A huge third-quarter rally by the Grey Ghosts dug a hole too deep for the Spartans climb out, resulting in a 64-43 loss.

Timera Blackburn-Kelley finished with nine points for SJO, while Atleigh Miller added another eight points in the conference loss. Seniors Katie Ericksen and Kayla Osterbur were held to just seven points each.

Rockets stunned by Saints

Bloomington Central Catholic held Unity scoreless in the fourth quarter of their conference game Tuesday on the way to a 64-18 win. Allison Emm led all scorers with 18 points. Emme Hurie finished with 16 points and pulled in 10 of the Saints 35 rebounds.

Girls' Area Scoreboard


Illinois Valley Central 64, St. Joseph-Ogden 43
Bloomington Central Catholic 64, Unity 18
Pontiac 67, Rantoul 39
Charleston 39, Urbana 26
Prairie Central 62, St. Thomas More 21


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Thursday prep basketball recaps and scores for January 22

Here are recaps and scores from area girls and boys basketball games last Thursday.


Girls Basketball

Strong effort in the paint notches Oakwood victory

The Lady Comets hauled in 28 rebounds with frosh Ashtyn Dailey and senior Caydence Vermillion's pulling eight each. Vermillion and sophomore Lainee Smith led the team's scoring effort with ten points in their 31 minutes on the hardwood.

Hurie post double-double in win over Pontiac

Bloomington Central Catholic's Emme Hurie led the Saints to a 56-50 conference win over Pontiac with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Cook finishd the Illini Prairie Conference matchup with 13 points and led the team with five steals. Maddi Welch chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and snagged three steals to help BCC improve to 11-9 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

Next up, Central Catholic hosts Quincy Notre Dame (16-4) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Roseman steps up for Eagles in victory over STM

Josie Roseman dropped 15 points in Rantoul's Thursday night home game against St. Thomas More. Erykah Baltimore finished with 11 points while six other players contributed for the cause. The Eagles improved to 12-12 after picking up their second conference victory and play again on Monday, hosting East Peoria.

Cyclones fall to Illineks

Cornerstone Christian's Annika Risinger scored 13 points in the Cyclone's 39-28 loss to Urbana University High School. Sophomore Trinity Kalmes chipped in eight points as the team slips to 1-10 on the season.

Bickers finishes big for Rockets in conference win

Unity improved to 3-2 in Illini Prairie Conference action on Thursday with a 50-48 win over Prairie Central. Grace Bickers, who was 7-for-8 from the free throw line, led all scorers with 19 points. Kendal Zerrusen and Claire Meharry finished with nine point each. The Rockets host Bloomington Central Catholic on Tuesday and travel to Monticello on Friday to close out the first month of the year on the hardwood.

SJO picks up win 14th win

St. Joseph-Ogden rode a 13-point halftime into victory lane, beating visiting Monticello 54-47. Katie Ericksen finished with 18 points to lead all scorers in the victory to maintain SJO's second place standing in the Illini Prairie Conference. Fellow senior Kayla Osterbur finished with 14 points and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Hayden Dahl made three treys to round out the top three Spartan scorers with nine points.


Girls' Area Scoreboard


St. Joseph-Ogden 54, Monticello 47
Oakwood 38, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 30
Central Catholic 56, Pontiac 50
Rantoul 50, St. Thomas more 35
Urbana University 39, Cornerstone Christian 28
Tri-County 51, Heritage 32
Unity 50, Prairie Central 48
Mahomet-Seymour 47, Normal University 43


Boys Basketball

Hoopeston beats GR-F

Brayden Walder scored 19 in the Cornjerkers' 50-36 win over the Buffaloes on Thursday. Nick Cardenas delivered 11 points and seven rebounds, while senior Cole Miller finished with six points and seven rebounds. On tap next, Hoopeston faces Salt Fork at home on Saturday.


Boys' Area Scoreboard


Bismarck-Henning 54, Armstrong 46
Westville 81, Oakwood 46
Rantoul 58, Charleston
Hoopeston Area 50, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 36


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Prep Sports Notebook |
Katie Ericksen leads St. Joseph-Ogden, Urbana falls at Rantoul

La’yonna Harper led the Tigers with 14 points against Rantoul last Thursday. SJO wins opener at home over ALAH by 30.

SJO's Katie Ericksen in the Spartans' home game against Salt Fork
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

SJO's Katie Eriksen in last season's shootout game against Salt Fork. She scored 20 points against ALAH in the Spartans' first game of the 2025-26 season.

Girls Basketball

Erikcson drains 20 in season opener
Katie Ericksen led the St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team to a 63-33 win over Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond with a career-best 20-point night. The senior drained six 3-pointers in the team’s first home game of the season. Timera Blackburn-Kelley also reached double figures with 14 points, and Hayden Dahl came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and finish with nine last Thursday.


Rantoul 48 - Urbana 39
The Urbana girls basketball team fell to 0-2 after a road loss to Rantoul last Thursday. La’yonna Harper led the Tigers with 14 points, and Lizzy Lange finished with six. Kaya Hill went 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. The Eagles had two players in double figures, as Josie Roseman and Erykah Baltimore powered Rantoul’s offense with 13 points each in the nonconference game last Thursday.


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TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball 2025 season opener, Katie Ericksen career high points game, Urbana girls basketball Rantoul nonconference loss, Illinois high school basketball scores 2025
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