LOCAL ROUNDUP: North Ridge makes State Final
Dec. 13—NORMAL — The North Ridge 8th grade girls basketball team will be going for the IESA Class 8-4A title on Thursday.
The Ridge Runners blew past its first two opponents on Saturday, beating Bolingbrook Jane Addams 42-32 in the quarterfinals and Lockport Oak Prairie 30-22 in the semifinals.
Against Jane Addams, Jada Bell had 26 points, while Ashanti Conaway had nine points and Shar Hillaman added eight.
Bell had 20 points against Oak Prairie while Conaway added eight points.
North Ridge is 23-2 and will face Quincy on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Normal Parkside Junior High School in the championship game.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
Salt Fork 46, Hoopeston Area 36
HOOPESTON — The Storm scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Cornjerkers on Saturday.
Garrett Taylor had 22 points to lead Salt Fork, while Blake Norton had 11 and Jameson Remole added seven.
Owen Root had 21 points to lead Hoopeston Area, while Anthony Zamora had eight points.
The Storm will host Armstrong-Potomac today, while the Cornjerkers will travel to Westville today.
McCutcheon 62, Covington 41
COVINGTON, Ind. — The Trojans hung tough with the Mavericks, but were outscored 23-9 in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
Coye Ferguson had 10 points with five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Covington, while Duncan Keller had eight points and Dane Gerling added seven.
The Trojans will face Lafayette Central Catholic on Friday.
PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
N. Vermillion 67, Union Dugger 41
CAYUGA, Ind. — The Falcons jumped out to an 18-8 first quarter lead and never looked back in Saturday's home game.
Lauren Ellis had 14 points to lead North Vermillion, while Callie Naylor had 13, Tera Thompson had 11, Braylee Brown had nine, Braxtyn Dunham had eight, Savannah Pollard had six and Olivia Pearman added five.
The Falcons will take on Georgetown-Ridge Farm on Saturday.
MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
DACC 66, Rend Lake 52
INA — The Jaguars used the strength of a 36-21 halftime lead to beat Rend Lake on Sunday.
Ryan Caddell came off the bench to lead Danville Area Community College with 20 points, while Ramalle Arnold had 12 points, Stephen Atkinson had eight points and six rebounds, while Dameriz Merriweather and Kendall Taylor each had seven points and Taylor had six rebounds.
The Jaguars will play Wabash Valley on Dec. 19.
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
DACC 87, Triton 74
DANVILLE — Alexus Mobley had 31 points with 12 rebounds as the Lady Jaguars beat Triton on Saturday at Mary Miller Gym.
Nevaeh Raves had 28 points with seven assists and five steals for Danville Area Community College, while Rylee Doers had eight points, five rebounds and three steals, Jayla Greer had seven points, Candela Navares had six points and Brianna Hamilton had five points.
The Lady Jaguars will host Wabash Valley on Dec. 19.
Illinois 65, Butler 63
INDIANAPOLIS — Makira Cook scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half as the Illini got past the Bulldogs on Sunday.
Adalia McKenzie had 13 points and 12 rebounds for her second-straight double-double for Illinois, while Kendall Bostic had eight points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, Genesis Bryant had six points and Jada Peebles had five points and a key blocks with under 10 seconds to play.
The Illini are 9-2 overall and will next play Missouri in the Braggin Rights game on Dec. 18.
SPHL HOCKEY
Vermilion County 4, Evansville 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — After a few close calls, the Bobcats won their first game under new head coach Chris Blaisuis on Saturday against the Thunderbolts.
Austin Albercht had two goals and two assists for Vermilion County, while Gianni Vitali and Davis Kirkendall each had one goal, Matt O'Shaughnessy and Emil Strom each had two assists and TJ Sneath and Justin Portillo each had one assist.
Sean Kuhn had 35 saves in goal for the Bobcats, who will return to the David S. Palmer Arena to play the Knoxville Ice Bears on Friday and Saturday and the Peoria Rivermen on Sunday.
