Sports | The Journal-News

Williamsville's Tori Zobus goes airborne in an effort to impede Hannah Tarter's path to the hoop during the championship game of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Tarter finished with a game-high 18 points for Nokomis, but Zobus and the Bullets managed to pull out a 50-47 overtime victory over the Lady Redskins to capture the championship.

Bullets Battle Back To Beat Lady Redskins

They came as close as they possibly could to winning their first Carlinville Holiday Tournament championship since 2005, but ultimately, the Nokomis Lady Redskins had to settle for second for the … more

12/31/25

The 2025 Carlinville Holiday Tournament boys all-tournament team, from the left, are Staunton's Isiah Laux, Bryce Coalson and Jeremiah Graham; Calhoun's Jack Zipprich; Carlinville's Triston Thompson and Sawyer Smith; Calhoun's Lane Eilerman; and Litchfield's Sam Schwab.

Purple Panthers Fourth At Carlinville Tourney

The Purple Panthers fell in the third place game of the 2025 Carlinville Holiday Tournament, as Carlinville claimed a 75-60 victory on Monday. The loss wrapped up the 2025 portion of … more

12/31/25

Lady Lancers Beat Bunker Hill For Seventh

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team ended their run at the Carlinville Holiday Tournament on a high note as they defeated Bunker Hill 42-36 in the seventh place game on Monday, Dec. … more

12/31/25

LHS Nearly Knocks Off Mt. Pulaski

It may not be a check in the win column, but Litchfield’s 55-53 loss to Mt. Pulaski on Monday, Dec. 29, was a moral victory for the Lady Panthers at the Riverton Christmas Classic. The … more

12/31/25

Redskins Finish With A Victory

A 16-4 first quarter and a barrage of free throws in the fourth frame helped Nokomis finish their run at the Vandalia Holiday Tournament with a victory on Tuesday, Dec. 30, as the Redskins defeated … more

12/31/25

The Hillsboro High School girls basketball team went 3-1 at the North Mac Holiday Hoopfest and captured third with a 33-23 victory over Pawnee on Tuesday, Dec. 30. In front, from the left, are Kearstynn Davis, Delaney Adams, Karsyn Greenwood, Amya Greenwood and Peyton Christian. In the back are Coach Bret Tuetken, Kendall Peterson, Kaya Connor, Sadie Houchlei, Kinley Greenwood, Lainey Lessman and Liberty Helton.

Toppers Take Third At Hoopfest

A post-holiday stretch of four games in five days at the North Mac Holiday Hoopfest came to a close for the Hillsboro girls basketball team on Tuesday, Dec. 30, as the Lady Toppers defeated Pawnee … more

12/31/25

Litchfield's Landon Wernsing looks for a way around Staunton defender Luke Moore during the championship semifinal game of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27. Wernsing tied Sam Schwab for the team lead in points with eight, but Moore and the Bulldogs were a menace on the defensive end all night as they held the Panthers to single digits in all four quarters in a 69-31 victory.

Staunton Shackles Panthers In Semifinal

On day two of the 2025 Carlinville Holiday tournament the Litchfield Purple Panthers had a tall test ahead of them, as they squared off against the Staunton Bulldogs in the semifinals on Dec. 27. … more

12/29/25

Nokomis' Carsyn Bertolino peers around the outstretched arms of Calhoun's Sadie Kiel in the second half of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 27. The Lady Redskins not only beat the Warriors for the first time in Coach Brandon Engelman's tenure, but the 44-28 win also stopped Calhoun's streak of three straight tournament titles at Carlinville.

Lady Redskins To Play For Carlinville Title

The Nokomis girls basketball team had the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone on Saturday, Dec. 27, in the semifinals of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament. A win over their opponents, the … more

12/29/25

Hillsboro's Amya Greenwood goes up for two of her eight points in the Lady Hiltoppers' 58-13 win over Sangamon Valley/Tri-City in their opening game of the North Mac Holiday Hoopfest on Friday, Dec. 26. Hillsboro also won their second game of the tournament and will play second seeded PORTA in the semifinals on Monday, Dec. 29.

Lady Hiltoppers Start Holiday Hoopfest 2-0

The Hillsboro High School girls basketball team picked up their fourth and fifth consecutive victories and advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural North Mac Holiday Hoopfest with wins over … more

12/29/25

Recent Litchfield High School grad Kendall Stewart wasted no time getting involved at the University of Illinois, successfully trying out and competing with the school’s cheer team.

Stewart Cheering On Fighting Illini

“It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing,” University of Illinois cheerleader Kendall Stewart says. “It sounded fun and a different experience.” The 2024 Litchfield graduate had not … more

by Isaiah Atkins | 12/29/25

Calhoun Makes Short Work Of Hillsboro

When the Calhoun Wariors took the floor for pre-game warmups, an unbiased observer would have said to himself, the Hillsboro Hiltoppers are in for a long night. The 5-1 Warriors (the lone loss was to … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 12/29/25

Rockets Rally To Beat Litchfield At Riverton

Litchfield’s opening game at the Riverton Girls Christmas Classic went down to the wire as the Lady Panthers nearly upended Tolono Unity before falling by a 42-39 final score. The Rockets held … more

12/29/25

Lincolnwood-Morrisonville guard Karissa Ferrill scans the court for an open teammate under the watchful eye of Greenfield-Northwestern defender Adeline Lansaw in the consolation semifinal at the Carlinville Holiday Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27. The Lady Lancers were only outscored by the Tigers by two in the final three quarters, but a 12-2 edge in the opening frame helped Greenfield-Northwestern advance to the consolation championship with a 36-24 victory.

Slow Starts Sink Lady Lancers At Carlinville

A slow start doomed the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville girls basketball team in each of their first two games at the Carlinville Holiday Tournament as the Lady Lancers fell to Williamsville 44-29 on Dec. … more

12/29/25

Hiltoppers To Play For Consolation Title

The tested-by-time expression “What a difference a day makes” applies often as we experience what life has to offer, but it’s seldom as obvious as it was to the Hillsboro boys’ basketball … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 12/29/25

Lincolnwood's Luke Armentrout goes up for a shot during the Lancers' home game against Bunker Hill on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Armentrout and the Lancers were down by just nine early in the fourth quarter, but a surge by the Minutemen kept them undefeated in MSM Conference play with a 57-31 win over the home team.

Late Charge Pushes Minutemen Past Lancers

A 25-10 fourth quarter turned a single digit lead into a rout for the Bunker Hill boys basketball team as the Minutemen defeated Lincolnwood-Morrisonville 57-31 in Raymond on Dec. 23. For the … more

12/29/25

Panthers Get Past Redskins In OT

The Litchfield and Nokomis boys basketball teams turned in an instant classic in their final game before Christmas on Tuesday, Dec. 23, with the Purple Panthers handing the Redskins a 58-55 overtime … more

12/29/25

Lancers Two-And-Out At Waverly

The Lincolnwood-Morrisonville boys basketball team bowed out of the Waverly Holiday Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27, but put in a solid performance against the tournament hosts in the finale. Just … more

12/29/25

From the left are Coach Mason Kerley, Judie Egelhoff, Coach Justin Millburg, Dana Pitchford, Athletic Director Josh Stone, Principal Ken Schuster, Superintendent Aaron Hopper, Patty Clarke, Coach Kimberly Denney, Coach Sam Kratochvil and master of ceremonies Verne Pinkston.

TEAM Playday Brings In $30,000 For The Kids

It was an early Christmas present for Lincolnwood Athletics on Tuesday, Dec. 23, as the TEAM Playday Committee announced a $30,000 donation from the proceeds of this year's annual golf tournament and … more

12/29/25

Nokomis senior Daryl Evans goes up for a shot during the Redskins' pool play finale at the Vandalia Holiday Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27. After losing their first two games in Vandalia to Greenville and Flora, the Redskins knocked off the host school 39-29 on Saturday to give themselves some momentum going into their final games in Vandalia on Dec. 29 and 30.

Redskins Bounce Back At Vandalia

After back-to-back losses to start the Vandalia Holiday Tournament, the Nokomis boys basketball team was looking for something to change their luck in their final game of pool play against the … more

12/29/25

Purple Panthers Outlast Bunker Hill

The 2025 version of the Carlinville Holiday Tournament tipped off Friday, Dec. 26, as the Litchfield Purple Panthers looked to travel through the bracket to the championship game. The Purple … more

12/29/25