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Sports Editor Matt Daniels has this to say about what’s happening in the area:
illinois track and field
Genesis Bryant and the Illinois women’s basketball team defeated Northwestern University 85-60 Thursday night in Evanston.
3 reasons why we love sports today
➜ 1. The Illinois women’s basketball team won 85-60 Thursday night at Northwestern University with Shauna Green going 5-0 against the Wildcats. Kendall Bostic led the Illini with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
➜ 2. Illinois State football team commits up to five verbal appearances to Class of 2026 after three-star wide receiver Kenyon Alston of Bishop Moore Catholic, Fla., committed to the Illinois General Assembly on Thursday did.
➜ 3. Congratulations to Quinn Starkey of the Watseka boys basketball team and Addison Lucht of the Cisna Park girls basketball team. The pair received the most votes and won the latest “High School Athlete of the Week” contest. Read more about the duo in Monday’s News-Gazette.
Former Illini forward Nick Allegretti has a chance to play in his fourth Super Bowl on Sunday.
Number game: 1,299
Former Illini Nick Allegretti played for the Washington Commanders this season. Or 99.1 percent of the manager’s 1,311 total offensive snaps this season. The 28-year-old left guard, in his first season in Washington, will play in his 20th game since September when the Commanders take on the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. If the Commanders win, Allegretti will appear in his fourth Super Bowl after winning three games with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this decade.
Alexa Jamison, 10, of Salt Fork, during the Vermilion County Principals Association Prep Girls Basketball Tournament game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, at Danville Area Community College’s Mary Miller Gym. Salt Fork fans gave him a standing ovation after he scored his 2,000th point.
crowd control
3 events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Hoopeston Area vs. Salt Fork Girls Basketball. The Vermilion County Tournament title game opens Friday at 8 p.m. at Danville Area Community College, with Salt Fork (20-2) vying for its fourth straight title. Hoopeston District (13-7) is seeking its first county title since 1997.
➜ 2. Bismarck-Hennig/Rossville-Alvin vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm Women’s Basketball. BHRA (13-9) and G-RF (9-9) will meet in the third-place game of the Vermilion County Tournament on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at DACC.
➜ 3. Armstrong Potomac vs. Oakwood Women’s Basketball. AP (7-14) and Oakwood (8-16) are scheduled to play in the Vermilion County Tournament’s fifth-place game at DACC on Friday at 5 p.m.
From left: Brittany Hari, Thomas Stone, Taylor Leake.
coach corner
Three questions for Gibson City Melvin Sibley volleyball coach Thomas Stone:
➜ 1. My favorite sports team is… LOVB Salt Lake.
➜ 2. There are three coaches I would love to have dinner with…Tyler Luberts, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Kevin Hambly.
➜ 3. What frustrates me the most is… when athletes complain about their conditioning.
