The Lady Bruins defeated the Hall Lady Devils 43-31 on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Hall High School. Check out photos from the game by MaKade Rios.

Coal City had 11 wrestlers place first and all 14 advance to sectionals in a dominant Class 1A Coal City Regional performance, Kankakee advanced six wrestlers out of the 2A Oak Forest Regional and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

The Ottawa girls basketball team used a 3-pointer from senior Mary Stisser in the final minutes to take the lead and held on for a 30-25 Interstate 8 Conference win over rival La Salle-Peru at Kingman Gym on Saturday afternoon.

Johnsburg beat Marengo 50-34 in front of the Skyhawks' Lil' Dribblers on Saturday to stay unbeaten at 26-0 and move closer to its first conference championship since 2017.

Brooklyn Schilb set the pace on the night, dropping 31 points and helping St. Charles East to its fourth straight win in the crosstown series with a 43-36 victory over St. Charles North.

Geneva senior Keira McCann scored 12 points, and the Vikings raced out to an early lead and never looked back in beating Batavia 45-31.

Despite smothering defense from Naz Dean and DeKalb all night, Sadie Lang heated up late and finished with 15 points, helping Sycamore seal a 38-26 win Friday night at the NIU Convocation Center in the annual rivalry game.

Reed-Custer beat Illinois Central Eight Conference opponent Coal City for its seventh straight win, Milford downed Schlarman in an overtime Vermilion Valley Conference thriller, and more in Friday's Daily Journal roundup.

Heyworth's girls and boys basketball teams both turned once-close games into double-digit victories over FCW and Flanagan-Cornell on Friday.

Oregon downed Genoa-Kingston 48-32 on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 at the Blackhawk Center in Oregon.

Huntley junior guard Lana Hobday hit a pair of clutch 3s, one in the fourth quarter and one in overtime, as the Red Raiders held off Crystal Lake South 48-43 Friday night to keep sole possession of first place in the Fox Valley Conference.

Huntley faces Crystal Lake South in a Fox Valley Conference girls basketball game on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at Crystal Lake South High School.

The DeKalb and Sycamore girls basketball teams met in the Convocation Center at Northern Illinois University Friday night to decide this years winner of the FNBO Challenge.

Alden-Hebron defeats Woodlands Academy in a nononference girls basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, at Alden-Hebron High School in Hebron.

Wilmington emerged victorious over Herscher with a 52-50 win in the Illinois Central Eight Conference battle on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

After beginning the year with 22 straight losses, Romeoville has now won two of three contests with a win over Joliet West on Thursday.

Kankakee's Malea Harrison, Manteno's Maddie Gesky and Grant Park's Taylor Panozzo and Abi Roberts all had double-doubles, plus more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

Sterling senior Macie Lofgren wasn't sure she would play again this season after an early knee injury. Cleared to play this week, Lofgren hit her first 3-pointer of the season and scored seven points in a 50-25 win over Alleman Thursday night.

Wilmington came out on top of a back-and-forth Illinois Central Eight Conference battle with Herscher at home on Thursday, beating the Tigers 52-50.

Bolingbrook's defense led to offense as five different Raiders scored in double figures during a 72-52 win over Oswego East on Thursday night.

The last three times Elsie Betz made a 3-pointer, she gave Indian Creek a seven-point lead. Considering Hinckley-Big Rock stormed back and tied things up with 1:30 left in the game, the Timberwolves needed each and every one of those points in their 58-56 road win.

Lucy Oetting's buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first quarter provided the spark Newman needed to pull away from Erie-Prophetstown for a 52-21 Three Rivers East win Thursday in Sterling.

The Indian Creek girls basketball team welcomed Hinckley-Big Rock for a matchup on the hardwood in Shabbona.

Led by Campbell Thulin, youngest of five siblings (four of them brothers) with offers from BYU and Penn State, a strong supporting cast including Ady Fanta and freshman Eva Yerkovich and its trademark defense, Downers Grove North is 22-2 and coming off a huge three-win stretch.

Batavia senior Ali Thomas, who averaged 17 points a game to lead the Bulldogs to wins over Glenbard North and Lake Park, is the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week.

Newman hosts EP in girls basketball Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Newman took the win 52-21.

Sterling girls basketball beat Alleman 50-25 Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

On the boys side: DeKalb's defense vs. Sycamore pace. On the girls side: Red-hot Sycamore looking for revenge against up-and-down DeKalb. The Barbs and Spartans renew their rivalry showdown at the NIU Convocation Center on Friday.

Cameron Gray's 19 points led Gardner-South Wilmington in a double overtime thriller over Herscher, Reed-Custer's Eddie Bryan and Cissna Park's Addison Lucht each broke the 20-point mark and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Sam Austin, part of Nazareth's stellar defense Wednesday, rarely shoots – but her go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:31 left was the biggest shot of the game as the third-ranked Roadrunners beat No. 1 Benet 44-37 to snap the Redwings' 20-game winning streak.

Woodstock first-year coach Juel Mecklenburg wanted the ball in Aiyana Fourdyce's hands with the game on the line. The 6-foot freshman didn't disappoint, helping the Blue Streaks hold off Richmond-Burton 56-55 in their Kishwaukee River Conference game Wednesday.

The Ottawa girls basketball team topped Kaneland 33-30 in Wednesday's Interstate 8 Conference game at Kingman Gymnasium as the Pirates closed out the contest on an 8-0 run.

Ariana Rodriguez led Marengo with 14 points, while Macy Noe recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Indians shut Plano down with their defense in a 46-26 Kishwaukee River Conference victory Wednesday night.

Richmond-Burton faces Woodstock in a Kishwaukee River Conference girls basketball game on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at Woodstock High School.

A torn ACL ended Crystal Lake Central's Ruby Macke's senior season after just four games. Last year's top scorer in McHenry County has been there to watch and cheer on her teammates from the Tigers' bench as Macke rethinks her future in the sport she dominates.

In a night meant to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, the Amboy Clippers beat Ashton-Franklin Center 50-27 Tuesday, Jan. 27, in girls basketball at Amboy High School.

Despite trailing by 16 points in the second quarter, Morris came back for a 56-48 win over Kankakee on Tuesday, its second straight road victory over a team with more than twice as many wins.

St. Anne beat Tri-Point 66-30 to clinch an unbeaten River Valley Conference season, Kankakee beat Bloom 67-47 to improve to 8-0 in Southland Athletic Conference play and more in Tuesdays' Daily Journal roundup.

Junior forward Ellie Noble scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to lift Glenbard West to a 56-41 nonconference victory over St. Charles East Tuesday night in Glen Ellyn.

Lincoln-Way Central girls basketball coach Dave Campanile's wife had a baby boy early Tuesday morning, and then the Knights pulled off a 43-37 upset of Lincoln-Way West behind 11 points and 11 rebounds from Brooke Katzmann

Morris came back for a 56-48 win over Kankakee on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.

Dixon used smothering defense and a couple of offensive surges to pull away from Genoa-Kingston for a 51-23 victory in their Big Northern Conference game Tuesday night at Lancaster Gym.

The Dixon Duchesses beat G-K 51-23 Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Dixon.

Bishop McNamara's active defense helped fuel a dominant 67-27 conference win over Chicago Christian on Monday in which the Fightin' Irish also set a new season high in points scored.

Taylor Healy scored 19 points to help lead Providence past Hinsdale South Monday night.

Crystal Lake Central senior Sami Pottorff scored a game-high 14 points and added six steals and three assists Monday to lead the Tigers to a 51-29 nonconference win against Woodstock North.

Watseka/Milford girls basketball reached the 20-win mark and stayed undefeated in the Vermilion Valley, Gardner-South Wilmington earned its second win in its last three games and more in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Bishop McNamara ran away with a 67-27 victory over Chicago Christian on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.

Julia Scheuer scored 24 points on 12 field goals, Audrey LaFleur added 19 points and Burlington Central assisted on 19 made shots during its 69-59 win over Hampshire in Fox Valley Conference girls basketball action Monday night.

Woodstock North faces Crystal Lake Central in a nonconference basketball game on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, at Crystal Lake Central High School.