The Philomath High girls basketball team showed its depth and defensive prowess Thursday evening by erasing a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Class 5A West Albany, 51-45. The Warriors are off to a 2-0 start to the season.
“We have some returning girls who have had a lot of big minutes but we also have some new girls in some new spots and so you never know exactly how they’re going to react in these big, high-energy games,” Philomath coach Ben Silva said. “But they executed the game plan very well, especially on the defensive end through the entire game.”
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. West Albany (Dec. 11, 2025)
A collection of images from Philomath High’s 51-45 girls basketball win over West Albany on Thursday.
The Warriors trailed 27-20 at the break but turned up the defensive pressure in the second half. In the fourth quarter, Philomath limited West Albany to a single field goal while the Bulldogs managed just six other points on free throws.
Junior Reagan Heiken led the Warriors with 15 points, including two crucial baskets in the final two minutes that helped seal the victory. Junior Jordyn Hood added 13 points, while senior Shaylee May contributed 10 points before fouling out.
The Warriors had to rely on their bench more than anticipated as both May and 6-foot-1 junior Annaleise Brown battled foul trouble.
“It’s next person up and we’re pretty tough all the way down the bench,” Silva said. “We’ve got a lot of girls that can step in and fill different roles and everybody did a great job tonight. It’s a great victory across the board.”
Sophomore Reagan Nuño drew the defensive assignment of slowing down Payton Starwalt, a West Albany junior and Philomath native. Starwalt scored just three field goals, though she reached the free-throw line 12 times and converted 11 to finish with a game-high 18 points.
“She’s one of the best players in the state and Reagan did a very good job defensively with being right there with her the entire game,” Silva said.
Brown praised the defensive effort against Starwalt.
“Everyone came in and gave great minutes — Reagan Nuño, Bethany Cannon,” said Brown, who played exceptional herself on defense. “They shut her down and it’s really all we needed tonight — it helped us tremendously.”
The game was tightly contested early, with neither team able to pull away. Philomath led 15-14 late in the first half when Heiken scored inside, but West Albany closed the second quarter on a 13-5 run. Junior Natalie Tidwell buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs their seven-point halftime advantage.
The Warriors began their comeback in the third quarter, taking a 33-32 lead on a 3-pointer by Hood at the 2:17 mark. Heiken had a steal and basket earlier in the period, and May connected from beyond the arc shortly after Brown blocked a shot on the defensive end.
West Albany tied the game at 35 with a 3-pointer, and sophomore Lily Hamblin scored on an offensive rebound to give the Bulldogs the lead again. But Philomath responded with sophomore Libby Kramer hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the quarter. Heiken then drove for a basket with 2 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 40-37 lead heading into the fourth.
Starwalt sank two free throws with under two minutes remaining to cut Philomath’s lead to 42-41, but Heiken answered with back-to-back baskets — assisted by Nuño and Brown — to push the advantage back to five points.
Senior Isabelle Muir hit two free throws with 50 seconds left to extend the lead to seven. West Albany made one final push, cutting the deficit to 48-45 with 35 seconds remaining on two free throws and a basket following a backcourt turnover. But Muir and Heiken sealed the victory from the free-throw line.
West Albany shot just 10% from the field over the final eight minutes.
Brown noted the benefit of Philomath’s challenging preseason schedule.
“We play a lot of higher teams in our preseason,” Brown said. “It really prepares us well for the season. Coach Silva does a good job of making sure we have hard games.”
Silva echoed that sentiment when discussing West Albany, which dropped to 3-2 with the loss.
“West Albany is a very good team, they’re a top team in 5A and they’re going to make some noise this year,” Silva said.
The 2-0 Warriors will face their toughest test yet when top-ranked South Albany visits next week. The RedHawks are also 2-0 after defeating Crater, 58-49, and will play at Clackamas on Friday before facing Philomath at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Philomath 51, West Albany 45
Thursday, Dec. 11 at Philomath HS
WEST ALBANY (45)
Lola Chamberlain 2 0-0 4, Cate Kurth 2 0-0 5, Natalie Tidwell 1 2-3 5, Lily Hamblin 4 0-0 8, Payton Starwalt 3 11-12 18, Payton Warner 1 3-4 5, Nengai Mollel 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 16-19 45.
PHILOMATH (51)
Reagan Nuño 1 0-0 2, Annaleise Brown 1 0-0 2, Shaylee May 4 1-2 10, Jordyn Hood 6 0-0 13, Reagan Heiken 5 5-7 15, Libby Kramer 2 0-0 5, Isabelle Muir 0 4-6 4, Khali Toombs 0 0-0 0, Parker Maxey 0 0-0 0, Bethany Cannon 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-15 51.
Team 1 2 3 4 F West Albany (3-2) 8 19 10 8 45 Philomath (2-0) 9 11 20 11 51
3-Point Goals—West Albany 3 (Kurth, Tidwell, Starwalt), Philomath 3 (May, Hood, Kramer). Fouled Out—May, Kurth. Total Fouls—West Albany 16, Philomath 21. Technicals—None.
