As the Philomath High girls get closer and closer to conference play, Ben Silva’s basketball team continues to work on putting a well-rounded squad on the floor that can frustrate opponents on defense and put up points in key moments on offense.
With the weather wiping out a trip to Madras, the school arranged for a matchup against neighboring Corvallis. The two teams battled to the end with the Spartans getting out of the PHS gym with a 46-42 win.
Silva agrees that playing tougher opponents — Corvallis is a 5A school with a 10-2 record — helps his own players improve.
“We’ll be able to go on tape and look at places where we made mistakes,” Silva said. “I think especially early on, we bought into their energy, they’re very loud on the bench and on the court and run around and I think we turned the ball over too much. So we need to get used to playing in that type of environment.”
Philomath worked through those early issues and made adjustments to take better care of the ball.
“Having these experiences helps us down the line — that’s ultimately what it’s about,” Silva said. “It’s getting better right now at this time of the season so that’s why we wanted to bring them over when the Madras game was canceled.”
The Warriors (9-3) persevered a rough stretch early on and battled back to take a four-point lead by halftime. Corvallis led 14-5 at one point but Philomath responded with a 12-1 run to take a 17-15 lead. Freshman Reagan Heiken came off the bench and scored three baskets inside — twice in the final two minutes of the first quarter. Heiken especially showed her capabilities near the hoop with 5:28 left in the second when she worked hard to position herself for two points.
“She came off the bench and gave us some energy,” Silva said about Heiken, who ended up with 11 points. “She scores very effectively around the hoop. It’s good to see that kind of production out of her as a freshman. She’s doing a really good job for us.”
Philomath tied the score with 4:55 left in the second quarter when senior Ahnika Tryon found junior Zoee Howard for a hoop. Then another player off the bench, junior Mica Boynton, scored at the 4:05 mark for a 17-15 lead.
The lead exchanged hands a couple of times over the rest of the half but Philomath had the final say when Steen buried a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left for a 24-20 lead at the break.
Steen, who finished with 18 points, has been looking good in the team’s games over the past few weeks, Silva said, with a level of play she’s been showing in practice. Steen scored from all over the floor — she had three 3-pointers — but also hits the boards hard and contributes in other areas.
“On any given night, she can score at all three levels at the hoop — she can hit the 3, the mid-range game,” Silva said. “You know what gets missed sometimes is her effort on the defensive end. I mean, she’s tough to deal with, she’s so fast, all over the place, quick hands, able to get steals and just cause problems for them. And she’s our leading rebounder, I think, on the season, too.”
Corvallis had an effective offensive attack in the third quarter and led by six going into the final eight minutes. Philomath tied the game, 38-38, with 5:07 left on a Steen hoop only to see CHS respond when senior Taylor Brasfield scored three of her team-high 15 points. Howard pulled the Warriors back to within one with a drive to the basket at 3:57.
Philomath missed a couple of free throws and Spartans junior Kate Rueck buried her fourth 3-pointer for a 44-40 lead. The Warriors turned the ball over on their next possession and Corvallis got to the free-throw line after coming up with an offensive rebound and drawing a foul.
Down 45-42, Steen scored out of a timeout on a bullet in-bounds pass from Howard with 1:06 remaining. Philomath had possession with 21.4 seconds left with a chance to get to within one or tie but Rueck came up with a steal and was fouled to get to the line. Rueck hit one of the two foul shots for a four-point CHS advantage and that’s how the game ended.
“We came out and turned it over way too much through the first four minutes and dug ourselves a hole but we battled back,” Silva said. “Obviously you want to come out with a win but I thought we showed some things that we’re capable of doing. If we clean up some of the mistakes we made, we have a little bit of a different ending there.”
Philomath’s top scorer, sophomore Emily Taunisila, battled foul trouble all evening and was forced to the bench for long stretches. But Steen and Co. picked it up and found ways to score with Heiken, Tryon, Boynton and Howard all contributing key baskets.
The Warriors are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Pleasant Hill, a ranked team with an 8-4 record out of Class 3A.
