Over the past six seasons, only one girls basketball program has maintained a constant presence in the Class 4A tournament — Philomath.
“That’s an accomplishment,” PHS coach Ben Silva said after Saturday’s 53-52 win over Baker. “That’s a couple of generations of (high school) kids that have gone through now at this point in time and we’re continuing to have that success.”
The six-year stretch includes 2020 when the Warriors advanced as the top seed but saw the state tournament canceled because of COVID just a few hours before they were scheduled to take the court against Cottage Grove. It also includes the 2021 culminating tournament at Coos Bay when Philomath finished as the runner-up.
This year’s team will try to continue the trend of winning trophies. The 2019 team that started the streak placed fifth in 2019, the 2022 squad won the state title and the 2023 team finished fourth.
By the way, the next-closest school behind Philomath with a state tournament streak intact is Madras, which has qualified each season since 2021. Then it gets down to Astoria and Henley as repeat participants from 2023.
“I think it gets taken for granted the success that we’ve had over the last six years,” Silva said. “Counting the showcase, we’ve gone to the final tournament for the last six years and that’s not normal.”
Philomath (20-5) enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face 11th-seeded Marist Catholic (12-11) in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans pulled off a 36-30 upset over sixth-seeded La Grande in the first round to make it up to Forest Grove.
Philomath and Marist will be playing for the third time this season. The Warriors won the first two meetings — 46-32 in the Philomath Tournament on Dec. 29 and 39-24 in a state playoff tuneup game that had been arranged for Feb. 23.
Many coaches will tell you that it’s not easy to beat the same team three times in one season. But with an average victory of 14.5 points in those two earlier matchups, the Warriors will be considered the favorite to advance into Friday’s semifinals where they would face the winner of a quarterfinal between second-seeded Henley and seventh-seeded Madras. (Henley beat Madras at the Sisters Shootout during the regular season, 74-62, back in late December).
The losers of the Philomath-Marist and Henley-Madras games will play in a consolation semifinal at 10:45 a.m. Friday.
Philomath has a 4-2 record against the three tournament teams it has played — Marist, Cascade and Stayton. The Warriors did not play Astoria, Klamath Union, Madras or Henley during the regular season. Incidentally, Philomath was scheduled to play at Madras on Jan. 12 but the game was canceled because of that nasty ice storm.
Boys play Baker on Day 1
Baker’s basketball fans will get a second shot at Philomath with a boys quarterfinal game scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Thursday in the 4A tournament at Forest Grove. Baker’s girls suffered a one-point loss against the Warriors in the first round last weekend.
Philomath (19-6) enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed with the Bulldogs (25-1) coming in at No. 4. It’s one of the more intriguing first-round matchups, especially since the No. 3-seeded Seaside squad is not participating after falling in the first round to 14th-seeded Crook County.
The game could very well come down to Baker’s offense vs. Philomath’s defense. The Bulldogs have scored 70-plus points in 14 games this season — four of those with 90-plus points. The Warriors, meanwhile, have allowed fewer than 40 points in 12 games.
The two schools have played six common opponents — Estacada, Marshfield, Crook County, Pendleton, Cascade and Newport. Philomath has a 6-3 record and Baker a 6-1 record against those teams.
The Bulldogs’ lone loss is to Cascade, 59-51, in a game played less than a month ago. Baker’s record includes 10 victories against out-of-state teams in tournaments — nine against Idaho teams. The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals with a 60-52 win at home over Newport.
The winner will play at 1:30 p.m. Friday almost certainly against top-seeded Cascade. The Cougars will face Madras in the first round. The losers out of those quarterfinal matchups will drop into a 9 a.m. consolation semifinal at 9 a.m. Friday.
PHS skiers competing at state
Philomath junior Joe Barnes and sophomore Ana Candanoza are competing Thursday and Friday in the High School Alpine Championships at Mt. Hood Meadows. The skiers were given a send-off Tuesday afternoon at the high school.
Barnes will be racing Thursday in both the slalom and giant slalom with Candanoza in the slalom. Both qualified out of their performances in a series of Emerald League competitions.
Barnes was the class of the Emerald League this season and easily finished atop the individual standings in both the slalom and giant slalom. Candanoza finished third in the Emerald League’s slalom.
Philomath does not have enough members to compete for state qualification as a team.
Based on his performance in the Emerald League, Barnes has also been invited to compete with Oregon’s team in both events at next week’s Western Regional High School Championships at Mammoth Lakes, California. The regional meet debuted in 2020 to bring together the top skiers from California, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming.
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).