With a nine-day break after traveling home from a basketball tournament in Alaska, Philomath High’s girls would need to be on top of their game in a Tuesday evening matchup against the top team in Class 5A.
Crater, ranked No. 1 in its classification, came into the PHS gym with a program that had won 36 of its last 39 games. Falling by one point in last year’s 5A championship game, the Comets are very likely focused on capturing the elusive crown this season.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. Crater (Jan. 7, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 60-44 girls basketball loss at home vs. Crater on Tuesday.
Warriors coach Ben Silva never shies away from playing the top teams in the state, however, and Crater (12-1) certainly fits that description.
“They’re 5A and so we don’t have to play them again but we can still use it as a good opportunity to learn,” Silva said following a 60-44 loss. “If you look at their scores, they’re running some teams just out of the building. They’re able to score quickly and score a lot. Like I told the girls afterwards, we showed glimpses. There were stretches for a few minutes where we had them on their heels a little bit and we were playing really well.”
In the end, the Comets just had too much athleticism.
“They looked fast on film and they were faster in person,” Silva said. “That caught us a little bit early on and they got some easy layups.”
Philomath (9-2) had a rough start getting the ball through the net by hitting just 2 of 9 from the field and missing four free throws in the first quarter. The Warriors did a little better in the second quarter but were still hitting on less than 30% of their shot attempts by halftime.
“We definitely missed shots that our girls typically make, and they’ll make them down the road,” Silva said. “We did make some of those shots in the second half. It’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes.”
Crater stumbled a bit out of the gate itself but regrouped to lead 30-20 at the break. The Comets then added another 30 onto their total in the second half — the most points Philomath has allowed in a game this season.
Said Silva, “When you play the best teams, if you don’t get those shots to fall, it can be a long night.”
PHS sophomore Reagan Heiken had a big game with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 3 of 6 from the stripe. Heiken scored 10 in the fourth quarter.
“She had a very good game — one of the best games I’ve seen her play,” Silva said. “We got her the ball in the open court a lot with the type of pressure and she did a good job of handling that and finishing up at the hoop.”
Crater senior guard Sage Winslow also finished with 21 points. Comet teammate Taylor Young, a junior, scored 16 and Lydia Traore, a senior, added 10.
Silva said he wouldn’t mind another shot.
“Yeah, I’d like to play them again,” he said. “I think we learned and progressed and got better at some things during the game.”
Philomath will now hit the road for its next three contests, beginning with a Friday trip to Astoria (3-5).
