Not this time.
A year ago in Philomath High’s home game against Stayton, the Warriors had to fight back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to avoid an upset with a 43-41 victory. It was the closest conference game of the season for the girls and nearly ruined the Warriors’ perfect run through the Oregon West as well as Class 4A.
On Friday night, the Eagles returned to the PHS gym for the first time since that thriller that went down to the wire. Philomath had a bit of a slow start with its first basket coming 3:08 into the game but once the scoring seal was broken, Stayton simply could not keep up in what ended up as a 56-28 Warriors win.
“That’s a good win for us; they’ve been some of our toughest league competition over the last two years,” Silva said. “It might’ve looked kind of easy, but it wasn’t. We really earned that one, I think.”
Stayton came into the game riding a three-game winning streak after falling to Cascade by a single point in the Eagles’ season opener.
“They’re physical, they’re well-coached, they are able to execute to try to do some stuff against us,” Silva said. “We were able to blow out the lead a little bit there but I think they’re a pretty tough team. I think they’ll be competing for second in our league.”
Philomath has yet to be challenged in a league game through four contests with an average margin of victory of 28. With a conference-only schedule, the Warriors might not see an opponent of their own caliber until the 4A postseason tournament that has been arranged for the final week.
Junior Sage Kramer has been a big reason for Philomath’s scoring outbursts over those four victories and that theme carried through on Friday against the Eagles. Kramer scored 20 points in the first half alone and finished with 27 on a night when she buried four 3-pointers.
Kramer’s talents on finishing fast breaks, hitting from the outside and driving to the hoop account for the majority of the team’s points. But against a tough opponent with an effective defense possibly containing Kramer, could the Warriors see adequate point production from the rest of the lineup?
For Silva, it’s a silly question. He knows that he has plenty of other players who can find the hoop when needed.
“We have girls that are more than capable of scoring,” Silva said. “Sometimes it comes a little too easy, I think, but in moments like when Cascade ran the box-and-1 against Sage, we had girls that were able to step up and score. I think we have six, seven girls that on any given night can give us double digits.”
Philomath trailed only once on Friday against Stayton at 1-0 at the 5:08 mark of the first quarter. Kramer got the Warriors on the scoreboard to begin a 6-1 run and the home team never looked back in what turned into a rout. PHS led 11-4 at the end of the first and 31-8 by halftime.
Kramer’s numbers in the second quarter were impressive with 15 points over that 8-minute stretch. She hit three of her four 3-pointers in the second quarter.
In the second half, Philomath got several others involved in the scoring. Senior Mia Rust scored five of her nine points in the third and sophomore Hailie Couture hit a three and a two in the same quarter. In the fourth, senior Kaili Saathoff drove more to hoop and scored four of her eight.
Kaylee Tyler and Karlee Tyler each scored eight to lead Stayton (3-2).
Philomath (4-0) is scheduled to host Newport on Tuesday. The Cubs will enter the game with an 0-4 record.
Philomath 56, Stayton 28
Friday, May 28, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS (RECORDS) | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | HT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayton (3-2) | 4 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| Philomath (4-0) | 11 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 31 | 56 |
| STAYTON | FG | FT-FTA | PF | TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-Kaylee Tyler# | 2 | 4-6 | 2 | 8 |
| 1-Haili Nyquist# | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3-Miley Mitchell# | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 |
| 11-Tori Nyquist# | 1 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 |
| 22-Karlee Tyler# | 3 | 2-6 | 1 | 8 |
| 5-Madelynn Mitzel | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 |
| 21-Lydia Bielenberg | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-Adrie Duke | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24-Laurel Bjornstedt | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 10 | 6-12 | 8 | 28 |
| #-Starter |
| PHILOMATH | FG | FT-FTA | PF | TP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13-Mia Rust# | 4 | 1-1 | 0 | 9 |
| 15-Sage Kramer# | 11 | 1-1 | 2 | 27 |
| 33-Hailie Couture# | 2 | 0-0 | 3 | 5 |
| 34-Kaili Saathoff# | 4 | 0-0 | 2 | 8 |
| 45-Reagan Larson# | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2-Braedyn McNeely | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 |
| 32-Abigail Brown | 0 | 0-2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1-K Bacho | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4-Madeline Fields | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10-Bailey Bell | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23-Cassidy Lewis | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12-Elizabeth Morales | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 24 | 2-4 | 12 | 56 |
| #-Starter |
| 3-Point Goals: Stayton 2 (Mitchell, Mitzel), Philomath 6 (Kramer 4, McNeely, Couture) Fouled Out: None Total Fouls: Stayton 8, Philomath 12 Technicals: None |
JUNIOR VARSITY
Philomath 34, Stayton 9
Friday, May 28, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | HT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stayton | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| Philomath | 5 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 34 |
| JV GAME NOTES |
|---|
| Philomath’s JV record goes to 4-0 for the season. … The Warriors trailed 6-5 after the first quarter but outscored Stayton, 29-3, over the final three quarters. … Freshman Bailey Bell scored 11 points, including a 3-pointer. … Mia Bennett added six points. … The JV team is scheduled to play Tuesday at Woodburn. |
JUNIOR VARSITY 2
Philomath 24, Cottage Grove 19
Friday, May 28, at Philomath HS
| TEAMS | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | HT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Grove | 6 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 19 |
| Philomath | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 24 |
| JV2 GAME NOTES |
|---|
| The JV2 team finally played its first game after seeing earlier scheduled contests canceled. … Philomath trailed 6-2 after the first quarter but shut out Cottage Grove in the second for an 8-6 halftime lead. … The JV2 Warriors scored 10 in the fourth to seal the win. … Kamilla Grimmer scored four of her six points in the second quarter. … Mia Cook scored four of her six in the third quarter. … Ally Todd and Clara Stanley each added four. … The JV2 team is scheduled to play next on Tuesday at home vs. Estacada. |
