Overpowering North Marion in a 48-18 victory Friday evening in its home gym, the Philomath High girls basketball team can now turn its attention to a pivotal stretch in the Oregon West with games next week against Cascade and Stayton.
The Warriors, Cougars and Eagles are the class of the conference with top-five rankings and a combined record of 39-6 so far this season. All three teams are unbeaten against 4A nonconference opponents.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. North Marion (Jan. 24, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 48-18 girls basketball victory over North Marion on Friday.
Philomath opened the season ranked No. 1 in the OSAAtoday coaches poll but has since been knocked down to No. 2. Stayton’s impressive 16-0 start elevated the Eagles into the top position.
Isabelle Muir, who is Belle among teammates, said it’s a challenge to not think ahead to the Stayton game. The Warriors are hungry to put together their best performance — especially since the Eagles jumped Philomath in the rankings and defeated the Warriors the last time the two schools played.
“It’s always in our minds,” said Muir, who scored nine points in the team’s rout over North Marion. “Honestly, in my mind, that’s the team we need to beat. They’re our top competitor right now.”
Stayton will play at Newport Tuesday before heading to Philomath Jan. 31 for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.
Like most coaches, Philomath’s Ben Silva doesn’t want to get into looking ahead at future opponents. A very good No. 5-ranked Cascade team with a 10-4 record will host the Warriors at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“I don’t buy into all that stuff too much,” Silva said about the looming showdown against Stayton. “We have Cascade next Tuesday, so we’ll spend the weekend getting ready for them.”
Philomath (13-2 overall, 2-0 Oregon West) opened conference play Jan. 21 with a 55-11 win over Sweet Home. That came after the team had pulled out nonleague wins of 35-34 at Astoria and 39-35 at Sutherlin.
“It gives you things that you need to work on … it’s good to have those close games and find ways to win,” Silva said.
Muir believes those experiences have moved the squad forward into a tighter space.
“We went through a rough patch with not really playing well together and we were all kind of separated,” Muir said. “But we’ve definitely gotten closer … we’re doing things like a team breakfast just to get the group to bond together.”
Muir, a 5-foot-3 junior, moved into the starting five and has seen more time on the floor in recent games with senior starter Anneka Steen sidelined with illness.
“It was definitely nerve wracking at first but I feel like I’ve worked up to this spot,” Muir said. “I know I’ll probably go back once Anne’s back but it’s been fun to have this opportunity.”
Against the Huskies, Philomath turned an early 3-2 deficit into a 13-5 lead by the end of the first quarter on the strength of a 9-0 run — the first of those points scored by junior Shaylee May. By halftime, the home team held a 29-6 advantage.
May had a game-high 12 points on three field goals and a perfect 6 for 6 from the foul line. Muir had those nine points and the rest of the scoring was spread out among seven other players.
“I thought we did a good job coming out with some energy,” Silva said. “It was some of our best (basketball) just sharing the ball in the open court and finding the open player and scoring in transition.”
Senior Riley Patzer scored 11 to lead the Huskies (6-8, 1-1).
Games against overmatched opponents such as North Marion basically come down to working on areas that need attention.
“It allows us time to run through the things that we don’t get to sometimes in practice,” Muir said. “Actually running through plays, we have a tendency of just doing the first rotation and then putting up a shot so being able to go through it fully in game situations helps us.”
Philomath contributions on defense could never be overstated. The Warriors have held six opponents so far this season to less than 20 points.
“Defensively, we’re tough,” Silva said. “It’s hard for just about everybody we play to score on us.”
