Kramer’s 51 points goes down in history

PHS senior modest about the accomplishment, follows with 23 in win Thursday over Newport

Two days after Sage Kramer broke the school record for most points in a game, the buzz continued in Philomath High’s gym Thursday night with people still talking about the 51 points she scored against Woodburn.

Kramer, who followed with 23 points in a 54-16 rout over Newport, was modest about the accomplishment.

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“It’s just a number, you know?” she said. “I’m just thanking God and just super blessed to have gotten the record.”

The previous school record had been 47 points, set by senior Trisha Stevens in the 1987 state championship game against Marist Catholic. The Warriors won the game for the second of their three state titles in program history (the others in 1986 and 2000).

“I know she went to Stanford and I know she had the record in 1987,” Kramer said when asked if she had any knowledge of Stevens’ past accomplishments. “I know she had a boatload of records.”

To give historical context to the performance, consider the following:

• Kramer’s 51 points fell one short of the Class 4A record and five points shy of the all-class record. Mazama’s Tara Harrington scored 52 points in a 1992 win over Ashland for the 4A record and Grant’s Cindy Brown has the all-class record with 56 in a 1982 victory over Wilson in 6A.

• Kramer is one of only 16 players in Oregon girls basketball history to score 50 points in a game (Gaston’s Sheri Van Loo did it twice in 1979 and 1980). She is only the fourth player to reach 50 in this century.

• Kramer’s 24 points in the second quarter broke the all-class record and her 36 points in a half tied a state record set in 1982 by Grant’s Brown.

• Kramer’s 23 field goals is also a new state record for any classification, breaking the previous record of 21 set by Franklin’s Jude Schimmel in 2010.

• And in case you don’t recall, Kramer is in the record books permanently for being one of only four players to shoot 100% in a game when she hit 16 of 16 shots in a 2020 road win over Sisters.

PHS coach Ben Silva has knowledge of Philomath High’s record book and was aware during Tuesday’s game that she was getting close to breaking the record after knowing that she had 36 at halftime.

“It was an awkward position where I probably had to get her out after she scored 50,” Silva said.

Two years ago during her sophomore season, Kramer was in a position to break the school single-game scoring record at that time but Silva sat her down with the Warriors pummeling Sisters.

“She had 44 and I pulled her with time left on the clock and the Philomath record was 47,” Silva said. “I didn’t realize she had that many at that point in time.”

Kramer scored most of the points Tuesday against Woodburn inside against an undersized opponent. She hit a couple of 3-pointers and also made three free throws but the rest were traditional two-point buckets from the field.

The final stats included 23 field goals, 3 of 3 from the free-throw line and 65% shooting from the field.

As for the Thursday win over Newport, the Warriors opened the game with 11 unanswered points and led 17-2 by the end of the first quarter and 26-6 at halftime. Kramer’s 23 came on seven field goals and 7 of 8 on free throws. Senior Reagan Larson found her mark from the outside and finished with 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Other Warriors hitting 3s included Kramer (with two) and juniors Hailie Couture and Mia Bennett.

“I thought we shot the ball particularly well from the outside,” Silva said. “We had four people knock down a 3 and if we’re able to do that, it makes it very tough because defenses all want to spread back out and then we can go back to what we’re really good at, which is attacking the hoop and getting the ball inside to our posts.”

Ranked No. 1, Philomath (15-2 overall, 9-0 Oregon West) will play for a third time this week with a Saturday nonconference matchup against Banks on the home floor. The Braves should provide a good test for the Warriors, coming in with an overall record of 14-6 and tied for first place in the Cowapa League.

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Philomath 54, Newport 16
Thursday, Feb. 10, at Philomath HS

JUNIOR VARSITY
Philomath 35, Newport 14
Thursday, Feb. 10, at Philomath HS

JUNIOR VARSITY 2