The points weren’t coming easy Tuesday night in a girls basketball showdown between two of the top defensive teams in 4A.
Just ask Philomath sophomore Reagan Heiken. She missed seven of her first eight shots against a Stayton defense that’s held opponents to less than 30 points in all but two games this season. But with the game on the line, Heiken came through and scored the go-ahead basket with 7.1 seconds remaining in what ended as a 27-26 victory.
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To set the scene, Stayton senior Brooklynne Morley had buried a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to put the visitors on top, 26-25. Coach Ben Silva called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining after the team had maintained possession on a scramble for the ball following a miss on the offensive end.
“Silva drew it up for me and I was pretty nervous and I really, to be honest, didn’t want to let everyone down,” Heiken said. “I missed a few shots that I thought should have gone in so I wasn’t super confident and they have pretty good defenders.”
Junior Shaylee May started the play with an in-bounds pass.
“It was a cut to the basket and Reagan did a great job just going hard, keeping the girl on her back and then finishing at the basket,” May said.
Heiken came through with the hoop and finished with a game-high nine points — six of those coming in the fourth quarter.
“I just went in and did what I was supposed to do and wasn’t really thinking about it,” Heiken said about the final shot. “It was a relief and I was really happy.”
Coming into this week, Philomath had regained the No. 1 ranking in the OSAAtoday coaches poll with Stayton behind at No. 2. The unbeaten Eagles were atop the OSAA rankings.
The game had been a defensive struggle all evening and was tied at halftime, 10-10.
“Some people might not enjoy watching it but the crowd was into it and I love it — I’m a defensive-minded guy so I love those types of games,” Silva said. “Both teams were getting after it and it was physical on both ends, both coaches are working the refs trying to get foul calls and the refs know it’s a big matchup and they’re going to let the players decide it on the court. It’s just fun high school basketball.”
The Warriors (14-3 overall, 3-1 Oregon West) came out in the third quarter and scored back-to-back baskets for a 14-10 lead when Heiken found senior Zoee Howard on one basket and then Heiken scored herself with an assist by May. The Eagles (17-1, 3-1) countered with Morley hitting the first of her two 3-pointers to spark an 11-2 run that extended into the fourth quarter.
Philomath trailed 21-16 with 6:33 remaining after Stayton sophomore Kathryn Samek buried a 3.
The Warriors turned the tables over the next few minutes, however, to tie the game at 23. With 5:49 left, junior Isabelle Muir hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit back down to two. Stayton senior Kenzi Hollenbeck scored on a layup to give the Eagles a 23-19 advantage only to see Philomath respond with hoops by Heiken at 3:32 and 2:11 with setup passes from Steen and Howard, respectively.
Coming out of a timeout and the game still tied, Philomath took a 25-23 lead on a Steen layin with 1:01 remaining. The Eagles regained the lead on the Morley 3-pointer to set up the final sequence.
After Philomath took the lead, Stayton had time to try to steal the victory. The Warriors had a foul to give and senior Aspen Russell disrupted the Eagles’ final possession with 3.8 seconds left. Stayton attempted a shot from just inside half-court that didn’t have a chance.
In the second half, Silva said he saw his team execute better on offense.
“They’re just such a tough defensive team, it’s hard to find points but we were able to get enough,” Silva said. “There were no easy buckets on either side tonight. Everybody earned every point that they got.”
Stayton, who is coached by Philomath High graduate Tal Wold, scored fewer than 35 points for the first time this season.
“On defense, we definitely shut teams down,” May said. “We need to work on executing on the offensive side but the defense is definitely our strong suit.”
Heiken said the team needed to refocus after falling to Cascade, 46-44, on the road Tuesday.
“We knew we had to come back strong and have good practices,” she said. “Our mindset and our team energy has been really good and I think that really helped us pull off the win.”
The team paused for a team meeting after losing to the Cougars. Silva saw team leaders step up to help send teammates in the right direction.
“We have a long season and we spend a lot of time together and there’s ups and downs,” Silva said. “Tuesday wasn’t a great, great night but you know, the girls really responded and came together.
“Like I told them, tonight doesn’t happen by accident,” he added. “They came together, they worked hard in practice the last two days and that’s why we were able to stay engaged in the game because there were times when they did go up by five and could’ve just pulled away a little bit. But we kept hanging in there and being tough.”
Helping the cause was a full gymnasium of fans and students.
“It was crazy, it was just what we needed,” May said. “We haven’t really had a student section at that many games but tonight they really showed up. That was really fun to play in front of that kind of crowd tonight.”
Philomath will next play at Newport with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff Tuesday. The Cubs (4-10, 1-3) pulled out a 34-33 win Friday at Sweet Home.
