The Philomath High School girls basketball team pulled out a 39-35 victory on the road over Sutherlin Tuesday evening.
The No. 2-ranked Warriors (11-2) have beaten the Bulldogs twice this season. The team’s first victory over the 3A opponent came in the Les Schwab South Coast Holiday Tournament, 49-39, on the weekend before Christmas.
In this rematch, the game was close throughout with Philomath trailing 19-18 at halftime and leading 29-28 going into the fourth quarter. Freshman Reagan Nuno hit the team’s only 3-pointer and senior Zoee Howard sank 3 of 4 free throws to highlight the final eight minutes. Sophomore Annaleise Brown and sophomore Reagan Heiken also had hoops in the fourth
The Warrior defense came through by holding a team to under 40 points for the 10th time this season. PHS held the Bulldogs to 29.4% shooting.
Philomath’s offense got off to a rough start but shot much better in the second half. The scoring was distributed evenly up and down the lineup — Nuno and Howard each scored seven, and Heiken, junior Isabelle Muir and senior Mica Boynton each had six.
Sutherlin senior Addyson Clark led all scorers with 24 points, an evening that included 11 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Philomath will now turn its attention to Oregon West Conference play with the league opener set for Jan. 21 at Sweet Home.
