FOREST GROVE — The Philomath and Cascade girls basketball teams have become fixtures on each other’s schedules — and on the state tournament bracket. The two Oregon West Conference rivals met for the ninth time in three seasons Saturday morning, squaring off in the fourth/sixth-place game at the 4A tournament in Forest Grove.
The teams have split in each of the past three regular seasons. In the tournament, the Cougars won in 2024 by a 35-33 margin in a game that had an unfortunate scoring error. Last year in the semifinals, Philomath advanced with a 43-37 win.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. Cascade at 4A tournament (March 14, 2026)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 43-42 girls basketball loss to Cascade in the Class 4A state tournament on Saturday.
This latest battle occurred in a fourth-sixth-place game and it came down to the final seconds. Cascade (16-11) scored on a layup off an inbounds pass with 17 seconds left, Philomath (16-12) turned the ball over on its final possession and the Cougars were able to run out the clock in a 43-42 final.
“The Oregon West Conference is going to bring home three trophies,” PHS coach Ben Silva said. “It’s a tough conference but it gets us prepared for this tournament. Sometimes it feels like you’d like to play some other teams … but it’s fun and you know we’re going to have battles.”
The trophy game showdown certainly turned out to be quite a battle. In the fourth quarter, the lead changed hands seven times. Philomath took a 36-35 lead with 5:35 remaining when junior Annaleise Brown scored on a layup with an assist to senior Shaylee May. Later at the 5:04 mark, sophomore Reagan Nuño sank two foul shots for a 38-36 lead. But Cascade junior Pearl Pruett put her team back on top with a 3-pointer at 3:21.
Trailing by the same 39-38 score with 1:44 remaining, the Warriors called timeout.
“We scored out of the timeout — I think it was Annaleise Brown with a good, strong, tough finish at the hoop,” said Silva, who remembered the play correctly with junior Jordyn Hood credited with an assist.
Cascade regained the lead with 1:16 left on a basket by senior Olivia Bennett. The clock got down to 39 seconds remaining when Hood broke for the hoop and was spotted by May for two points. The Warriors were up, 42-41.
Philomath routs Marist to keep girls basketball trophy streak alive
The ninth-seeded Philomath girls basketball team routed fourth-seeded Marist Catholic 53-27 in a Class 4A consolation semifinal, keeping the Warriors’ trophy streak alive.
No. 1 Stayton girls pull away from Philomath in 4A basketball playoffs
In a Class 4A state playoff showdown between a pair of Oregon West Conference rivals on Thursday afternoon in Forest Grove, No. 1 Stayton worked through a slow start and pulled away from No. 8 Philomath for a 41-26 quarterfinal victory. The Warriors (15-11) drop into the consolation bracket and will play at 9 a.m.…
But the Cougars were able to get the lead back when Pruett scored on the inbounds play with a layup off the glass.
“I made a coaching error there — I thought they called the timeout higher up and where they ended up putting the ball in out of bounds, I should have used a timeout there so we could readdress what our plan was,” Silva said. “But you know, they drew up a good play and got a good look.”
Philomath tried to set up a game-winning shot or at least draw a foul to get to the line but Cascade’s defensive pressure forced a bad pass in traffic that led to a loose ball. The Cougars took possession with 3.6 seconds left in the game.
After a couple of timeouts, Cascade executed a long downcourt inbounds pass to avoid Philomath’s defense and secured the one-point victory.
Silva’s end-of-season talk to his players occurred after a very tough final buzzer and following the trophy presentations.
“I thought we showed some growth today that we’ve kind of been looking for all season as players, as individuals, as a team,” Silva said when asked about his message to the team.
Although the Warriors weren’t taking advantage of all of their shot opportunities early on, the team appeared to be playing with more energy than it had in two previous contests in Forest Grove.
“We had a talk with the whole team,” Silva said. “They’re a bunch of great kids that sometimes overthink things. So, we did have a talk to just go out and play, just go out and hoop and have fun. It’s the guaranteed last game no matter what, so you might as well enjoy it.”
Philomath appeared to be in dire straits in the second quarter with the team’s two first-team all-conference players on the bench — junior Reagan Heiken with three fouls and Brown recuperating after hitting her head hard on the floor.
To make matters worse, the Cougars took their largest lead of the morning at the 5:21 mark at 19-11 and seemed to have plenty of momentum.
Enter Warriors junior Jordyn Hood, who put on a long-range shooting display over the final 4-1/2 minutes of the half. Hood drained three 3-pointers over that stretch, the third one coming with just 4 seconds on the clock. The basket pulled Philomath to within 22-20 at the break.
“She came out and shot the ball really well,” Silva said about Hood, who was chosen by officials as Philomath’s player of the game. “She played like she’s able to play and it was fun to watch her knock those down and keep us in the game.”
The 3-pointers by Hood represented all nine points scored by the Warriors in the second quarter.
In the third, Philomath took its first lead and had a six-point advantage midway through the quarter. Down by four points, the Warriors pulled to within 24-22 on a putback by Brown at the 6:09 mark and then took a 25-24 lead on a 3-pointer by May at 5:28. Nuño then scored at 4:53 on a layup following an effective pass from Heiken. And Philomath’s lead grew to 30-24 when May buried another trey.
Cascade needed a timeout to calm things down and it worked for the Cougars with senior Rozalyn Schmunk and Bennett hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game, 30-30. Later with Philomath trailing 33-30, Heiken drew a foul with 1:39 left in the quarter and sank both free throws to make it a one-point game.
Then with 55 seconds left, Heiken drove the lane and scored to give the Warriors a 34-33 lead to set up the wild fourth quarter.
Heiken finished with nine points and seven rebounds. May had seven points, six rebounds and four assists. Brown had six boards and three steals. Nuño had a strong presence on the boards, setting up plays and on defense with 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals — all team highs.
Pruett’s three 3-pointers helped her to a 14-point performance. Senior Rozalyn Schmunk scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had five steals. Senior Cassidy Crabtree and senior Lainey Klampe had six and five assists, respectively.
The game was the last in a Warrior uniform for five seniors — May, Isabelle Muir, Khali Toombs, Parker Maxey and Abby Harwood.
“They were good leaders for us this year,” Silva said. “I can’t say enough about their willingness to come and just work and be positive members of our program. I’m going to miss that group but I’m excited about the future as well.”
Four of the team’s five starters potentially return next season in Nuño, Brown, Hood and Heiken. A few other underclassmen, Libby Kramer and Bethany Cannon, also got serious minutes on the floor.
“We know what our goals are, we know who we have to be to get to those goals,” Silva said. “If we make the commitment to make minor improvements, we’re going to hopefully be back here again next year.”
Cascade 43, Philomath 42
Saturday, March 14, at Joe Moran Court, Forest Grove HS
PHILOMATH (42)
Reagan Nuño 1 2-2 4, Annaleise Brown 3 0-0 6, Shaylee May 2 1-2 7, Jordyn Hood 6 0-0 16, Reagan Heiken 3 3-4 9, Isabelle Muir 0 0-0 0, Libby Kramer 0 0-0 0, Bethany Cannon 0 0-0 0, Khali Toombs 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 6-8 42.
CASCADE (43)
Olivia Bennett 4 0-0 9, Rozalyn Schmunk 4 1-1 10, Lainey Klampe 1 3-3 5, Cassidy Crabtree 2 1-4 5, Pearl Pruett 5 1-2 14, Livia Free 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 6-10 43.
Team 1 2 3 4 F Philomath (16-12) 11 9 14 8 42 Cascade (16-11) 15 7 11 10 43
3-Point Goals—Philomath 6 (Hood 4, May 2), Cascade 5 (Pruett 3, Schmunk, Bennett). Fouled Out—None. Total Fouls—Philomath 12, Cascade 7. Technicals—None.