The Philomath High School girls basketball team will enter the 4A state playoffs on a high note with a 39-24 tuneup victory Friday evening at Marist Catholic.
The Warriors, seeded No. 3, will play an opponent to be determined March 2 on their home floor. Marist, which finished No. 11 in the final OSAA rankings, also punched its ticket to the round-of-16 as the runner-up out of the Sky Em League.
The first-round matchups will be determined following four Saturday play-in games — Phoenix at Baker, North Bend at St. Helens, The Dalles at Stayton and Cottage Grove at Scappoose.
The Warriors (19-5) and Spartans (11-11) played neck-and-neck in the first half with Philomath holding a 14-12 lead at the break. The game remained close into the fourth quarter but the Warriors finished strong with a 14-5 advantage over the final eight minutes.
Junior Anneka Steen was a key contributor during that late-game stretch with six of her 11 points. Freshman Reagan Heiken’s six points in the game all came in the fourth. Other top scorers in the game included junior Zoee Howard and sophomore Emily Taunisila with eight apiece.
Philomath finished with a 36.4% shooting performance compared to Marist’s 25%.
It was the second time this season that the Warriors had beaten the Spartans. Philomath beat Marist in a home tournament, 46-32, in late December.
