The Philomath High School girls basketball team prides itself on playing strong defense. So after giving up a season-high 59 points in a loss earlier in the week at Amity, the Warriors were motivated to get back to shutting down opponents.
North Marion never had a chance Saturday night in a 46-18 loss to visiting Philomath. The Warriors allowed just three baskets the entire game — a two-point basket in the second quarter and a pair of 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Philomath offense buried 20 shots to remain tied for first place in the Oregon West Conference with a 6-1 record. The Warriors will next meet Cascade in the PHS gym at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Cougars saw their four-game winning streak snapped this past Tuesday with a 30-point loss at Stayton. Cascade beat Philomath, 46-44, on Jan. 28.
The win over North Marion represented the ninth time this season that PHS held an opponent to less than 20 points.
Philomath (17-4 overall) led 33-9 by the halftime buzzer sounded with sophomore Reagan Heiken hitting on all cylinders. Heiken made five of nine shot attempts and hit a couple of free throws to score 12 of her 18 game-high points in the first half.
Sophomore Annaleise Brown came off the bench to score eight points. The rest of the points were scattered among six other players. Coach Ben Silva played all 14 players that suited up for the game.
Senior Hannah Jones scored six points to lead North Marion (7-12, 2-5). The Huskies scored the bulk of their points at the foul line by hitting 10 of 12 free throws.
