JUNCTION CITY — Facing a holiday week opponent on the road Tuesday night, it took a little while for Philomath High’s girls basketball team to kick things into gear. The Warriors found themselves in a close game well into the second quarter at Junction City before going on a 20-0 run to pull away for a 60-27 nonconference victory.
PHS senior Shaylee May put in a consistent offensive performance that added up to 16 points on four field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball at Junction City (Dec. 23, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 60-27 girls basketball win at Junction City on Tuesday.
“Shaylee, you know, I just appreciate how hard she plays every time we’re on the court,” Warriors coach Ben Silva said. “Whether it be a practice or in a game, she has a motor and she’s diving on the ground and attacking the hoop and plays really hard. She’s our leader in that regard.”
May was most pleased with how she performed at the foul line.
“I was good on my free throws this time … other games have been kind of rough,” she said. “We work on free throws a lot in practice and I made that a priority and it paid off.”
The home team came out for the game with a little more zip and although the Tigers never led, they stayed close and pulled to within 17-16 at one point of the second quarter.
“In the first quarter, we gave up 12 and then we did better on the defensive end in the second quarter,” Silva said. “The shots weren’t falling because we didn’t really have the energy to start the game. We’ve got to have that positive energy and when we have it with this group, they can compete and play really well against anybody.”
May said the team struggled to get into the groove after what had been a long afternoon.
“Not to make an excuse but we had been waiting — we’ve been here since like 1 o’clock,” May said, the game tipping off at 5:30. “But we were not working together as a team until after halftime. Silva told us what we needed to do and then we just executed after that.”
Junior Jordyn Hood scored nine of her 11 points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that completed a 14-0 run to start the second half and put the Warriors up 37-16. Sophomore Reagan Nuño added 10 points for the evening with all of her points coming in the second half.
“They did a good job attacking the hoop,” Silva said. “They’re so quick and they’re really good shooters as well. Sometimes we settle a little bit too much for shots before we see some go in the hoop and I think they were able to get downhill and get to the hoop and then some of those outside shots started to fall.”
Junior Reagan Heiken finished with eight points and sophomore Libby Kramer came off the bench for seven, including one of the team’s four 3-pointers.
Heiken draws a lot of attention from opposing teams with her skills around the hoop but in addition to racking up points, she has also put other parts of her game on display.
“She gets a lot of credit for the scoring part of her offensive game but she handles the ball really well for us,” Silva said. “Over the past week, she’s had so many phenomenal passes. She sees the court really well and can find the open person and get the ball to them.”
Heiken had three assists alone in the first two minutes of the third quarter, leading off with a pass to May in the lane for the first two points of the half. She then set up May on a 3-pointer and found Nuño underneath for a 32-16 lead.
“I think we have a pretty good connection as a team this year and we’re able to find each other well,” May said about the team’s abilities on offense. “The points get shared and you never know who’s going to have the night — it’s not like we have one solid scorer.”
The coach sees exciting things happening with how the girls are performing.
“I think our offense is starting to come together,” Silva said. “As they get more and more comfortable, it’s going to look better and better. They’re going to grow within the offense and understand the reads and when to cut. It provides a lot of different opportunities for a lot of our girls with their skillset to be successful.”
Nine players combined for Junction City’s 27 points. The Tigers (1-4) have lost three straight.
The Warriors now turn their attention to a big road trip with their participation in the Surf City Holiday Classic in Huntington Beach, California.
“A little turnaround from Christmas but I think it’ll be good, a lot of fun,” May said about the trip. “We’re down there for five days and we’ll have a house down there. It’ll be fun just hanging out.”
Philomath’s stamina will be tested with four games over Dec. 26-30, including matchups on the day the team arrives and on the day the team leaves.
Philomath 60, Junction City 27
Tuesday at Junction City HS
PHILOMATH (60)
Reagan Nuño 5 0-0 10, Annaleise Brown 3 0-0 6, Shaylee May 4 6-6 16, Jordyn Hood 5 0-0 11, Reagan Heiken 4 0-0 8, Libby Kramer 2 2-2 7, Isabelle Muir 1 0-0 2, Khali Toombs 0 0-2 0, Parker Maxey 0 0-0 0, Bethany Cannon 0 0-0 0, Abby Harwood 0 0-0 0, Sienna Bushnell 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 8-10 60.
JUNCTION CITY (27)
Riley Plumlee 0 0-0 0, Alexandria Farrald 2 0-0 5, Aspen Gambee 2 1-4 6, Makayla Croce 1 0-0 2, Evalyn Buenau 1 0-0 2, Madeline Glazier 0 0-0 0, Aurora Cunningham-Mooney 1 0-0 2, Loganne Surface 1 0-0 2, Nataly Moore 1 0-0 2, Mya McNamar 0 1-2 1, Tenley Shafer 0 0-0 0, Scarlett Painter 1 1-1 3. Totals 11 3-11 27.
Team 1 2 3 4 F Philomath (5-2) 17 6 28 9 60 Junction City (1-4) 12 4 4 7 27
3-Point Goals—Philomath 4 (May 2, Hood, Kramer), Junction City 2 (Gambee, Farrald). Fouled Out—None. Total Fouls—Philomath 11, Junction City 6. Technicals—None.
