For a few moments Tuesday evening, Philomath looked like it might hang with Class 5A girls basketball power South Albany. But then the RedHawks reminded everyone why they are unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the most-recent OSAAtoday coaches poll.
The Warriors grabbed an 11-9 lead late in the first quarter but South Albany responded with a crushing 17-0 run to open the second quarter and never trailed again in a 62-52 victory in the PHS gym.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. South Albany (Dec. 16, 2025)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 62-52 girls basketball loss at home vs. South Albany on Tuesday.
“I think we showed a lot of team toughness,” Philomath coach Ben Silva said. “They are a very good, tough, physical team … and we were able to work through that stuff and battle back and make a little bit of a push there.”
The RedHawks (4-0) took the lead when senior Parker Doerr buried a 3-pointer with 6:40 left in the first half to put South Albany up, 12-11. The advantage ballooned to 26-11 before Philomath began clawing back.
Warriors junior Reagan Heiken sparked an 11-3 run to close the first half by scoring nine points during the stretch. Her move in the lane with 2:27 remaining before intermission broke South Albany’s long scoring run and trimmed the deficit at the time to 13.
Heiken, who finished with a game-high 24 points, powered Philomath’s third-quarter comeback. The Warriors pulled within 33-30 when Heiken drove through the lane with 4:40 left in the period.
“She’s just kind of doing what she always does,” Silva said. “She’s able to attack the hoop so well and she’s got some moves inside that are really almost impossible to stop. She did a good job of getting downhill and attacking the hoop, finishing with some contact as well.”
But South Albany’s Maddie Angel answered with a basket seconds later, igniting a 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to double digits. Philomath got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
South Albany senior Taylor Donaldson proved a handful all night, drawing constant attention in the paint and making 14 of 16 free throws as part of an 18-point performance.
“The Donaldson girl, she’s legit,” Silva said. “I don’t know that anybody has the answers on how to stop her, the goal is just to slow her down. I thought Anneleise (Brown) did a really good job on her. I don’t know what she ended up with but I think every bucket was hard.”
From the field, Donaldson struggled by making just 2 of 14 shots (14.3%).
“We got a couple of blocks … I think we made her night challenging,” Silva said.
Also for the RedHawks, Doerr scored 14 points, Angel had 13 and senior Kaylee Cordle finished with 11.
Heiken shot 61.5% from the field — 83.3% in the second half — and made 8 of 11 from the foul line. Junior Jordyn Hood added eight points for the Warriors while sophomore Reagan Nuño contributed seven.
Free-throw shooting proved costly for Philomath, which made 12 of 21 attempts (57.1%) compared to South Albany’s 22 of 28 (78.6%).
“I think we left a couple too many points at the free-throw line,” Silva said. “Especially against these really tough teams, we’ve got to make free throws.”
Despite the loss, Silva came away confident in his team’s character.
“I have all the confidence in the world in this room now,” Silva said. “They’re a very tough, gritty team — and a tough team on the defensive end.”
Philomath will face Class 5A Eagle Point at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Spartan Holiday Showcase at Corvallis High School. The tournament, which also features host Corvallis, Caldera, Centennial, Prairie, Bend and Crater, continues Saturday and Sunday.
South Albany 62, Philomath 52
Tuesday, Dec. 16, at Philomath HS
SOUTH ALBANY (62)
Maddie Angel 3 7-8 13, Taylor Bailey 1 0-0 2, Taylor Donaldson 2 14-16 18, Neveah Ukaoma 2 0-4 4, Kaylee Cordle 4 1-1 11, Parker Doerr 6 0-0 14, McKenna Davis 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 22-28 62.
PHILOMATH (52)
Reagan Nuño 3 1-2 7, Annaleise Brown 1 2-4 4, Shaylee May 2 1-4 5, Jordyn Hood 4 0-0 8, Reagan Heiken 8 8-11 24, Libby Kramer 1 0-0 2, Bethany Cannon 1 0-0 2, Khali Toombs 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Muir 0 0-0 0, Parker Maxey 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-21 52.
Team 1 2 3 4 F South Albany (4-0) 9 20 17 16 62 Philomath (2-1) 11 11 14 16 52
3-Point Goals—South Albany 4 (Cordle 2, Doerr 2), Philomath 0. Fouled Out—May, Brown. Total Fouls—South Albany 20, Philomath 20. Technicals—None.
Junior varsity: Philomath 47, South Albany 11. PHS scoring: Bethany Cannon 26, Sienna Bushnell 19, Laney Davis 2.
