Philomath High senior Anneka Steen hit a short jump shot with 8 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to a 35-34 girls basketball win Friday evening at Astoria.
After taking the lead, Philomath’s defense then disrupted Astoria’s attempts to move the ball in the time that remained.
“Our D slowed them down in the backcourt,” PHS coach Ben Silva said. “They threw it ahead to the frontcourt but time expired before they got a shot off.”
The game was tight throughout with the Warriors holding one-point leads at the end of the first and second quarters. Astoria then went up by a point heading into the fourth.
Philomath (10-2) struggled on offense by hitting just 13 of 49 shot attempts (26.5%). The Warriors were especially off in the first half at 16.7%, improving to 42.1% in the second half. Philomath made seven of its 10 free-throw attempts.
From 3-point range for the game, PHS was 2 of 12 with junior Isabelle Muir hitting one in the second and senior Zoee Howard burying a trey in the third.
Howard had a team-high 11 points with nine of those coming in the second half. Steen and sophomore Reagan Heiken each added seven.
Astoria (3-6) nearly pulled off the upset with senior Malory Dundas and freshman Kyah Gohr leading the way with 12 and nine points, respectively. The Fisherman shot 29.7% from the field (11 for 37) and 84.6% from the foul line (11 of 13).
Philomath is scheduled to play one more nonconference game this coming Tuesday at Sutherlin before getting into Oregon West Conference action. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
