Back-to-back 3-pointers and a 16-2 run to open the third quarter boosted the Sutherlin girls basketball team to a 38-33 victory over Philomath Wednesday afternoon.
Meeting in the first game on the first day of the Philomath Tournament, the two schools entered with a combined 11-2 record to give fans a quality matchup right out of the gate.
“We let it get away a little bit in the third with a couple of bad stretches there,” Silva said. “I thought we had energy and effort all night but it’s like we haven’t played in two weeks, which it’s close to that.”
The Warriors (5-2) last played on Dec. 16 in the championship game of the South Coast Tournament at Marshfield High. Sutherlin (7-1), in comparison, had played two additional games over the same stretch.
“We turned the ball over too much which is what they try to do defensively,” Silva said, estimating that his team probably had at least 25 turnovers. “And then we struggled to execute offensively … they try to muck it up on the defensive end with a lot of ball pressure.”
The two teams played close throughout the first half. Sutherlin held a four-point lead at the end of the first but the Warriors took the lead a little over a minute-and-a-half into the second when sophomore Emily Taunisila drove the lane for two and then buried a 3-pointer to make it 12-11.
The lead exchanged hands a couple of times but Philomath scored the last basket with 9 seconds remaining in the half for a 16-14 advantage at the break. On the play, freshman Reagan Heiken received a pass from senior Ahnika Tryon, made a move past a Sutherlin player and finished with a layup.
In the third quarter, however, the Warriors had a difficult stretch when the shots weren’t falling and the calls weren’t going their way while the opponent operated behind a strong dose of momentum.
Silva knew his team would need to play a clean game to defeat the Bulldogs, a program that went 28-3 last season and placed third in the 3A tournament.
“They’re a top team in the state,” Silva said. “You can’t beat good teams if you make that many mistakes — including myself, I made mistakes as well.”
With Philomath trailing 25-20 with less than 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Warriors were whistled on a questionable over-and-back call. On the play, Sutherlin lost its handle on the ball and Philomath’s Aspen Russell was in position to pick it up just inside the half-court line. Silva argued and ended up receiving a technical foul.
The Bulldogs were in the midst of a 10-0 run at the time and ended up going up 30-20 with 2:17 left in the third. The Warriors finished the quarter strong, however, and cut the deficit to six points. With 50 seconds left, Tryon scored inside with an assist to Heiken. Then with 10 seconds remaining, Heiken scored on a layup after receiving a pass from junior Zoee Howard.
In the fourth quarter, Philomath had multiple opportunities to take the lead. The defense got the job done and held Sutherlin to no field goals over the final eight minutes — all of the opponent’s points came at the free-throw line.
Heiken hit a couple of free throws to bring Philomath to within four. Then after Sutherlin got a point back on a foul shot, Taunisila scored with a jump shot in the lane. The score remained 34-31 for 2:43 of clock time.
Then with 2:59 left, junior Anneka Steen scored with an assist from Howard. On the other end, Tryon came up with a block and the Warriors appeared to have momentum for the final two minutes.
With around one minute remaining in the game, Philomath had two opportunities for high-percentage layups but the shots wouldn’t fall. Sutherlin hit free throws when needed and the Warriors couldn’t produce any more offense leading up to the final buzzer.
Said Silva, “We missed a lot of layups, a lot of shots under the hoop that we need to finish.”
Heiken had a team-high 10 points, Taunisila finished with nine and Tryon had eight.
For the Bulldogs, senior guard Madison Wagner scored 14, including two key 3-pointers early in the third quarter.
Both teams will continue play in the round-robin tournament Thursday. Sutherlin will square off against Marist Catholic at 2 p.m. with Philomath and Scappoose to follow at 3:30 p.m.
