On an evening when points were very hard to come by, the Philomath High girls basketball team notched a key victory in the Oregon West Conference race Monday night with a 26-15 triumph over visiting Stayton.
A strong defensive effort by the Warriors proved to be too much for the Eagles to overcome in a matchup between two top-10 teams.
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. Stayton (Jan. 29, 2024)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 26-15 girls basketball win over Stayton on Monday.
“Our plan was effective — we only gave up 15 points,” PHS coach Ben Silva said. “That’s putting yourself in a pretty good position to win a game if you only give up 15.”
The Warriors (13-3 overall, 4-0 Oregon West) came at Stayton (11-4, 2-2) with an effective pressure defense that created turnovers and rattled the visitors to the point that they could never find any sort of offensive rhythm.
“We knew we were coming with that — that was the plan and it worked,” Warriors junior Anneka Steen said.
And it’s worked before. Just last season, Stayton also managed to score only 15 points on the same floor.
“We recognized that if we put some pressure on them, it could cause some trouble, which we were able to turn them over quite a bit,” Silva said. “They struggled to put the ball in the hoop but I give ourselves some credit with that … things we were doing were causing them problems.”
Steen and junior Aspen Russell “were all over the place,” Silva said, “and we did a great job getting them in traps and to turn it over.”
Steen has shown exceptional ability on both ends of the floor. So does she like offense or defense better?
“I like both sides but offense obviously is more fun because it’s fun to score,” she said. “But as a team that plays good defense, you’re after it and you’re going for it.”
Despite the strong defensive effort, Philomath also needed to create a little offensive and it took a while for Philomath’s engine to get warmed up. The game remained scoreless more than four minutes into the contest until Stayton junior Brooklynne Morley buried a 3-pointer at the 3:23 mark. A little over a minute later, freshman Zuri Andersen found the net for a 5-0 Eagles advantage.
The Warrior defense kicked it up a notch, allowing no Stayton baskets for the rest of the first half. Philomath, meanwhile, started to convert opportunities and led 15-6 by halftime.
Freshman Reagan Heiken scored the home team’s first hoop with 1:58 left in the first quarter.
“They’re a good team and if you look at the scores, they’ve been scoring quite a few points lately,” Silva said. “It’s not like they’re unable to score on the offensive end, they have the capability, but our defense was very, very good tonight.”
Following a turnover, junior Zoee Howard scored and completed the traditional three-point play with a foul shot. In the span of 12 seconds, Philomath had tied the game, 5-5.
Howard’s drive to the basket early in the second quarter put the Warriors up, 7-5. Heiken scored inside 56 seconds later for a four-point lead. And then after a Stayton free throw, Philomath finished out the half on a 6-0 run with two free throws from Howard, a drive to the basket from sophomore Emily Taunisila and another Heiken hoop inside.
After Stayton hit the game’s first two field goals in the first quarter, the Eagles managed to make only three baskets the rest of the night.
“I felt like as a team we’re just communicating very well,” Steen said, “and we had lots of energy and enthusiasm out on the court tonight.”
In the third, the low-scoring affair continued and in fact, the Warriors made just one field goal — that coming with 3:15 left in the quarter on a Steen shot off the glass. The team’s other four points came on foul shots by Taunisila and Heiken.
Leading 21-10 going into the fourth, the Warriors stayed in control and maintained their margin to win by 11. Steen’s 3-pointer provided a spark early and midway through the quarter, Taunisila scored for a 14-point lead.
The Warriors will face their biggest test Thursday with a visit from Cascade. Two years ago, Philomath swept the Cougars en route to a 4A state title. Last year, Cascade returned the favor and took two straight over the Warriors.
“They’re going to be tough again — they’ve got some shooters and scorers that we’ll have to slow down,” Silva said. “We’re going to have to be a little bit more effective on the offensive end.”
Cascade takes records of 10-5 and 3-0 into a Tuesday matchup at Newport. The game at PHS scheduled for Thursday has a start time of 7 p.m.
Steen believes the Warriors will be ready.
“I’m excited to get after Cascade, I’m ready, and I think the team’s in a good place right now,” Steen said.
