The Philomath High girls basketball team finished its home tournament on a high note with a 46-32 victory over Marist Catholic. The Warriors led from the opening tip-off and survived a third quarter offensive lull to improve to 7-2 on the season.
“I thought we did a pretty good job executing the half-court,” PHS coach Ben Silva said. “And we did a much-better job taking care of the basketball … we were under 10 turnovers or right around there.”
Gallery: PHS girls basketball vs. Marist Catholic (Dec. 29, 2023)
A collection of photos from Philomath High’s 46-34 girls basketball win over Marist Catholic on Friday.
Cutting down on turnovers will continue to be an emphasis as the team gets closer and closer to league play. The Warriors have nonleague games remaining in January against Amity, Estacada, Madras and Pleasant Hill.
Junior Anneka Steen sees progress.
“It was a little rough early on and we had some turnovers but I feel like as a team, we’re coming together,” Steen said. “We’re playing more as a team in general and executing better with effort.”
Another junior, Zoee Howard, feels like the season has gone well.
“We all got like a jumpstart with summer ball,” Howard said, adding that most of the team voluntarily participated. “I feel like we’ve come back and are working hard in practice because, you know, we have something to prove from last year.”
Philomath’s defense continues to be an area of strength.
“I think they had 13 or 14 at halftime and if you can hold teams at 30 or under (for the game), you’re going to be pretty tough to beat,” Silva said. “That’s a great job on the defensive end and we switched it up and ran some different movements and looks against them and we were still effective.”
The Warriors scored the game’s first nine points with Marist not getting on the scoreboard until the 2:01 mark of the first. Howard got the line in the game’s first minute and sank a couple of free throws, Steen followed with a 3-pointer and then Howard drove the lane and hit a jump shot to make it 7-0. With 2:30 left in the quarter, junior Aspen Russell worked the ball to Howard, who then found senior Ahnika Tryon underneath for another two points.
Over the rest of the first half, the two teams traded points and Philomath had a nine-point lead at the break. Among the points for the Warriors were a pair of 3-pointers by sophomore Emily Taunisila.
Philomath struggled offensively in the third quarter for the second straight game.
“Yeah, we do need to figure out how to come out in the third quarter with the same energy that we had to start the game,” Silva said, “because it definitely slowed down the pace and we were struggling to score for the first four minutes. We’ve got to clean that up next time.”
Howard said the team tends to get too relaxed when holding the lead.
“It’s like we’re settling when we’re ahead but I think that’s just something we need to work on — coming out strong like we do at the beginning of the game,” she said.
The Warriors failed to make a second-half basket until just 44 seconds remained in the third — that coming on Tryon’s finish after a pass from freshman Reagan Heiken. Philomath scored its other points over those eight minutes at the stripe by converting on 6 of 8 free-throw attempts.
The Spartans also managed only one field goal in the third when sophomore Lila Bray finished on an effective pass from senior Addie Ruckwardt at the 3:17 mark but the visitors were taking advantage of opportunities at the free-throw line. Philomath led by only four points with 4:33 left in the quarter and by five points with 1:23 left.
The Warriors took over in the fourth quarter and steadily pulled away. Heiken scored off a pass from junior Mica Boynton in the opening seconds and about a minute and a half later, Steen came up with a steal and basket to put Philomath up by 11.
“We just ran the ‘D’ more and realized where we needed to put the ball … see what was open,” Steen said.
Marist freshman Talia Tyner came off the bench and converted on a traditional three-point play to bring the Spartans back to within seven. The two teams traded baskets and the score was 37-30 with just under three minutes remaining.
The Warriors ended the game with a 9-2 run to end up with the 14-point margin of victory. Taunisila drove the lane for a nine-point lead at 2:39 and then Howard scored at 1:48 to pretty much put the game away. Taunisila made four straight free throws and Howard had a foul shot as well in the final 1:17.
“I think we settled down on offense and we were like working the ball around and trying not to force it right away,” Howard said. “I feel like our defense was pretty solid … it’s just like on the offensive end.”
Taunisila had a game-high 14 points for the Warriors. Ruckwardt led the Spartans (6-5) with 13.
Philomath won two of three games in the tournament. Sutherlin, a top 3A team, was unbeaten.
As the calendar year ends, Philomath and Stayton have the top win-loss records among Oregon West Conference teams at 7-2. The Warriors, Eagles and Cascade at 5-4 are all in the top 10 in the OSAA rankings.
The Warriors are scheduled to host Amity at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
