After two knock-down, drag-out battles this season – both decided by one point – it's clear that very little separates No. 1 Stayton and No. 3 Philomath in 4A Oregon West Conference girls basketball.
But after Stayton gutted out a 40-39 home win over Philomath on Friday, avenging its only loss this season, the Eagles have claimed the upper hand in the state's toughest conference. Stayton (22-1, 8-1) took over sole possession of first place over Philomath (18-5, 7-2) and can put the final touch on an outright Oregon West title with a win at North Marion in the regular season finale Tuesday.
Friday's game mirrored the intensity of the first meeting Jan. 31, when the Warriors won at Stayton 27-26. Stayton coach Tal Wold said the games have taken a toll on him and his counterpart, Philomath coach Ben Silva.
“Playing them twice this year, I've aged 10 years,” Wold said. “Ben and I were talking afterwards, a third game, I don't know if I'd survive.
“This time, we had the bounce of the break in the last minute. The games were really similar, we both just made a few more shots. We're both getting better at what we do offensively.”
Stayton led 35-27 early in the fourth quarter before Philomath went on a 10-1 run to lead 37-36. Senior Brooklynne Morley scored to give the Eagles a 39-37 edge with 1:41 to go, but Warriors senior Aspen Russell made two free throws to tie 39-39 moments later.
With the game still tied and five seconds left, Stayton inbounded near half-court. Senior Haley Butenschoen passed to sophomore Kathryn Samek, who caught the ball near the free throw line, pivoted toward the basket and drew a foul while shooting with three seconds left.
Samek made the first free throw, missed the second one intentionally, and the Warriors were unable to get off a final shot.
“I was missing earlier in the game, and I was excited to make my one that counted,” said Samek, who finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. “We knew it was going to be close coming in. We just had to work our butts off and do it for each other.”
Wold liked the chances of Samek creating a scoring opportunity.
“With the time we had left, it just made sense, let's get it to her and see if something can happen, and it did,” Wold said. “It was a tough play for them to defend. She's turned into a really good basketball player. Some people are calling about her.”
Morley scored a team-high 10 points and sophomore Breeci Hampton had nine points, making three of Stayton's six three-pointers. The Eagles won despite one of their best players, senior Kenzi Hollenbeck, sitting out the last 12 minutes due to illness.
With the win, Stayton moved to the top of this week's OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll, supplanting No. 2 Henley. The Eagles were hungry to make up for their only loss.
“I told our girls after last game, 'We played a great game against a great team and learned a ton,'” Wold said.
Sophomore Reagan Heiken scored 15 points to lead Philomath, which made only one three-pointer.
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Back on the bench
Two familiar faces have returned to the bench at Colton, helping guide the Vikings to the 2A playoffs.
Former Colton head coaches Greg Adams and his wife, Teresa Adams, took over as interim coaches in early January after the resignation of coach Dan Boyd. The retired couple jumped into action after receiving a call from athletic director Chris West on the day of the resignation.
“He said, 'Are you guys available?'” Greg said. “And I said, 'Yeah, we can be there by four.'”
Greg, who coached Colton's boys team to a state title in 1991, coached the girls team for seven seasons (1999-2006), including state tournament appearances in 2003 and 2005. Teresa succeeded him as coach for seven seasons (2006-13).
Greg, 67, retired from teaching in 2011 and Teresa followed in 2012. Greg, who had two more stints coaching Colton's boys team (2006-10, 2016-17), has spent much of his time in retirement coaching middle school girls basketball in Colton.
“I coached most of them in middle school,” he said. “The kids have been great. They've bought in. I said, 'I'm not here to reinvent the wheel. What do you guys like to run?'”
Colton has gone 11-5 since the coaching change.
“It's been very enjoyable, but also very exhausting mentally,” Greg said. “I just forgot how intense I get when I coach, having some close games down the stretch. That's the fun thing about coaching, though, is having that intensity.”
Colton (14-11) won two heart-stoppers in the Tri-River Conference playoffs to earn a state playoff berth, defeating Regis 33-31 and Santiam 38-35 in double overtime. The playoff win at Santiam (14-10) was a surprise considering the Vikings dropped both conference games to the Wolverines, including a 42-21 home loss Feb. 3.
“They're the little engine that could,” Greg said.
Senior post Addison English and sophomore guard Chayse Smith scored 10 and nine points, respectively, against Santiam. English made a six-footer with 10 seconds left in the first overtime to tie. Smith hit a three-pointer to put Colton ahead to stay in the second overtime.
No. 15 seed Colton plays at No. 2 Weston-McEwen (21-6) for a 2A tournament berth Friday.
Imbler wins Old Oregon showdown
Imbler vaulted to the top spot in the OSAAtoday 1A coaches poll this week after beating Union 46-31 in the Old Oregon League playoffs at Baker High School on Saturday, ending the Bobcats' 18-game winning streak.
No. 1 Imbler (20-4) and No. 3 Union (22-2) shared the Old Oregon title this season, both going 10-0 in league, but did not meet prior to Saturday's league seeding game. The Panthers had lost seven in a row to the Bobcats going back to 2018.
Imbler had a 20-8 edge in turnovers, getting seven steals from senior wing Rachael Stirewalt.
“The girls came out determined and played relentlessly on the defensive end,” said Imbler coach Darci Sweet, whose team has won 13 in a row. “We worked hard as a whole team on the boards, outrebounding Union, which we knew would be a key to getting the win. We also took care of the basketball.”
Freshman guard Whitney Haddock made four consecutive three-pointers in the second half to help Imbler extend a five-point halftime lead to 19 points. She finished with a team-high 15 points and six rebounds.
Stirewalt had 12 points and 11 rebounds and senior guard Paiten Braseth added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Imbler claimed the league's top seed, but has the overall No. 2 seed in the 1A playoffs, behind Union. The Panthers and Bobcats play first-round home games Tuesday against No. 31 Triangle Lake (9-12) and No. 32 Eddyville Charter (8-19), respectively.
jerryu@osaa.org
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