PHILOMATH – No. 1 Philomath used its height and length to turn back No. 2 Cascade 41-34 in the 4A Oregon West Conference girls basketball opener for both teams Friday night.
Sage Kramer, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, scored 17 points and Abigail Brown, a 6-3 junior post, added 11 points as the host Warriors (7-2) extended their conference winning streak to 24.
“We had to be scrappier than them,” Kramer said. “Even though we were getting pushed around, it was a physical game and we just had to keep fighting, and we did that.”
Philomath led 8-7 after one quarter and 18-13 at half. The Warriors built the lead to 30-22 before Cascade (8-2) drew within 32-29, but Brown scored six points in the fourth quarter as Philomath held on for the win.
The Warriors' defense held the Cougars to their second-lowest point total of the season.
“We had to focus on the little things,” Kramer said. “In our 2-3, we had to be flying around, and we had to box out, and we had to talk on defense and transition, because Cascade's a good team. … Everyone did a good job talking to the team and playing together.”
Senior guard Ariel Tobiasson scored 11 points and senior guard Kenna Coleman and junior post Meah Carley added seven points apiece for the Cougars, who haven't beaten Philomath since the 2017-18 season.
Cascade will take the lessons it learned Friday into the rematch at on its home floor Feb. 1.
“It taught us when Sage gets the ball, where we need to be,” Cougars senior post Abby Jeppsen said. “And it reminded us that we’re going to be seeing them again on our floor, and we’re going to be 10 times more ready than we were tonight.
“It was frustrating because we weren’t hitting a shot. We were missing the post inside a little bit and that didn’t help us.”
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
Subscribe
