Top-ranked Stayton defeated No. 6 St. Helens 34-26 to clinch a second consecutive 4A girls basketball state title on Saturday.

FOREST GROVE — The Stayton Eagles are proof that defense wins state championships.

Stayton stuck a monkey wrench in the St. Helens Lions' offense as the top-ranked Eagles won their second consecutive state title with a 34-26 victory in Saturday’s OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A girls basketball championship final at Forest Grove High School.

Stayton’s Makenzie Schacher scored a game-high 11 points, and Kathryn Samek had 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, but it was the Eagles’ relentless man-to-man defense that carried the Oregon West Conference powerhouse to its fourth state title.

The Eagles also became the first 4A team to win consecutive championships since Sutherlin won four in a row from 2014-17.

“It’s pretty amazing to win it back-to-back,” said Schacher, the lone senior on Stayton’s roster. “I’ve been with these girls the last three years and I cherish the time that I’ve had with this team. It’s been super-fun and it’s amazing to win again.”

St. Helens scored the game’s first field goal, but the Lions came away empty on their other 12 possessions in the first quarter as Stayton jumped out to a 10-2 lead.

The Lions crept closer in the second quarter, cutting Stayton’s lead to 14-8 at halftime.

At that point, both teams were flexing their muscles on defense and struggling to create offense. The difference in the first half was that Stayton had made one more field goal and four more free throws than St. Helens, while both teams shot an identical 0 for 8 from 3-point range.

St. Helens climbed within four points when D’aye Davidson scored on a layup to cut Stayton’s lead to 16-12 with 5:29 to play in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Lions got in the second half.

The Eagles closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run, getting two 3-pointers from Schacher and another from Breeci Hampton — the last one, a right-corner bomb by Schacher that sent Stayton into the fourth quarter with a 25-15 lead.

“For a couple games, I’ve been in a little bit of a shooting slump,” Schacher said. “So, being able to hit those 3s was super-super-big for my team and made me feel real happy and real special in that I could be a part of this team and help out.”

What Stayton coach Tal Wold liked was seeing a 10-point spread with eight minutes to play.

“Makenzie’s 3-pointer there gave us a cushion that was huge,” Wold said. “The way we were playing defense, we knew any cushion was going to help, because we’re hard to score on. And the girls understood that.”

Stayton opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run that ended with a Samek layup that made it 32-17 with 6:17 remaining and the Eagles held on from there.

“We had to defend like crazy,” Wold said. “I was hoping we’d make some more shots, but tonight that didn’t happen. So, we relied on what we consider our blueprint, where everything starts, and that’s defense.

“We were able to get enough stops and we hit some big shots, some good shots to pad our early lead. But what a battle.”

Wold got no argument from St. Helens coach Jillian Ross-Dean. 

At least, not after Stayton held the Cowapa League champions 20 points below their season scoring average. And not after the Lions finished the game shooting 23.4 percent (11 for 47) from the field, 5.3 percent (1 for 19) from 3-point range, and 37.5 percent (3 for 8) from the free-throw line.

“We came out really nervous in the first half,” Ross-Dean said. “Our shots weren’t falling. I think we forced things a little bit more than we were hoping for, but I’m proud of our effort. We held a really good team to 34 points and, yes, they held us to less, but I think we played great defensively.

“Stayton is a fundamentally-sound defensive team. They know their rotations, they know where they’re supposed to be, and I think that flustered us.”

Davidson, one of St. Helens’ three senior starters, led the Lions with nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Devan Lee scored seven points with five rebounds, and Madelyn Hancock had six points and four rebounds as the Lions ended their season at 20-6.

Ross-Dean’s message to her players as they came off the floor Saturday was “to keep their heads up.”

“We played a good game,” she said. “It wasn’t a complete game, but we played a good game. We played good on defense. There’s a lot of things to be proud of and we just need to continue to pick each other up, because we just made our community proud.

“This is something we’ve been working for for four years. At the beginning of the season, these girls wouldn’t have imagined being in this place where we are right now. So, I’m so proud of the four years that we’ve put in with these seniors. It’s amazing what we just did for our town as a whole.”

No. 5 Henley 67, No. 2 Baker 51: Henley’s Makayla Schroeder scored 17 of her game-high 29 points in the first half, leading the Hornets of Klamath Falls over the Bulldogs in Saturday’s third-place game.

Schroeder, Henley’s 6-foot sophomore post, also grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds, while senior Lily Fussell knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points in her final game for the Hornets (22-6).

“I was happy with that,” Henley coach Randy Denson said. “I saw more of our balanced offense that we’ve been running, getting the ball in the hole, and playing good defense. We kind of looked like our normal-season selves today.”

Henley closed the first quarter with an 8-2 run that gave the Hornets a 16-14 lead.

Fussell hit a pair of 3-pointers to spark an 8-0 run to start the second quarter that made it 24-14, and the Hornets basically pulled away from there.

This was the fourth consecutive appearance in the state tournament for Henley’s four seniors — Senia Campos, Brooklyn Conrad, Kennedi Modin, and Fussell . The quartet played on teams that compiled a combined 89-21 record, including a 38-2 mark in Skyline Conference play with four league titles and one state championship in 2024.

“That’s hard to do,” Denson said. “It’s hard to have that much success under pressure, and I think they handled it with grace. It’s something that a lot of girls probably can’t say, all the things that these seniors have accomplished.”

Fussell sees continued success in Henley’s future.

“I believe whole-heartedly that we’re leaving behind a strong program,” she said. “We do have freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who are just as good, so I hope to see us back at this tournament next year.”

For Baker, Molly Rasmussen scored a team-high 16 points with five rebounds, Macey Morgan came off the bench to score 13 points and grab nine rebounds, and Jaxyn Ramos and Gracie Spike scored nine points each as the Bulldogs finished 23-6.

“The finish doesn’t take away from the successful season that we’ve had,” Baker coach Jason Ramos said. “I’m really proud of the girls. It’s always an accomplishment to get to the state tournament, and it’s always an accomplishment to bring home a trophy. Whatever color that trophy is … it’s just hard to do.

The Bulldogs also bid farewell to four seniors — Gwen Rasmussen, Reagan Ritter, Mary Schwartz, and Spike.

“I appreciate all their hard work over the years,” Ramos said. “With any senior group, it’s always sad to see them go. It’s obviously an emotional time for them, playing their last basketball game, but at least they got to do it here at the tournament on a Saturday.”

No. 7 Cascade 43, No. 9 Philomath 42: Cascade’s Pearl Pruett scored the go-ahead basket with 17 seconds remaining and then spoiled Philomath’s final possession with a steal as the Cougars of Turner edged their Oregon West Conference rivals in Saturday’s fourth-place game.

Pruett finished with a team-high 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Rozalyn Schmunk, one of four Cascade seniors, added 10 points, nine rebounds, and five steals as the Cougars finished the season at 16-11.

Philomath’s Jordyn Hood knocked down four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 16 points for the Warriors (16-12). Reagan Heiken added nine points and seven rebounds, and Reagan Nuno had four points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

There were nine lead changes in the game, including five in the fourth quarter. Cascade led by as many as eight points, 19-11, with 5:21 left in the second quarter, while Philomath had a six-point cushion, 30-24, with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter.