Stayton High School’s girls basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A tournament with a 41-26 win over Philomath on March 12 at Forest Grove High School.
The outcome is significant as Stayton continues its pursuit to become the first 4A girls team to win consecutive championships since Sutherlin’s four-year run from 2014 to 2017. The Eagles’ strong defensive performance was key in their victory.
Kathryn Samek led Stayton with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds, also contributing four blocked shots and four steals. “It was amazing,” Samek said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we all stuck together. This is what we’ve been working for all year.” Zuri Anderson added nine points and Maken Schacher scored six on two three-pointers for Stayton, which will face Henley in the semifinals.
Stayton coach Tal Wold credited his team’s defense for the win. “We allowed 12 points in the first quarter and then just really buckled down and did an awesome job defensively,” Wold said. He described Philomath as “so hard to guard” due to their physicality and athleticism but praised his players’ effort: “I just loved the battle and fight from all our girls. I just thought they did a great job.” Wold explained that adjustments included increasing ball pressure and working harder in the post.
Philomath struggled offensively after a strong start, shooting only 22.9 percent from the field for a season-low point total. Coach Ben Silva said, “I thought we executed the game plan pretty well early on, but then we went into a drought offensively… Stayton is just so consistent on both ends of the floor.” Reagan Heiken led Philomath with nine points; Shaylee May contributed seven points, six rebounds, and four assists.
In other quarterfinal games, Henley defeated Marist Catholic 46-41 behind Makayla Schroeder’s 19 points and nine rebounds. Coach Randy Denson said at halftime he told his team: “I felt like we were a little shell-shocked… I told them if we continued to play that way, we were going to lose, so we might as well just give it our all.” St. Helens overcame Seaside with Devan Lee scoring 26 points—22 in the second half—and Baker beat Cascade thanks to Molly Rasmussen’s double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The advancing teams—Stayton, Henley, St. Helens, and Baker—will compete in Friday’s semifinals.
