By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
TURNER, Ore.– Cascade’s Rozalynn Schmunk stepped up huge for the Cougars in their double overtime defeat to Philomath on Tuesday night in Oregon West Conference action.
With Cassidy Crabtree fouling out late in regulation and Olivia Bennet and Pearl Pruett exiting early in overtime, the Cougars struggled to find momentum as the Warriors stretched their lead to seven points late in the extra period.
That was when Schmunk stepped up. Within the last 30 seconds or so of the first overtime quarter, Schmunk scored seven unanswered points to tie the game up at 42. Good enough to force a second four minute quarter. For Schmunk, who finished with 25 points in the game, scored 12 of those points in extra time to try to help her team stay in the game late.
“I felt like that was the only thing I could do…I had to step up more as a leader of this team unlike I ahve before and I felt like I had to give it my all and do all I could do for this team,” said Schmunk.
“I thought we done enough in that first overtime, but you got to give that Schmunk girl a lot of credit. She hit a few huge shots in the first overtime, she had at least seven points if I remember,” starts Philomath Head Coach Ben Silva. “She hit a big three down the stretch and got a steal that led to two to tie it up and send it to second overtime. But our message was the same: keep grinding, keep working together, and find a way to win.”
The whole game had been a grind. It was physical. It was aggressive. Both teams were exhausted by the end of regulation, more so by the end of the first overtime period. But man, the two squads kept battling.
Cascade entered the game tied for first in the OWC with Stayton and were hoping to keep pace with their rival from down the road. The Warriors of Philomath were hoping a win here and a win Friday against those same Eagles will create some chaos in the league standings as theoretically the three could be tied for first-place.
Schmunk opened the second overtime with a basket, but Philomath answered. A free throw and a bucket from Reagan Heiken helped the Warriors take a 45–44 lead with 1:50 remaining.
Philomath did a better job containing Schmunk in the second overtime, forcing the rest of Cascade’s lineup to step up around the senior post. For the most part, the Warriors answered the call, building a 48–45 lead with about a minute left in the extra period. The Cougars trimmed it to one with 37.7 seconds remaining, but Philomath pushed it back to a two-point edge as Cascade began fouling to extend the game.
“We switched up our defense, we weren’t just triple-teaming her. She was kind of dribbling into our zone area where we’re trying to trap, which really helped us out. Some of their other primary ball handlers were out of the game at that point, so we thought the zone would be a good look,” Silva said of the second overtime period.
Cascade had one final chance to force a third overtime — or win it with a three — trailing 49–47 with 2.2 seconds left. But the Warriors smothered the catch-and-shoot attempt as time expired, escaping Turner with a 49–47 victory.
Jordyn Hood led the Warriors with 13 points and Isabelle Muir contributed another 12 points as Philomath turns their focus to Stayton on Friday at home.
“Stayton’s going to be another tough one on Friday. We got two practices to get back to work. I can’t remember, I think it was a six-point game and we were right there with them the first time as well. We’ve improved and they’ve probably improved as well. So hopefully we can find another way to get a win at home,” said Silva.
Crabtree contributed 13 points in the defeat as the Cougars turn their focus to Estacada on Friday and then to Sweet Home on Tuesday for their OWC Regular season finale as they look to duplicate the effort they produced on Tuesday with the 4A postseason on the horizon.
“I think it shows how hard we play and how we never give up. I feel like we play as a team in some parts, obviously there’s improvements we could make. I think we did what we could do in the time we could,” said Schmunk. “Where we suffered the most was in our defense, like getting back. They beat us quite a few times off of just out-running us and getting back on defense and transitioning.”
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
