SPRINGFIELD – The No. 1 Springfield Millers took down the No. 4 Crater Comets on Friday night 73-52 in a girls basketball game. This victory extends the Millers’ winning streak to 16 games, and puts them firmly at the top of the Midwestern League.
“It’s big. The girls know I don’t smile a lot and I was all smiles in the locker room,” said Millers coach Joe Williamson, an unmistakable grin across his face. “The girls were saying, ‘Coach Joe’s happy!’ And I was really happy with how we played, and how hard we played. The win streak is nice, but the league win is bigger.”
Nuari “NuNu” Filipe was the Millers’ star on Friday with 34 points while leading the team in rebounds. This marks Filipe’s fourth straight game of 25+ points – a statistic made more impressive given she’s only a freshman.
“We don’t even try to run everything through her because we’re a deep team, and I don’t believe we have to run things for her. We have a lot of good players, but she’s still able to be so consistent and pick her times,” Williamson said. “She just finishes. In the first half she actually struggled a couple times to finish, but in the second half she was money.”
While ultimately winning by 21 points, the Millers trailed by two points on Friday. The Millers were able to win the third and fourth quarters 25-14 and 24-9, respectively, after changing the defensive scheme.
“We decided to change some things defensively. I think we weren’t focused on getting stops or our placement on the court,” Williamson said. “Once we changed a few key things and got bodies in the right places, we were able to play much better.”
The Millers and the Comets have been side-by-side in both the state and league rankings all season. The winner of this game likely determined how that ranking will stay for the rest of the regular season.
When asked if this game was “circled” on the team’s calendar, Williamson replied, “It’s always circled. It’s never uncircled.”
The Millers lost to Crater in both meetings last season. They were the Millers’ only two league losses in the 2024-25 season and Crater went on to win the Class 5A state championship. Now, the Millers are 17-1, and No. 1 in Class 5A with only seven games remaining in the season.
As the playoffs inch closer, the Millers’ main focus is staying consistent.
“We just have to keep getting better defensively,” Williamson said.
“Offensively we have to continue to execute and get to our spots.”
The Millers travel to No. 1 in Class 6A West Linn (15-1) on Thursday as part of their three-game road trip. The Millers return home on Tuesday Feb. 17 to face Thurston.
