The rivalry got them in the right frame of mind.
Their fans pushed them.
But what really fired up the Skyview Storm on Thursday was the scoreboard at Columbia River High School.
The Skyview girls basketball team was tied with Columbia River going into the fourth quarter.
“Seeing the scoreboard put it in my head, ‘This is it. We need to pick it up,’ ” said sophomore Hanna Van Nortwick, who scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Storm pull away from the Chieftains 52-40. “The whole game I felt we were playing not to lose. In the fourth quarter, we played more to win.”
Riley Friauf came off the bench and led Skyview in scoring with 15 points. Ashlee Comastro had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Storm.
“It was just fun having the crowd. The rivalry gave us a lot of energy,” Comastro said. “Because of the rivalry and because we all know each other. It’s super exciting to play here and beat your rival.”
Comastro scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, breaking the tie, and Skyview never lost that lead. Van Nortwick’s basket with 3:50 to play made it 42-34. Friauf made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.
Friauf was the spark for the Storm, scoring eight first-half points when the team was struggling.
“I just work as hard as I can when I go out there, when I get the opportunity,” she said.
The Chieftains, who opened the season 4-0, jumped out to a fast start, leading 16-10 before Van Nortwick hit a 3-pointer at the first-quarter horn. Skyview would then take a one-point lead at half. Defenses ruled the third quarter, with the two teams combining for 11 points.
Skyview, a traditional power from the 4A Greater St. Helens League, then won the fourth quarter 20-8 against the 3A GSHL Chieftains.
“I told them I was proud of them,” Columbia River coach Carl Click said. “They played real hard and well against a good team. That’s our first loss but probably the best game we’ve played. They’re bigger than we are, they’re deeper than we are, they shoot better than we do, and we were right with them with a couple minutes to go.”
Megan Bloom made three 3-pointers and led Columbia River with 13 points. Kate Kraft added 10 points and four steals.
In the end, though, Skyview was too strong.
“I felt like we needed to take over. It was our time to take over,” Comastro said. “We used all the energy we had left in us to dominate the fourth quarter.”
SKYVIEW 52, COLUMBIA RIVER 40
SKYVIEW — Hannahjoy Adams 8, Sydney Friauf 2, Genevieve Lo 0, Kirsten Johnson 2, Ashlee Comastro 10, Hanna Van Nortwick 11, Maddie Lord 4, Riley Friauf 15, Tiana Klutz 0. Totals 15-43 (1-13) 21-37 52.
COLUMBIA RIVER — Marion Lilly 8, Kate Kraft 10, Teaghan Cowles 4, Holli Jo Chose 1, Megan Bloom 13, Amara Moore 3, Katie Kolbe 0, Gabrielle Collins 0, Emma Fisk 1, Ellie Furth 0. Totals 11-43 (6-18) 12-21 40.
Skyview 13 14 5 20—52
Col. River 16 10 6 8—40
JV — Skyview won.
