It was Skyview’s last home game of the girls basketball season, but the Storm hope to have one more performance at their gym.
They would love to present the student body with another state championship trophy.
“I think we can go all the way. We have what it takes,” Genevieve Lo said.
“I think it’s possible, but we will have to step it up even more,” added Hannahjoy Adams.
Thursday, the Storm took another step toward that ultimate goal, beating Emerald Ridge 66-26 in the opening round of the Class 4A bi-district basketball tournament. The Storm will play Puyallup at Rogers High School in Puyallup at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals. Saturday’s winner will earn a spot to the state regionals.
Stephanie McDonagh had 16 points and seven assists to lead the Storm against Emerald Ridge. Jocelyn Adams added 15 points, and Lo finished with 14.
Hannahjoy Adams set the tone early with five of her eight steals in the first quarter.
“We wanted to come out with a lot of pressure,” she said in an understatement.
The Storm had eight steals in the first quarter and forced 10 turnovers.
“My offensive game wasn’t on, but you can always control how hard you work on defense,” Hannahjoy Adams said. “Defense wins championships.”
McDonagh made a half-court shot at the buzzer to make it 23-7, and that was pretty much the game.
Jocelyn Adams scored six points in a row just before the half to give the Storm a 17-point lead.
Lo made back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to push the lead to 21.
Emerald Ridge finished the game with 32 turnovers and did not score in the fourth quarter.
Skyview, which won the Class 4A state title in 2012, is ranked No. 3 in the state in The Associated Press’ latest poll.
The Storm know the competition will get tougher throughout their run in the postseason. They have a motto that they say helps prepare them for battle.
“We play anywhere, any time, anybody,” Lo said.
That anywhere thing could come in handy. The remainder of the bi-district games are in the Puget Sound area, and if the Storm advance to regionals, that game will also be beyond Southwest Washington. The state tournament is in Tacoma.
If all goes perfectly for the Storm, they will be back on their gym floor one more time — for a championship assembly.
SKYVIEW 66, EMERALD RIDGE 26
EMERALD RIDGE — McKayla Mattes 2, Sunni Berbert 2, Riley Clarke 10, Kayla Frank 2, Alyssa Heslip 4, Brooke Peterson 0, Hope Jones 0, Emma McCoy 3, Madison Colley 3. Totals 11-33 (2-6) 2-8 26.
SKYVIEW — Hannahjoy Adams 2, Stephanie McDonagh 16, Jocelyn Adams 15, Aubrey Ward-El 9, Genevieve Lo 14, Sydney Friauf 0, Kirsten Johnson 8, Carli Fultz 0, Ashlee Comastro 2, Hanna Vannortwick 0. Totals 25-62 (6-20) 10-15 66.
E. Ridge 7 11 8 0–26
Skyview 23 12 19 12–66
