That it took the Skyview girls basketball team a while to get a handle on things Saturday afternoon was not a big surprise.
Also no surprise was the way the Storm responded when challenged by the visiting Issaquah Eagles.
Ashlee Comastro scored 16 points, Kirsten Johnson hit four 3-pointers, and Hanna Van Nortwick made three timely baskets down the stretch in a 54-48 bi-district playoff win that advances the Storm to the round-of 16 in the Class 4A state playoffs.
Skyview (21-2) will play next weekend for a berth in the final eight. The time, place and opponent were to be announced on Sunday.
When a nine-point Skyview lead was cut to three points with 3:40 on the clock, it was Van Nortwick who hit a driving jumper. Moments later, the junior guard did it again, knocking down a shot to beat the shot clock and again extend the lead to five points.
“It’s just about knowing what’s there. And pausing for poise is really important, slowing it down so you can see those seams in the defense,” Van Nortwick said. “Coach always says to play with no regrets and to play to win. That’s what our team was doing at the end. We just want to play to win and not play scared.”
Skyview hit 5 of 7 free throws in the final two minutes while limiting the Eagles to a couple of baskets.
While that strong finish was needed, it was a second-quarter outburst from the perimeter that put the Storm in front to stay. Johnson, who was 4 of 4 from 3-point range in the game, made three in a row during a 16-2 burst that put Skyview up by 11 points late in the first half. Van Nortwick also hit two 3-pointers in the quarter.
As expected, Skyview’s inside edge was also critical. The 6-foot-1 Comastro converted layups off passes from 6-3 Maddie Lord and 6-1 Riley Friauf to start a 13-point run in that big second-quarter push.
“It’s about patience, and we looked at our options and we executed,” said Comastro, who finished with three blocked shots and a team-leading seven rebounds to go with her 16 points.
That execution came after some early struggles against the Issaquah press. Skyview turned over the ball eight times in the first quarter, then had 11 turnovers the rest of the way.
“The first half this season has been rough for us with turnovers,” Storm coach Jennifer Buscher said. “In the second half we kind of settle in and play our game.”
Skyview led the entire second half, responding when the Eagles scored the first six points of the third quarter to pull within two, and never letting the visitors have possession with a chance to tie or take a lead in the fourth quarter.
“It was awesome for us to all be working together as a team,” Van Nortwick said. “Everything was clicking at the end. We just kept playing hard and it was awesome to see that.”
That effort was no surprise to the Storm’s coach.
“They’re a pretty focused, driven group of young people,” Buscher said. “So if we were going down, we were going down fighting.”
SKYVIEW 54, ISSAQUAH 48
ISSAQUAH (13-9) — Lauren Longo 5, Tatum Dow 6, Mariah Van Halm 16, Ellen McNary 10, Hope Dahlquist 7, Liza Watson 4. Totals 19 (4) 6-12.
SKYVIEW (19-4) — Riley Friauf 8, Sydney Friauf 1, Hanna Van Nortwick 12, Remington Riley 0, Kirsten Johnson 12, Ashlee Comastro 16, Maddie Lord 5. Totals 19 (6) 10-17 54.
Issaquah 14 8 10 16—48
Skyview 9 21 7 17—54
