HOCKINSON — The yo-yo’s journey that is the Skyview girls basketball season continues.
After a 45-29 win over Union on Friday in the bi-district tournament, the Storm are again looking up.
Up, then down, then back up. It’s a familiar pattern for Skyview both in the regular season and postseason.
After opening bi-district play Thursday with a loss up against Federal Way’s Todd Beamer up north, the Storm were back down in Clark County.
After beating a fellow 4A Greater St. Helens League team at Hockinson High School, Skyview is headed back north to play Rogers of Puyallup on Tuesday in Lakewood.
A win Tuesday would clinch a berth to the regional round of the state tournament. A loss would end a season that saw Skyview lose reigning Columbian All-Region player of the year Ashley Comastro to a broken foot in late January.
Skyview (13-8) drew on its resiliency to survive Friday’s loser-out game. The Storm overcame a sluggish start to eventually pull away from a pesky and familiar opponent.
“We’ve had some tough times, and we’ve been a pretty resilient group,” Skyview coach Jennifer Buscher said. “Tonight was definitely a test of resiliency. Union has improved a lot over the course of the season.”
Union (12-8) lost to Skyview by 21 and 22 points in the 4A GSHL season. Playing their third game in three nights, the Titans trailed 17-14 at halftime before being outscored 15-3 in the third quarter.
“It’s tough playing a team three times because they know what you do,” Skyview senior Sydney Friauf said. “But we knew that if we lost we were out. We had to give it our all tonight, even though we were exhausted.”
Both teams substituted frequently and the shooting was ragged in the first half, which ended with Skyview up 17-14.
Mackenzie Lewis kept Union close. She scored all 11 points in the first half, including three 3-pointers.
Friauf scored eight of her 12 points in the second half. Hanna Van Nortwick also had eight of her 12 points after the break for Skyview.
Union ended a season marked by growth. After finishing third in the 4A GSHL, the Titans won a bi-district play-in game for their first postseason win in four years.
Coach Mike Cranston, in his first full season, singled out seniors Emily Takayoshi and Laura Beard.
“The leadership of some of these young adult ladies has been phenomenal,” he said. “It made my job really easy. … They set a really good foundation for the future.”
SKYVIEW 45, UNION 29
SKYVIEW – Riley Friauf 5, Sydney Friauf 12, Hanna Van Nortwick 12, Remington Riley 6, Nicole Christiansen 5, Mariah Campbell 5, Mikelle Anthony 0, Hailie Renne 0, Emily Morton 0. Totals 16 (4) 9-15 45.
UNION – Alexis Raymore 6, Laura Beard 2, Jewels Sono 0, Marina Morningstar 0, Keanna Wakefield 0, Rebekah Barney 1, Tanta Gladkov 0, Emily Takayoshi 1, Mackenzie Lewis 11, Courtney Cranson 8, Bailey Donohue 0, McKenna Vega 0. Totals 11 (5) 2-6 29.
Skyview 9 8 15 13–45
Union 8 6 3 12–29
