At first glance, you wouldn’t think they are sisters. Facial structure, body type, court demeanor — the Corral sisters are as different as Kirk and Spock.
Ashley is 5-foot-9 and powerful, a “point guard in a point guard’s body,” as her father, Art, puts it. She’s a ball-on-a-string dribbler and the possessor of Lady Gaga-like swagger.
Heather is 6-foot-1 and lanky, a point forward who teammates call “monkey arms.” She’s a defensive cobra who controls a game with seemingly cool confidence.
And as Heather Corral leads her Prairie High School girls basketball team toward the state tournament in two weeks, she is leaving her sister’s legacy behind — even as she embraces it.
“People would say, ‘Oh, you’re Ashley’s sister,’ and I would be like, ‘No, I’m Heather,’ ” the Prairie junior said. “Now with everything she’s done, I’m super honored to be her sister.”
That’s because Ashley, a junior at Southern California, has high school All-America honors and an all-Pac-10 selection on her résumé. That’s because Ashley set the standard for girls basketball in this region during her four seasons at Prairie.
With Heather poised to follow a similar course, the comparisons become as inevitable as they are unfair.
“Heather’s a lot taller and a lot longer,” Prairie coach Al Aldridge said. “She perhaps has a little more speed at the same age in their development.
“Ashley perhaps had better individual ball-handling skills, but Heather sees the floor very well. Both make very good decisions.”
In the long run, those differences will serve Heather Corral well. They are different players with diverse skill sets, allowing the younger sister to develop her own game rather than try to copy the icon. Allowing her to showcase the sturdiness of the Rolling Stones while Ashley displays the creativity of The Beatles.
“I would say that Ashley focuses more on her offense,” Heather said. “She really shines on the offensive side. She is definitely more tricky, more flashy. I’m more of a fundamental player.”
And while Heather has spent years embracing the differences between the two, it was a similarity that helped her embrace the legacy.
Ashley battled ankle injuries throughout her high school career, eventually undergoing reconstructive surgery. Heather suffered a severe ankle injury as a freshman and tore an ACL in her right knee as a sophomore.
“As soon as I had surgery, she was the only one who could relate to it,” Heather said. “I think Ashley going through it really helped me.”
Heather is healthy now, fully recovered from a knee surgery that took place 13 months ago. Colleges from all over the country, including most of the Pac-10 schools, have come courting. But for now the focus for Heather is on capturing something Ashley never won — a state championship.
“They’re both just as competitive,” Art Corral said. “You could always read Ashley’s face and see her drive. Heather just doesn’t show it outwardly. Heather needs to develop a little more swagger and a little more moxie. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
So, yes, the Corral sisters approach basketball in much different fashions. Ashley grabs a game by the throat and imposes her will; Heather plays the silent assassin.
You wouldn’t think they are sisters — until you check the scoreboard at the end of the game.
Greg Jayne is Sports editor of The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4531, or by e-mail at greg.jayne@columbian.com. To read his blog, go to columbian.com/weblogs/GregJayne
