Right before the game. Right after the game.
Those are times Ashlee Comastro enjoys the most about basketball.
Not that she does not like, you know, actually playing the game. It’s just that there is something special about those moments, before and after, with her Skyview Storm teammates.
“Walking out on the court and high-fiving everyone, talking about how hard we’re going to work in this game. That feeling of working together is great,” Comastro said.
Then, 90 minutes or so later, if that work works out in Skyview’s favor, there is another euphoric moment.
“The feeling after a game when we’ve won. ‘We did it again.’ That feeling of accomplishment, the win, that’s my favorite part of the game,” Comastro said.
She and the Storm get that feeling a lot.
On Friday, the Storm will take on Bellarmine Prep at Battle Ground High School in a Class 4A state regional round game. The winner will advance to the Tacoma Dome for the state quarterfinals.
“We play our game. We made our goals. And we’ve achieved (some of) them and are on the pace to achieving (all of) them,” she said.
League title.
District title.
State round of 16.
That’s Skyview so far.
Comastro, a junior, has been one of the driving forces, too.
A 6-foot-1 post who averages 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, she was named the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League’s player of the year.
“She is an intense player. Her kind of intensity is fierce,” Skyview coach Jennifer Buscher said. “This team has a lot of intensity but hers is on another level.”
Comastro is not quite comfortable with the individual honor, though.
“Everyone works equally hard on this team,” Comastro said. “I was happy I got the recognition from the rest of the coaches in the league. It meant a lot to me. But anyone could have got it from this team.
“We’re all working super, super hard to get where we are right now. That’s just the coolest part, that we’re all playing as a team.”
Comastro and the rest of the Storm get together one last time before every game. And they bring it together after every game, too.
One more win, and the Storm will be able to do those cool things in the Tacoma Dome.
