When Rainier’s Angelica Askey first stepped on the floor for warmups at Centralia College on Sunday afternoon, she wasn’t feeling super confident.
“Going in, it felt like my shots were not gonna go,” Askey said. “But once I got warm, I was like ‘this is it.’”
Askey’s sharpshooting ability ended up being the difference in the Southwest Washington Girls Senior All-Star Game at CC, as she hit six three to lead the B’s past the A’s 78-60.
Askey was named the game’s Most Valuable Player for her performance, as she finished with a game-high 24 points while also adding four assists and a pair of steals.
“It’s a blessing to be out here,” Askey said after the performance. “I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything like that. It’s a good feeling to have.”
The B’s took control of the game early, as Oakville’s Vivi Cruz capped a 14-0 run with a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the first quarter.
The A’s started to get going in the second, but Askey hit three threes in the quarter to help the B’s maintain their lead going into halftime.
The second half was fairly even, with both teams trading shots, and the B’s early run held as the main difference in the game.
Askey finished the night 6 for 12 from three and won the halftime three-point contest, while fellow Mountaineers Bryn Beckman scored nine points and added 15 rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Askey and Beckman’s teammate Brooklynn Swenson was also on the bench, though she was unable to play due to an injury, and the B team was coached by Rainier coach Brandon Eygabroad.
“Just playing with my teammates for the last time was pretty amazing,” Askey said. “As we get older, we’re not gonna see each other as much, so it was good.”
Also on the B team was Napavine’s Jessie McCoy, Oakville’s Cruz and Carolann Black, Tenino’s Brianna Asay, and Montesano’s Ava Schrader.
“It’s super fun to coach a team like this,” Eygabroad said. “You don’t really have to coach them. They’re talented enough to make a lot of things happen by themselves … There’s a reason why they’re here.”
Asay and McCoy finished with 14 points apiece, whale Black added eight and Cruz scored two. Schrader finished with seven points and 13 rebounds.
W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski coached the A-Team, which was made up entirely of 2A EvCo players.
He had three of his Bearcats — Julia Dalan, Amanda Bennett, and Grace Simpson — and he was excited to share the floor with them one final time.
“That’s a special group,” Karnofski said. “To get to coach them one more time, even if it’s not in crimson and grey, it’s fun.”
Karnofski also had Black Hills’ Kiley McMahon, Tumwater’s Sydney Sumrok, and Aberdeen’s Alivia Lamont.
“It was fun that it was all EvCo girls,” Karnofski said. “They’re girls that we’ve played against and scouted. It’s just fun to see them in a different light. They’re cool kids.”
McMahon finished with a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while Dalan added 16 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and a pair of blocks. Sumrok scored seven points and logged five blocks, three rebounds, and two steals, and Simpson and Lamont both scored six.
Simpson also tallied seven rebounds, and Bennett finished the afternoon with four points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
After the final buzzer sounded, both teams made their way out to midcourt, where they posed for a photo together.
“It’s always amazing to meet different people,” Askey said. “It’s pretty amazing to get to play with them and get to know them … It’s a blessing to be out here.”
