"I’m trying not to think about it too much," said Comstock, who averaged 12.9 points a game last year for the Falcons. “It has really changed everything, like who I hang out with now and how I play basketball. We just knew where we were on the court and always helped each other out. She assisted all my points and just made me a better player on the court."

The Falcons will face the challenge of playing without their young star, their point guard, who carried the team with the ball at her fingertips.

"We have a lot of pieces in place, but it’s just a matter of figuring out how to play again without the person who led us last year," said Kentlake head coach Scott Simmons. "Carly was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of kid. She was our head and shoulders and picked us up and carried us into state. It’s hard to replace someone like that."

Stowell was the leading rebounder, the kind of player who could beat traps by herself, and was conscientious of her role on the court.

She has a sweatband with Carly’s number, "21", on it that she will wear every game, and also has Carly’s name written on her shoes. She has been working on her ballhandling skills, moving to the wing position from post. One of her goals for the season is to help get the ball up the court because she knows her team will need it the most.

"Last year, before every game, Carly and I would always sing “Over My Head," so I am probably going to listen to that before every game," Comstock said.

The memories of Carly are always there.

"I think about her every day," she said. "If I just see one of her relatives I just think about her, or if I am having a problem I think about what she would say. I am doing better than before and I think I am doing good in a better way, but it just changed a lot of things."

Simmons believes that the start of the season will be difficult for Comstock without Stowell on the court but feels like she is ready to rise up to the task.

"I think that she will be playing this season and the rest of her life in Carly’s memory," he said. “She will dominate and have an amazing year. She is extremely motivated and wants to show how good Carly was by making people notice us as a team."

"We did find some success and left the summer encouraged with the teams’ ability to deal with what happened," Simmons said. "We definitely won’t forget about it. We learned it was okay to keep playing and that was a big step for the team."

The Falcons will step on the court together again when official practices start on November 12. It will be a learning and growing process for all.

"We have a chance to make it to state, but this season is just going to be different," Comstock said.

The team is getting memorial patches on their home and away jerseys with Carly’s name. They will hang one of her jerseys in the gym and although the school can’t retire the number officially, the team will make sure her number never gets ordered.

"In addition we will take her No. 21 jersey to all the games and keep her with us on the bench," said Simmons. "It is a way to keep her close to us and remember she is still apart of us and what we are doing."

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