On February 1, senior basketball player Isabella Portello played in her senior night basketball game. The road leading up to Portello’s senior night wasn’t easy, but she’s glad she did it nonetheless. 

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Not only is Portello a member of varsity basketball, but she also participates in field hockey and track and field. Portello is a member of the marching band, concert band, orchestra, pit orchestra, concert choir, and KD-ettes. 

As if that wasn’t a lot, she also involves herself in Mini-THON, the RAMS team, the Academic Letter Society, Varsity Club, and earns Distinguished Honor Roll. 

Portello started playing basketball in third grade for a local recreation team. “I started because I really wanted to do something, and my dad didn’t let me do a lot of things. It took a lot of convincing to let him let me do basketball even if it was just a rec team.” 

Her experience playing basketball has been positive over the years; she expressed how she is thankful for the friendships and bonds she has formed with the girls on the teams. “I made a lot of new friends and I met a lot of new people,” she explained. 

During her basketball career in high school, she faced a few struggles. Starting freshman year, Portello felt knocked down not making the varsity team when all of her friends did. Despite this, she pushed herself to work even harder for the upcoming season. 

But her hard work paid off, and she earned a spot on varsity her sophomore and junior years. 

While she was on varsity her senior year, she acknowledged that she rarely played on the court. “I never felt motivated to go to basketball anymore, and it really drug me down. It’s so hard watching everyone come off the court sweaty. It’s hard to be there and cheer everyone on when I didn’t play,” she said.

Over her years as a basketball player, Portello made several memories with her teammates and coaches. She will miss the inside jokes amongst the team and being in the overall presence of her teammates or as she calls them, her family. 

Portello would like to extend a special thank you to her mom, “She gets me where I need to go and she looks out for me. Even when I am not playing or sitting on the sidelines she was still my number one supporter.”

She also acknowledges her teammates and coaches also had an impact on her basketball journey. 

“I would like to thank the people I played with and competed with to push me to be better because you always wanted to be better than the person next to you. My coaches taught me to work hard and continue to grow when life gets you down.”

Portello pushed through the ups and downs of being a high school athlete. She has made several memories and has grown through life experiences. 

Looking forward to her future, Portello plans to attend college somewhere close to home and study biochemistry to one day become a dermatologist. She is unsure if she will continue basketball after high school but is considering being a walk-on for track and field.