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“The girls showed a lot of grit”

February 12, 2026 by David Svien

Kennedy O’Neill assesses the situation. (Jackie Saia photo)

It was, exactly as expected, a war.

Coupeville and Friday Harbor’s varsity girls’ basketball teams have clashed three times this season (so far), and all three have been royal rumbles.

The teams split their regular season series, with both road squads winning, setting up Thursday’s District 1/2 playoff opener off in the San Juans.

Take away a brutal first quarter, and Coupeville wins, but the host Wolverines had just enough gas left in the tank to pull out a 47-40 win in a game which was a one-score affair with less than 20 seconds to play.

With the loss, CHS drops to 5-14 on the season, and will play either La Conner or Orcas Island Feb. 17.

Win that loser-out game, and the Wolves would likely square off for a fourth time with Friday Harbor two days later, this time in Mount Vernon, with a trip to state in the balance.

To see the bracket, pop over to:

https://www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=4989

Thursday’s clash started with Wolf guard Haylee Armstrong forcing a steal, sprinting to the other end, juking a defender out of her shoes, and slapping home a layup.

Unfortunately for Coupeville, it wouldn’t hit another field goal for nearly nine minutes, which left the visitors fighting from behind the rest of the night.

While CHS coach Scout Smith would have preferred her team didn’t fall behind 17-3 by the first break, with Friday Harbor dominating on the boards, she was very pleased with the response from her road warriors.

“The girls showed a lot of grit and determination today,” Smith said.

“I’m really proud of the way they were able to battle back after an early deficit and make it a close game.”

And how, as Coupeville ripped off substantial runs to open the second (12-5), third (7-0), and fourth (15-7) quarters, getting their buckets from a variety of players and ramping up their intensity on defense.

Each time the Wolves got close to knotting things up, however, Friday Harbor would find a bucket or two to stem the incoming tide, holding a 29-15 lead at the half, and a 36-25 advantage coming out of the third.

Coupeville put together its best sustained run in the fourth, racing the clock and shredding the defense.

Sophomore ace Tenley Stuurmans went off on a run of three straight buckets, set up by superb passes from Teagan Calkins and Armstrong, plus a bold defensive play from Adeline Maynes.

Everyone was hitting the bottom of the net in the final frame, with Danica Strong dropping in her second three-ball of the night, and five different Wolves recording points.

Friday Harbor found a miracle three-ball from the corner to push the margin back to 43-37 before Coupeville slashed it down to 43-40 when Calkins dropped in a runner as the clock madly ticked towards 0:00.

But the miracle comeback wasn’t to be, as the host team played the game’s final 30 seconds about as well as you can.

The Wolverines yanked down two offensive rebounds, netted a pair of free throws, and forced two back-court turnovers, with one turning into a lightning-quick layup, keeping Coupeville from getting across half court during the frantic finale.

Stuurmans paced CHS with 11 points, while Calkins banked in eight, and Armstrong rattled the rim for seven.

All seven Coupeville players to hit the floor scored, with Strong (6), Arianna Cunningham (4), Maynes (2), and Kennedy O’Neill (2) also keeping the scorebook keeper busy.

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Strong start, foul finish

February 12, 2026 by David Svien

Malachi Somes (5) drives past his defender, who meets a brick wall known as Camden Glover. (Julie Wheat photo)

The road gets tougher from here.

Unable to hold on after jumping out to a 13-1 lead Thursday against host Friday Harbor, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad fell 44-42 in its District 1/2 playoff opener.

With the loss, the Wolves slip to 7-12 on the season, but they’re still alive in the double-elimination tourney.

Win three straight loser-out games, with the first one coming Feb. 17, and Brad Sherman’s hardwood warriors will be headed back to state.

Lose any of them, and it’s time for the Wolves to make plans for spring sports.

That next playoff rumble will send CHS on the road again, this time to face either Mount Vernon Christian or Orcas Island.

Check out the bracket here:

https://www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=4987

Thursday’s game was Coupeville’s third against Friday Harbor this season, and the closest by far.

The Wolverines won the regular season bouts by 12 and 10 points, respectively, but this time around CHS led from opening tip until late in the fourth quarter.

All the momentum early belonged to Coupeville, which ripped off a 10-0 run to stake itself to a 13-1 lead late in the first quarter.

Chase Anderson led the way, slapping home eight points in the opening frame, and things were looking bright for the Wolves.

Then the road rims shrunk a size or two, and buckets were much harder to get the rest of the evening.

After scoring a basket in the waning seconds of the first to cut things to 13-3, Friday Harbor battled to a 15-13 advantage in the second quarter.

Still up 26-18 at the break, CHS hung tough through a cold-shooting third to maintain a (smaller) lead at 32-29 heading into the fourth.

But down the stretch Friday Harbor came up with some big-time buckets to flip the script.

The Wolverines claimed their first lead of the night at 37-36, before stretching it out to 39-36.

Coupeville rallied as the clock madly ticked down, tying things at 39-39 on an Aiden O’Neill free throw, only to have their rivals immediately answer with a three-ball and a field goal to ice things.

O’Neill hit a buzzer-beating trey to set the final score, but it wasn’t to be for the Wolves.

CHS won the three-ball battle 5-4, with Camden Glover and O’Neill each hitting a pair, while Friday Harbor edged Coupeville at the free throw line, netting six of 11 against a 3-5 performance from the Wolves.

The road warriors got all their scoring from four players Thursday, with Anderson rattling the rim for 13 and Glover banking in 12. O’Neill sank nine, while Davin Houston rounded things out with eight points.

Easton Green, Malachi Somes, Carson Grove, and Riley Lawless also saw floor time for Coupeville.

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CMS girls hit the hardwood

February 11, 2026 by David Svien

Laurel Crowder led all Wolf scorers on opening day. (Photo courtesy Brooke Crowder)

“We did a lot of things really well.”

Coming off their season opener Wednesday against visiting South Whidbey, the Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball teams have players with a lot of potential and a willingness to put in the work.

That always gets a stamp of approval from the coaches.

While the Wolves “took lots of shots that unfortunately didn’t fall,” they did “open (up) the floor with good spacing and drove to the hoop,” said CMS coach Brooke Crowder.

Even with the day’s third game cancelled at the last moment, Crowder and fellow Wolf hardwood guru Kassie O’Neil got floor time for 27 Wolves on opening day, with 12 of the young guns recording their first points of the new campaign.

How things played out:

 

Level 1:

Coupeville hung tough with a high-powered South Whidbey squad but couldn’t overcome the wham-bam combo of 8th graders Jayda Coleman and Ellie Linaberry, who sparked the Cougars to a 42-29 win.

The duo combined to account for 38 of the visitor’s points, with Coleman rattling the rim for 28 by herself.

The Wolves were down just 15-9 at the first break and stayed within 19-14 at the half, before South Whidbey pulled away with a 14-8 run in the third quarter.

Coupeville’s balanced offensive attack was led by 7th grader Laurel Crowder, who banked in eight points, while Cami Van Dyke (5), Finley Helm (4), Emma Green (4), Kaleigha Millison (3), Claire Lachnit (3), and Aubrey Flowers (2) also scored.

Green, Millison, and Lachnit all hit paydirt from long distance, splashing home a three-ball apiece.

Zayne Roos, Anna Powers, Addison Jacobson, Ava Alford, and Annabelle Cundiff rounded out the rotation for the Wolves.

 

Halle Black made her CMS hardwood debut Wednesday, joining a long line of family members who have played hoops in Coupeville. (Photo courtesy Mandi Black)

 

Level 2:

Both teams brought the defensive heat with South Whidbey ultimately escaping with a 20-9 victory.

The Cougars led from start to finish, but the game was a close one, with the visitors up 8-3 through one quarter, 10-5 at the half, and 14-7 heading into the final frame.

Juniper Dotson, Nikolette Dunham, Millie Somes, and Daisy Leedy-Bonifas all knocked down a bucket for CMS, while Bella Sandlin netted a free throw to round out the scoring.

Also seeing action for the Wolves were Halle Black, Ellie Callahan, Danielle Halsing, Arianna Vinson, Leah Hernandez, Sophia Burley, Amira Anunciado, Ruby Folkestad, Reagan Green, and Sabrina Judnich.

 

What’s up next:

Coupeville hits the road for three straight, traveling to Granite Falls (Feb. 18), Sultan (Feb. 19), and Northshore Christian Academy (Nov. 24).

The Wolves finally return to the CMS gym Feb. 26, when they’ll square off with King’s.

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Voters show deep support for Coupeville schools

February 11, 2026 by David Svien

The first numbers are in and so far, it’s a blowout win for the Coupeville School District.

Voters are overwhelmingly approving two replacement levies, which would replace ones voted into place in 2022.

While levies require 50% + 1 vote to pass, Coupeville’s have pulled in much more than that through the first counts released Tuesday night by Island County officials.

Proposition 1 – Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy has tallied 1,588 yes votes, or 63.67% percent.

Meanwhile, Proposition 2 – Replacement School District Technology Capital Projects Levy is at 64.71% with 1,610 positives votes.

As of Tuesday, Island County states that 6,381 ballots have been counted, with an estimated 1,200 ballots remaining.

That second number can increase if additional ballots with valid postmarks are received.

Officials will issue another count Wednesday night, with the election finalized Feb. 20.

 

For vote totals, pop over to:

https://www.islandcountywa.gov/569/Election-Results

 

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Full of grace and joy, remembered with love

February 10, 2026 by David Svien

Russell Torres

This Christmas, it will be 20 years since I left Videoville.

That capped a 12-year run behind the counter at two stores, running from 1994 to 2006.

First, a year in the lil’ house converted into a snug video store — where the squirrels dashed in the open front door to try and snatch up fallen popcorn and where someone (probably me…) cracked the front window by playing the Jurassic Park laserdisc WAY too loud one time.

The T-Rex roared, the glass gave up with a whimper, we told Miriam a bird hit the window, and she sort of half-believed us.

After that, the building that has been housing physical therapy businesses the last couple of years was built across from the elementary school, and Miriam’s Espresso joined the now HUGE Videoville.

Over the next 11 years I ate a lot of Reese’s Pieces, (literally) golfed a lot of gumballs into the then-empty field where the Pizza Factory now sits and tried to convince a lot of customers to rent “Bottle Rocket.”

Customers are the life blood of any store, and we had some who were great, and a few who were genuine Grade-A asses.

Two decades down the road, at a time when the current generation has no clue what a video store was, or why they should miss it, I tend to remember the good customers more than the bad.

Well, except for the one who completely shattered a chair merely by sitting on it, and probably the one who tried (and failed) to flush a really full diaper, flooding the bathroom.

You tend to remember those ones…

But mainly I remember ones like Russell Torres and Kathy Christensen, who were both customers and parents of some of my best co-workers.

Both passed away this month, and both will be genuinely missed, even if I hadn’t seen either one in person in some time.

Kathy Christensen

Russell, whose son David and daughter-in-law Erin worked on video and espresso, respectively, was a straight shooter and I mean that with the deepest respect.

He was a kind man, a friendly face, always, and a proud husband, father, and grandfather, a man who loved his God and his country while allowing others the grace to hold their own beliefs.

Simply put, Mr. Torres earned your respect through his actions and his words, and the way he carried himself. He was a class act.

Kathy Christensen had a lot of the same attributes.

Her daughter Jodi (Christensen) Crimmins and daughter-in-law Shawn (Evrard) Christensen, who both worked as baristas for Miriam’s, are miracles of happiness, two of the nicest human beings I know.

That love of others was always on display when Mrs. Christensen swung by the store, either as a customer or to check on her girls.

The weather could be lousy outside, but she always brought the sun indoors with her.

Coupeville is a better place for having been graced with the presence of these two, and I hope the Torres and Christensen clans find some peace in troubled times with the knowledge of how positively their loved ones were regarded.

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