I’ve seen cold-blooded killers…
back-alley brawlers…
…and Wolves attacking in packs. (Shelli Trumbull photos)
The back alley brawlers waded into the snake pit of Sultan and came out swinging Tuesday night.
The best basketball team at Coupeville High School, the girls’ JV squad — a mix of scrappers, hustlers and floor burn collectors — went toe-to-toe and elbow-to-the-face with the always-aggressive Turks and emerged the winners in a tense overtime thriller.
By the time the game was over, the refs were exhausted, few players were left unscathed and the Wolves had their fourth win of the young season, a hard-fought and very satisfying 29-25 victory.
“Once again we saw blood on the court, girls getting hit so hard that they lost their breath, lots of pushing and the fight for the ball and rebounds became much more of a fight,” said Wolf coach Amy King. “I saw fire in a few of our girl’s eyes that scared even me – but it worked!”
A see-saw game came down to fourth quarter nerves, with cold-blooded killers Miranda Engle and Monica Vidoni each dropping in a pressure-packed free-throw in the waning moments, as Coupeville stormed back to knot the game up at 24. Sultan had a final chance, but relentless pressure from the Wolves prevented the Turks from getting the ball even across half court as time expired.
Once they hit the OT, it was on like Donkey Kong.
“Holy cow! I’m too old for close games like this,” King said with a big laugh. “We decided that this game was ours and we were going to fight tooth and nail in order to get it.”
Wynter Thorne busted out a basket to stake the Wolves to a lead in the extra period, and then came more pressure-packed trips to the charity stripe. McKayla Bailey netted one, Kacie Kiel another and then Bailey cinched the win with a final one, after being roughed up by nearly the entire gym.
“McKayla found herself in what looked like a football tackle with a six-foot girl on top of her and, I believe, an additional Sultan girl in the pile up as well,” King said. “Let’s not forget that Turtle Shells are tough creatures and ours, when released from the pile, showed she was fine.”
The comeback capped a successful transition for Coupeville, which struggled with Sultan’s press early in the game.
“Once we finally settled down, we found their press wasn’t so tough after all,” King said. “Especially once we started moving to the ball on passes and staying spread out over the court.
Vidoni paced the Wolves with a team-high seven, while McKayla Bailey hit for six and Kiel and Thorne each netted four. McKenzie Bailey and Engle both popped for three, while the team’s top scorer on the season, Madeline Strasburg, chipped in with a bucket.
After the pain and the emotion and the wild swings, one thing swirled to the surface for King.
“From this, our learning point is: free throws, free throws, free throws,” she said. “They win and they lose games.”
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