Madeline Strasburg, seen here against South Whidbey, gave the Wolves a jolt of energy Wednesday. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
There were bright spots.
If all you did was look at the final score of Wednesday night’s Archbishop Thomas Murphy vs. Coupeville girls’ basketball game, you’d write it off as a blowout and move on. But it’s not as simple as that.
Yes, the Wildcats, the top team in the Cascade Conference, drilled the host Wolves 61-27 behind the wham-bam duo of freshman Madison Pollock (15 points) and senior Beth Carlson (14). And yes, it wasn’t the best way to come off a 10-day break between games.
But there were bright spots.
Breeanna Messner picked up where she left off a week and a half back, leading Coupeville on the offensive side of the ball. Banging away for eight points, she scored off of quick cuts and stellar shot selection.
Then, on a night when a lot of people on both sides seemed to have tired legs, there was hustle from Lauren Escalle, who rejected an ATM shot into the bleachers, and Madeline Strasburg, who chased down, caught an ATM player on a break-away, then made her miss the layup by screaming at the exact moment the Wildcat let go of the ball.
Despite already having played a half in the JV game, Strasburg used her time in the varsity game judiciously. Throwing herself repeatedly on the floor in pursuit of balls, she was a whirlwind, yanking the ball from opposing player’s hands, and then bouncing back up, a grimace on her face but still retaining a bit of a skip to her step.
The loss, which dropped the Wolves to 4-6 overall, 2-3 in league play, started poorly, as ATM used runs of 7-0 and 9-2 to snag an 18-6 lead after one quarter. The six-foot-two Carlson was a particular pain in the rear, scoring six points and triggering a fast-break with a pass that threaded two defenders and found a fellow Wildcat in full stride.
It was then that Coupeville bore down, however, and put together its best quarter. With Bessie Walstad pumping in all five of her points in the second quarter, and Messner dropping in four, the Wolves played virtually even with ATM, only being outscored 14-12 over the second eight-minute period.
Facing off with a state championship contender that recently thrashed previously unbeaten Cedarcrest, it was a nice stand, and a nice statement.
Tiredness finally caught up with the Wolves after halftime, as ATM began to turn a parade of steals into easy buckets and tacked on 20 more points to the final margin.
Even at the end, though, there were nice moments, as Strasburg kick-started a fast break that ended with Jai’Lysa Hoskins forcibly throwing down a running one-hander. A moment or two later, Amanda Fabrizi pump faked the girl guarding her out of her high tops and drove into the lane, where she hung in the air for a moment before drilling a beautiful shot.
To go along with Messner’s eight points and Walstad’s five, freshman Makana Stone tickled the nets for four. Fabrizi and Hoskins each chipped in with three while Hailey Hammer and Escalle had a bucket apiece.
Coupeville will see the other side of the coin this Friday, Jan. 4, when it travels to Granite Falls to face a 1-10 squad.
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