Coupeville Sports

  Mia Littlejohn shreds defenses like she eats her hamburgers … violently. (Melissa Losey photo)

You don’t mess with the Littlejohn girls.

Playing above their age limit again, the Coupeville duo of Mia and Kalia teamed up with an 8th grade hoops squad out of Oak Harbor to lay down the boom at a weekend basketball tournament in Burlington.

The scrappy pair, who play as if they stepped off a playground in Jersey (and that’s a good thing), helped Oak Harbor pound Burlington-Edison 40-28 and edge South Whidbey 29-26 at the 9th annual Tigers Classic.

Against Burlington, the Littlejohns helped spark a second-half comeback by causing a stream of turnovers. Then Mia put the knife in, big time.

“Both ladies provide tons of energy when they are on the court and wear down opposing guards,” said Scott Hay. “Kalia stepped in front of two passes against girls twice her size that slowed Burlington’s offense. Then big sister Mia dropped in a HUGE three-point bomb that just totally changed the game.”

The tourney-closing all-Island battle had the Littlejohns facing off with a familiar foe in 7th grader McKayla Hezel, a Langley phenom who played with a Coupeville team during the Tulip Festival in March.

South Whidbey used a barrage of treys to keep things close, but Oak Harbor put the game away with its pressure defense, keyed by the Littlejohns.

“Mia and Kalia helped turn the tide,” Hay said.