Coupeville Sports

  Skyler Lawrence, seen here in an earlier game, has been a force on the boards all year. (John Fisken photo)

Count only the two-point baskets and it was a tie.

Unfortunately for the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad, host Archbishop Thomas Murphy got to count its three-point bombs and free throws as well Tuesday, and that carried the Wildcats to a 42-23 victory.

Both squads banged home 11 buckets apiece, but a huge advantage at the charity stripe (10 of 19 for ATM, 1 of 7 for CHS) and a couple of timely treys shifted the balance of the game.

The Wolves went down swinging, however.

“Our girls played tough the entire game; a lot of shots went up and just wouldn’t fall,” Coupeville coach Amy King said. “ATM pressed us off and on all night, but only slowed us down a little – really didn’t cause turn-overs or affect us more than that.”

Players up and down the Wolf roster stepped up, with Erin Josue “playing a very good game” and Aura Corredor making off with “a perfect steal.”

“Erin put a halt on ATM’s main ball-handler and just did a great job sprinting the court,” King said. “Emily (Coulter) had to step in again to play point guard position twice and stepped up and did a nice job.”

“Mattea (Miller) was very steady the entire night, also stealing the ball and working her magic on defense,” she added.

Kailey Kellner was charged-up on defense, picking off passes left and right and teaming with fellow front-court mate Skyler Lawrence to frustrate ATM with their rebounding.

“It seemed that Kailey and Skyler had a system for rebounding during free throws,” King said. “Kailey would beat ATM to get a hand on the ball, even though she was mostly only able to tip it, but she tipped it to the waiting Skyler, who would grip it in steel fingers and either kick it out or put it back up as a shot.

“I counted at least three times in that quarter where it was Skyler against three ATM players,” she added. “Maybe when they reached in to grab the ball from her their hands got caught in her grip and they couldn’t let go, but she was strong like always and didn’t let them get in her way.”

Capping the night for King was the continued growth of freshman Tiffany Briscoe.

“She has really picked up her game over the past few weeks, talking and helping her teammates, blocking out and coming out of nowhere to rebound,” King said. “I really appreciate all the effort she puts in on both ends of the court.”

Lawrence paced the Wolves with six points, all coming in the third quarter, while Miller tossed in five, Briscoe banged home four and Coulter, Sophia Jebrail, Jenn Spark and Kellner each dropped in a bucket.