Coupeville Sports

Tiffany Briscoe snatched six boards, helping spur a defensive-orientated win Friday. (John Fisken photo)

Orcas had the height. Coupeville had the heart.

Overcoming a size disadvantage and a very productive swing player who banged away in the paint, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball team bounced host Orcas Island 36-23 Friday.

The win lifted the young Wolves to 5-3 on the season heading into the Christmas break.

CHS has 10 days between games, not returning to the court until Dec. 29, when it hosts Vashon.

After making the long trip to Orcas, Coupeville came out a bit slowly, but then found a different gear.

Down 6-4 after one quarter, the Wolves went on a 14-4 tear in the second quarter to blow things open.

The points came from everywhere, with five different players tallying buckets in the quarter.

Even with leading scorer Kailey Kellner on the bench with foul trouble, the Wolves were able to use a big advantage on the boards to spur the scoring frenzy.

Orcas rallied briefly in the third behind their top gun, Jessie Nicholls, who returned from a first-half ankle injury to pour in 11 of her game-high 13 points in the quarter.

Using the same shot over and over, she was fairly unstoppable.

Until the speedy duo of Lauren Rose and Lauren Grove clamped down on the Orcas ball-handlers, preventing them from getting the rock to Nicholls.

Making off with frequent steals, the duo frustrated the Vikings and Coupeville put the game away with a solid final quarter.

“I was very proud of the way they all played,” said Coupeville coach Amy King. “This game they really all came together and moved the ball well. It’s a nice way to go into the winter break.”

While the Laurens spurred the defensive attack, all of the Wolves chipped in with stellar effort.

“Kyla (Briscoe) was strong on defense and Allison (Wenzel) and Brisa (Herrera) both had a good defensive night,” King said. “We really did a good job of anticipating the passes.

“Tiffany (Briscoe) played tough as always and Skyler (Lawrence) always proves why she belongs on the court, three very strong rebounds and a steal. She made it hard for Orcas to drive like they had hopes to.”

Kellner paced the Wolves with a team-high 12 points, while Rose banged away for eight. Kyla Briscoe (6), Lawrence (4), Grove (4) and Tiffany Briscoe (2) rounded out the scoring attack.

The battlin’ Briscoes combined to pull down 11 boards, led by Tiffany’s six, while Wenzel snatched five caroms and Grove hauled in four rebounds.

Rose pick-pocketed six steals.