Coupeville Sports

Kyla Briscoe put up eight points and eight boards Friday. (John Fisken photo)

They needed every body.

Down to just seven players with rebounding machine Tiffany Briscoe sidelined with an injury, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad was super-thin Friday night in La Conner.

So, despite being super sick, sophomore spark plug Lauren Grove reached down and pulled off her best Michael Jordan impression, playing through the haze and almost helping the Wolves pull off a stunner.

Grove’s eight points, two rebounds, two steals, one block performance, coming in the muggy gym from Hell, got her brownie points from her coach, even if CHS eventually fell 43-40.

“These girls are pushing themselves,” Wolf coach Amy King said. “Lauren had to be taken out more often to give her a chance to hydrate. I know she shouldn’t have been at this game, but this is how tough she is.

“Kailey (Kellner) had to come out once because the air was so thick she just couldn’t catch her breath,” she added. “I appreciate their dedication and hard work.

“They are communicating more and really have bonded as a team. We would have loved to have taken that game, but had to find the positive in making a comeback, playing better in the second half and knowing we gave it all we had.”

Kellner was lights-out awesome, pumping in a team-high 11, while snagging 15 rebounds and making off with three steals.

As bothersome as the heat was, she never blinked.

“Kailey had a lot of rebounds, but her best of the night was in the second half of the fourth quarter,” King said. “Every time we took a shot and it didn’t go in, there were three La Conner girls and Kailey.

“Kailey’s hand went up higher and brought the ball down very strong before she would take it back up. She fought for everything.”

Despite the heat and a short bench, Coupeville (5-4 on the season) got out to an early lead, before La Conner went to the long ball to shake things up.

With three different Braves banging home treys in a short time span, La Conner used a 19-12 surge in the second quarter to build a 27-21 halftime lead.

Things got better for Coupeville in the second half, but time just ran away from the Wolves in the end.

“We did a lot of good things in the second half. Our energy picked up, our offenses ran better and our defense got more aggressive,” King said. “At one point, Brisa (Herrera) just grabbed the ball out of the hands of her opponent and made a great pass to her teammate.

“I love things like that.”

With Lauren Rose, Kyla Briscoe, Grove and Kellner anticipating passes and Allison Wenzel and Skyler Lawrence dominating inside, the Wolves were a scrappy, if overheated, team in the late stages of the game.

“Skyler directed on defense the whole game,” King said. “She is such a tough player; she talked the whole night, got in great position for open shots and at one point drove the ball up the court as no guards were open.

“Allison played great defense, stretching her hand above her opponents so no shots could be taken,” she added. “She was scrappy on rebounds and got her basket on a rebound put back.”

While Kellner and Grove topped the stat sheet, every one of the seven Wolves in action put up nice numbers.

Briscoe netted eight points and eight rebounds, while Rose popped for six, snagged three boards and pilfered two steals.

Lawrence (four points, seven rebounds), Wenzel (three points, four rebounds) and Herrera (three rebounds) all chipped in with stellar effort.