Coupeville Sports

   Wolf freshman Ashlie Shank played strongly Wednesday, snagging 10 rebounds and four steals. (John Fisken photo)

Second game in as many nights, both on the road. Middle of finals week. Three ill players and a fourth who got injured during the action.

Wednesday night was rough at times for the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad.

But even during a 27-15 loss to a very-tough Bellevue Christian squad, the young Wolves (4-8) had moments to make their coach’s heart happy.

The final three minutes of the game were a classic example.

Already missing three players (Lauren Rose, Lindsey Laxton and Brisa Herrera), Coupeville lost a rampaging force of nature when freshman Ema Smith took a blow to her knee.

Regrouping on the sideline, the Wolves elected to go to a high-intensity defensive strategy to finish the game.

“The decision was made by the team that we would go full-out man defense, full-court press and do what we could to slow them down,” said Wolf coach Amy King. “It was seriously, the most intense three minutes of the season.

“The girls did an awesome job, and left it all on the court.”

While they finished strongly, a slow start derailed the Wolves.

Coupeville managed just a single free throw from Allison Wenzel in the first quarter and fell behind 8-1 after the first eight minutes of play.

The Wolves made an immediate 180-degree turn in the second, sparked by one of their swing players.

“Kyla (Briscoe) sparked the offense in the second quarter, some lay-ups off of steals or rebounds and hitting them hard on defense,” King said.

Coupeville won the second quarter battle 7-6, but tired legs began to creep in and the Wolves weren’t able to make it all the way back.

“The girls fought the whole game, fast-breaking, looking up the court but getting shots to fall just didn’t happen,” King said. “Their defense did a really good job of anticipating our passes that resulted in steals.

“That was our downfall in this game.”

King praised the work of her post players (Sarah Wright, Skyler Lawrence, Nicole Lester and Wenzel) for “digging in for rebounds,” and the defense of Maddy Hilkey and Brittany Powers.

Freshman guard Ashlie Shank, who ripped down a career-high 10 rebounds and made off with a team-high four steals, was a true standout on the evening.

“Ashlie really played with an intensity we haven’t seen from her,” King said. “Diving in for rebounds and going after steals. It was great to see.”

Briscoe paced the Wolves on the offensive end of the floor, popping for seven points, while Wright banged home five. Shank tossed in two and Wenzel tickled the twines for her free throw to round out the attack.

Wright snagged seven boards, Wenzel cleaned the glass for five and Smith made off with four caroms. Briscoe and Hilkey each had three steals and Lawrence rejected two shots.

While she never accepts defeat easily, King came away focused on the good, and how it will affect her squad heading into its next game, Friday at home against Port Townsend.

“The loss was hard to take, especially after that (fourth quarter) spurt,” she said. “But we now know what we can do and will bring that with us to our next game.”