Coupeville Sports

   Lauren Rose hit a long trey Saturday night, one of the highlights in a tough loss to Island rival South Whidbey. (John Fisken photo)

And you will know South Whidbey by the trail of trash it leaves behind.

The Falcon varsity girls basketball players are tall, strong, veteran players, very consistent in running their offense, and completely, utterly incapable of picking up after themselves.

Those are the two conclusions one could draw after watching them pick apart host Coupeville 43-29 Saturday, and then watching them depart the gym leaving a never-ending pile of discarded drink bottles all over the CHS gym floor.

At least when King’s or ATM smack someone around, their players stop to throw their own trash away on the way out the door.

So, let’s give South Whidbey credit for their on-court performance, and arch an eyebrow at their lack of social graces.

The Falcons were certainly consistent in the flow of the game, hammering the ball inside to their post players, then draining treys if they couldn’t get an easy bucket.

Catching Coupeville on a night when a lot wasn’t clicking for the Wolves, South Whidbey dominated the first half, then coasted home after the break for the non-conference win.

Wolf point guard Mia Littlejohn got CHS on the board first, muscling her way into the paint before banking a runner off the glass, but then the Falcons took over.

Three separate three-balls, one from the right side, one from the left, and one from the top, sparked a 14-2 tear and put Coupeville on its heels.

Unable to put together back-to-back scores until a late stand in the fourth quarter, the Wolves had little answer for their visitors in the first half and trailed 25-11 at the break.

The second half was a little different story, as the two squads battled even, but CHS couldn’t get over the hump.

Lauren Rose nailed a very long trey late in the third to get Coupeville within 12, but South Whidbey rolled off nine straight points to end one quarter and begin the next, building its biggest lead of the night.

The Wolves, who fought hard all night — CHS coach David King praised the grit and hustle of Allison Wenzel and Tiffany Briscoe for diving for loose balls and battling for rebounds — finally put together a run in the game’s final five minutes.

With four different players scoring, the Wolves closed the night on an 11-4 run.

Mikayla Elfrank capped things by turning a pair of steals into breakaway buckets against her former school.

Mia Littlejohn paced the Wolves with 10 points, while Lindsey Roberts (4), Elfrank (4), Kalia Littlejohn (3), Rose (3), Kailey Kellner (2), Lauren Grove (2) and Sarah Wright (1) also scored.

Charlotte Langille and Kyle Briscoe also saw floor time for Coupeville.

The Wolves, now 3-2 on the season, are scheduled to play their next six games on the road, starting with a 1A Olympic League game at Klahowya Tuesday.