Coupeville Sports

   Sarah Wright knocked down four points and played strongly on defense Saturday in a Coupeville loss. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

For one minute, maybe a minute-and-a-half, things were as good as they get.

And then everything went haywire in a way not previously seen this season.

The Coupeville High School girls basketball squad has lost several times in the early weeks of the campaign, but those were close defeats which came down to the final few possessions.

What unfolded Saturday in Langley was the exact opposite – a team crumpling in on itself in a blowout loss.

South Whidbey strolled to a 42-22 victory, but the host Falcons did less to earn the win than the Wolves did to lose it.

Now 1-5, a still-jelling CHS squad heads into its Olympic League opener Tuesday against Port Townsend looking for answers.

For a program which has won 15 or more games in each of the past three seasons — all which ended with conference titles — it’s an unexpected place to be.

Saturday, for a brief slice of time, the Wolves, who are still adapting to replacing four starters, looked like a vintage version of themselves.

Coupeville scored three consecutive baskets off of forced turnovers to open the game, preventing the Falcons from even getting a shot off.

Mikayla Elfrank was the Wolf with the quick ‘n deadly hands, and things looked bright and promising.

“After that the wheels fell off,” said CHS coach David King in a bit of an understatement.

The Falcons finally connected on a jumper, and liked it well enough, they rolled off 10 straight points to take a lead they would never relinquish.

Scout Smith stopped the bleeding with a single free throw to close out the first quarter, but Coupeville would hit only five field goals over the final three quarters.

A couple of South Whidbey three-balls slipped through the net, stretching the lead out, and, from there, the Wolves disintegrated for a good chunk of the game.

“Once they took the lead, we started complaining about calls, even had a T called on us for making a remark,” King said. “For some reason we believe we do no wrong and complain.

“This has been a bad habit all year,” he added. “The wasted, negative energy hasn’t gotten us any points, an extra rebound or even a steal or assist.

“At some point we need to figure it out and just play basketball.”

Some positives did arise, as King praised Lindsey Roberts and Ema Smith for their work on defense.

“Ema did a great job on their tall post player,” he said. “Over-matched in height, she got a couple of blocks and held her own. Even caused an offensive foul.”

Elfrank finished with eight points to lead the Wolves, while Kalia Littlejohn (5), Sarah Wright (4), Scout Smith (3) and Kyla Briscoe (2) also scored.