Ja’Kenya Hoskins will straight up murder you on the boards. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
A quick snack and it was on to the championship game. (Stephanie Streitler photo)
Da champs. (Joshua Leavell photo)
Their swan song was a sweet one.
Rolling to three wins in as many games Saturday, the Coupeville 8th grade SWISH girls basketball team won its postseason tourney.
Now it’s on to the middle school season, where practice starts in late Jan.
Saturday, the Wolves opened by blasting the Swinomish Thunder 33-6.
After that came gut-check wins, as Coupeville nipped big city rivals Mount Vernon 22-20 and Oak Harbor 21-18.
The semifinals victory was one which brought a special smile to coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh’s face.
“I tell you what, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more intense, well-played eighth grade basketball game in my life,” he said. “We had some adversity, we have some girls get hurt and we got major contributions from everybody that played.
“In years past, in that game we would have lost by 10 or 12,” Van Velkinburgh added. “This year we stayed the course, hit free throws and did all the right things to win.
“It was a lot of fun to watch!”
Coupeville’s roster included Izzy Wells, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, Abby Mulholland, Ella Colwell, Anya Leavell, Ja’Kenya Hoskins, Samantha Streitler and Audrianna Shaw.
Coupeville Sports 
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