Coupeville Sports

   Maddy Hilkey is not too sure about the quality of the refs in Klahowya. (Amy King photo)

Playing on the road for the second time in less than 24 hours, and with a thin roster to boot, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad struggled Saturday against a rugged Klahowya team.

Despite a strong effort on the boards, the young Wolves fell 33-17, evening their Olympic League mark at 1-1 on the season.

Coupeville’s JV sits at 5-6 overall heading home to play Tuesday against Port Townsend.

Facing off with Klahowya, and playing second after the Wolf varsity won in the opener, Amy King’s squad got out-muscled a bit.

“There was a lot of Eagle contact – they are always super aggressive,” she said. “We pull a rebound down, they have two to three girls mauling whoever has the ball.

“Our girls don’t appreciate that much contact, so…”

The Wolves, who only suited seven with several players missing, got strong games from Maddy Hilkey and Genna Wright.

“Maddy and Genna played the most controlled during the whole game,” King said. “Maddy found herself at the free throw line a lot in the second half because she was getting some good shots off of being fouled.

“Genna was just a tough player who worked hard on both ends of the court.”

Ashlie Shank and Nicole Lester both took rebounds back up strongly, netting buckets on second-chance plays, while Lester also hooked up with point guard Mollie Bailey for the best basket of the night.

Finding herself matched up with a smaller defender, Lester, listening to her coach, stepped in front of the Eagle and converted after getting a quick pass delivered onto her fingertips.

“Mollie and Nicole locked eyes and it was an easy basket,” King said. “Something we did not get too many of during the night.”

Hilkey paced the Wolves with a team-high nine points, and, after one made free throw, one of her teammates tried to get a little extra.

Foreign exchange student Julia García Oñoro, still learning the intricacies of American basketball, snatched the ball away from the Eagles and tried to inbound it.

“We look and Julia had picked up the ball and was trying to throw it in,” King said. “Funnier, the Klahowya team was trying to defend the throw in.

“It was determined that it was actually their ball,” she added. “Then you hear Sarah (Wright’s) voice from the bleachers: ‘She’s from Spain.’ It was pretty funny.”

Even in a loss, King came away happy with her player’s fight. Whether the ball belonged to them or not, they weren’t willing to go down easy.

All seven Wolves who suited up had at least one rebound, with defensive dynamo Tia Wurzrainer snatching six boards and making off with three steals.

“Despite the score, the girls never let down,” King said. “Their effort was there and it was one of the better games, with everyone fighting and playing with energy from start to finish.”