Coupeville Sports

Freshman Izzy Wells scored a team-high six points Tuesday as the Coupeville JV girls hoops team kicked off its season against Meridian. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Teams coached by Amy King don’t give up.

Regardless of the sport, whether it be volleyball, basketball or softball, that has been a trademark during her run on the sideline at Coupeville schools.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Wolf JV girls hoops squad played its strongest ball Tuesday at a moment when many teams would have simply quit.

Closing on a 10-2 run, including scoring the game’s final four baskets, Coupeville couldn’t catch Meridian on opening night, but it did give the visitors something to think about as they exited.

And while the Wolves fell 49-22, the grit showed at the end, with all the points rattled home by freshmen, speaks well for the future.

The late run came largely courtesy three players — Izzy Wells, Ja’Kenya Hoskins and Kylie Van Velkinburgh — who have grown up playing together on SWISH teams.

Wells knocked down three buckets during the final surge, one coming off a put-back on an offensive rebound, while Van Velkinburgh showed off a varied skill set.

On back-to-back plays, she first hauled down a rebound and fed Hoskins for a basket, then swished a long shot from the top that was a millimeter away from being a three-ball.

The strong finish made up some for a hot-and-cold opening act for the Wolves.

Coupeville fell behind 10-3 at the first break, unable to hit a field goal in the first eight minutes.

It got worse, as CHS didn’t hit a shot from the field until the 2:25 mark of the second quarter, when Anya Leavell coaxed a soft runner to drop.

At that point, the Wolves had scraped out seven points, all on free throws, with Hoskins, Mollie Bailey, Kiara Contreras and Kylie Chernikoff all hitting from the charity stripe.

The star of the second quarter was a young woman with a Coupeville connection, who, unfortunately for the Wolves, was wearing a Meridian uniform.

Freshman Malaysia Smith, daughter of former CHS boys basketball coach Anthony Smith, made her high school debut a strong one, carving up the Wolf defense for nine of her game-high 15 points in the second frame.

Leavell netted a long jumper in the third quarter and was the only Wolf to hit from the field until Coupeville’s fourth-quarter run.

Wells paced CHS with six points, Hoskins banked in five and Leavell popped for four, while Contreras (2), Van Velkinburgh (2), Bailey (2) and Chernikoff (1) rounded out the scoring attack.

While they didn’t score on opening night, Lily Leedy, Morgan Stevens, Ivy Leedy and Alana Mihill also saw floor time for the Wolves.