Coupeville Sports

Kiara Contreras banked home a bucket and dealt out three assists Saturday as the Coupeville JV girls romped to a road win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They torched the gym.

Metaphorically! METAPHORICALLY!!

They’re still a little touchy around Orcas High School, after the JV gym almost LITERALLY burnt down Friday, so we need to be clear with our words.

Saturday, a day after someone caught things in the nick of time as the electrical doodads in the score clock went haywire, the Coupeville JV girls basketball squad showed up to burn things down in a safer way.

“The nets were on fire – baskets dropping everywhere!” said very-happy CHS coach Amy King.

Led by a season-high offensive explosion from freshman Abby Mulholland — perhaps channeling uncle Randy Keefe, the third-highest scorer in 102 years of Wolf boys varsity basketball — Coupeville romped to a 31-18 win.

The non-conference victory lifts the young guns to 1-3 and sent them back to the bus with an extra skip in their step.

Make that two or three extra skips for their coach.

“There was a patience on offense we haven’t seen yet and a fight on defense thru the entire game,” King said.

“Ja’Kenya (Hoskins) was calling for the ball in the post, Mollie (Bailey) really sparked things on offense, Anya (Leavell) had a number of steals at the top of the key creating fast breaks and Kylie (Van Velkinburgh) shut down the Orcas offense and had some really nice shots.

“It was exciting to see the girls put together their most complete game so far.”

After the brush with fiery fury from above, the game was played with a make-shift clock on the scorekeeper’s table and no shot clock.

Not that Coupeville had any trouble getting their shots in the air quickly and efficiently.

“The girls came out strong and got stronger as the game progressed,” King said.

The Wolves methodically stretched the lead, taking it from two points after one quarter to five at the half, then using a 7-1 surge in the third to ice things.

Mulholland was front and center for the Wolf attack, stepping up to drain a high school career high of 11 points.

“The girls really shot well,” King said. “Abby had an awesome night, receiving pass after pass and putting the ball up and over.

“Our game was controlled on offense, moving the ball well, shortening the passes to minimize opportunities for steals,” she added. “We actually set up and ran a few different offenses and got great open shots.”

While the Wolves spread out the offensive love, with six other players joining Mulholland in the scoring column, it was freshman point guard Kiara Contreras who played the role of the straw who stirred the drink.

“Kiara always adds an electricity to the court on both offense and defense,” King said. “She gives that type of pressure that other teams don’t like playing against, and she has been moving the ball really well on offense, feeding her teammates.”

While the offense was clicking, the defense was in lock-down mode.

During a second quarter time out, frosh Izzy Wells asked King if they could switch to a press, and her coach agreed with the move, which forced Orcas to hurry up and make multiple errors.

With nine players in uniform, the Wolves used everyone, and everyone made an impact, especially on D.

“Ja’Kenya worked well in the middle with Izzy and Kylie on either side,” King said. “Up top, Mollie and Anya shut down any chance for long shots.

“On defense the girls talked, shut down their drives and started anticipating passes that resulted in a lot of steals,” she added. “Alana (Mihill) and Morgan (Stevens) rounded out the team, providing tough defense whenever they were in and working hard on offense.”

Mulholland’s 11 points led the way, while Leavell kicked in six and Bailey popped for five. Wells (4), Contreras (2), Hoskins (2), and Van Velkinburgh (1) also scored.

The stat sheet was topped by Wells (11 rebounds), Leavell (seven steals), Contreras (three assists) and the slap-happy duo of Bailey and Hoskins, who collected a blocked shot apiece.