Senior Hannah Davidson is a key returning starter for the Coupeville High School girls basketball squad. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Bouncing back from a volleyball injury, Chelsea Prescott is ready to singe the nets.
Ja’Kenya Hoskins (left) is out with a broken ankle, but she’ll be there to cheer on Izzy Wells.
Scott Fox is ready to get going.
Since taking over the Coupeville High School girls basketball program following the retirement of David and Amy King, he’s taken his new players to summer camp, but, come Monday, things get really real.
That’s when the Wolves show up in the CHS gym for their first practice, with a jamboree in Sedro-Woolley just 12 days later.
The Coupeville girls open the regular season with back-to-back road games Dec. 3-4, travelling to Darrington and Oak Harbor, before welcoming Orcas Island to town Dec. 7.
As Fox prepares for the 18-game season ahead (plus a potential playoff run), he and new JV coach Megan Smith are already appraising the talent they have, and how best to use it.
The Wolves, who finished third in the six-team North Sound Conference a year ago, lost three seniors to graduation, led by Lindsey Roberts, who exited as the #18 scorer in program history.
Her departure, along with those of Ema Smith and Nicole Laxton, leave a hole to be filled, but Fox won’t enter the season empty-handed.
Senior guards Scout Smith, Avalon Renninger, and Tia Wurzrainer, senior center Hannah Davidson, and junior forward Chelsea Prescott lead off the returning core, one the new Wolf coach will rely on to lead his squad.
“The strength of our team is going to be our experience,” Fox said. “We have four seniors and a junior who will lead us this year.
“I’m hoping that our senior experience, coupled with playing time opportunity for the others, will push us in practice and we will see the results in our games.”
The others he speaks of includes a mix of returning players, such as sophomore Izzy Wells, and newbies, like the freshman trio of Nezi Keiper, Carolyn Lhamon, and Maddie Georges.
Sophomore Ja’Kenya Hoskins, who was a hard-working rebound machine as a swing player last season, was expected to play a major role for Coupeville, but her body had other thoughts.
A broken ankle, suffered during a Homecoming week dodge-ball tourney, has subtracted her from the roster, likely for the entire season.
“Ja’Kenya is out, and that hurts,” Fox said. “But it has opened up opportunities for Izzy, Nezi, and Carolyn, who all play that position.
“We have a couple of incoming freshmen that could see a lot of varsity time,” he added. “Point guard Maddie Georges showed a lot of promise this summer. She ran the second team offense most of the summer, until she was slowed down with a back injury.”
However the roster ends up breaking down, the Wolves will look to make their mark on the defensive side of the ball.
With a scrappy team of ball-hawks at his disposal, Fox wants to take the game to opponents.
“We play very hard-nosed defense and will rely on our bench to keep the intensity up,” he said. “We are a defensive-oriented team, so, if things go as planned, our defense is our backbone.
“Transition offense from our defense is going to be crucial for our success,” Fox added. “We need to recognize our opportunities to attack with numbers or set up our offense when our fast break is not there.”
While defense is the spark, a basketball team still needs to score to win games, and the Wolves enter the new season without anyone like recent stars Makana Stone, Kailey Kellner, or Roberts, players who were established as go-to scorers in big moments.
Prescott has shown an ability to pump in points in a supporting role, though, while Smith and Renninger are steady shooters.
The chance is there for any of that trio, or other players, to blossom into a feared offensive weapon. They just need to seize the opportunity in front of them.
“We are asking kids to be scorers that really haven’t been in the past,” Fox said. “I was extremely pleased in the summer when we started to gel and the kids started to figure out their roles.
“I am all about the open person taking the shot, no matter who it is,” he added. “In fact, as the kids will tell you, if they have an open shot and don’t take it, we’re going to talk.”
While he’s a longtime hoops guru, Fox is still relatively new to Coupeville basketball, especially the girls side of the ball.
As he preps for league play, it will be a learning experience.
“Being my first year at the helm, I’m sure King’s is the team to beat,” Fox said. “They have always been very talented and will pose challenges for us and the rest of the league.
“I just don’t know much about the other teams, and who is coming back this year.”
Which doesn’t mean he fears, or overlooks, any opponent, regardless of what their record might have been in years past.
“My goals are to be competitive in every game,” Fox said. “Looking at our schedule, I feel we have the talent and desire to compete in all of these games.
“I’ve been stressing to the kids to be practice players and that will translate to game players,” he added. “The harder we play in practice, the more successful we are going to be in the games.”
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