Freshman Carolyn Lhamon banked in 10 points Friday as Coupeville’s varsity girls improved to 4-1 with a rout of Concrete. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Some nights everything works.
Friday was just such a sublime moment for the Coupeville High School girls varsity basketball squad, as it rocked visiting Concrete to a 57-27 tune.
With 11 of 12 active players scoring, all led by hard-working freshman Carolyn Lhamon having a breakout game, the Wolves improve to 4-1 on the season.
All four wins have come against schools which are in the Northwest 2B/1B League, which Coupeville joins next season, while the lone loss was to undefeated 3A Oak Harbor.
Friday’s rumble was a good old-fashioned beatdown, as the Wolves struck quickly and never, ever let up.
Flying in from the left side of the floor, senior team leader Avalon Renninger drilled a runner to open the scoring, and that opened the floodgates.
Pick your poison if you were Concrete, cause everyone in a Wolf uniform was going to hurt you on this night.
Six different CHS players made the net sing in the opening quarter, as the home team bolted out to a 17-3 lead.
Wolf junior Chelsea Prescott led the way in the first frame, banging home five points with a variety of moves.
Her first bucket came off of an offensive rebound which she ripped down, then immediately took back up strongly, while her second basket was a pull-up jumper which barely rippled the net as it dropped through.
Concrete couldn’t focus just on Prescott, though, as Renninger was also in a groove, banking home a second shot on the move, while Scout Smith, Lhamon, Maddie Georges, and Anya Leavell also scored in the early going.
Coupeville kept its motor humming in the second quarter, with coach Scott Fox directing his hardwood warriors to attack on the fly and press their advantage.
While Smith and fellow senior Hannah Davidson were quietly effective, tossing in buckets off of steals and rebounds, respectively, the star of the second eight-minute stretch was Audrianna Shaw.
The sophomore sparkplug came charging off the bench and immediately erupted, blowing up a Concrete player as she tried to crash in for a breakaway layup.
Shaw, chasing her every step of the way, determined glare on her face, came swooping in from behind and (inadvertently) flat-out decked the Lion shooter, sending her crashing hard and preventing the bucket.
Coupeville’s friendly assassin meant no ill will, and immediately helped up her fallen rival and patted her on the shoulder, but the warning had been sent.
Run from Shaw, and she will hunt you down and annihilate your very soul.
One crowd-pleasing play wasn’t enough for Shaw, though, as she also set up running mate Kylie Van Velkinburgh for back-to-back buckets with crisp passes.
Then, just to put a cherry on the sundae, she slapped home her own layup, off of a sparkling pass from Renninger.
Smart, well-executed passes were Coupeville’s calling card Friday, as most of its buckets were set up by teammates working together in near-perfect rhythm.
Romping with a 33-9 lead at the half, the Wolves settled for a 6-6 stalemate in the third quarter, highlighted by Izzy Wells netting a sweet lil’ hook shot off a Davidson feed.
Rested a bit, Coupeville re-jammed the gas pedal through the floor in the final frame, throwing down a game-high 18 points.
Lhamon and Leavell made the perfect tag team in the quarter, powering up to deliver six points apiece as they shredded the last bit of the Concrete defense.
Leavell got hers off of a put-back and then two gorgeous jumpers, both set up by strong passes, one from Shaw, another from Mollie Bailey.
Her younger teammate did most of her damage down in the paint, again benefiting from her teammates making smart set-up plays.
One Lhamon bucket came off of a Shaw pass, another from a set-up by Leavell, as Coupeville’s underclassmen, who will face Concrete often in the future, carried a big portion of the play-making load.
The Wolves finished with their best offensive showing of the season, and a remarkably-balanced scoring sheet.
Lhamon, who had five points coming in, went off for a game-high 10, while Smith and Leavell finished with eight apiece.
Smith continues her charge up the CHS girls hoops career scoring chart, passing six more former Wolf stars Friday including Kassie Lawson, Heather Davis, and state tourney hero Jaime Rasmussen.
With 187 points and counting, the Wolf captain sits at #58 all-time, just 36 points away from cracking the Top 50.
Prescott (7), Renninger (6), Van Velkinburgh (4), Shaw (4), Davidson (4), Bailey (2), Georges (2), and Wells (2) also scored, and Prescott continues to chase Smith.
Having tallied 171 career points, the multi-talented junior rose five spots Friday to land at #66 all-time.
With freshman Nezi Keiper sidelined with an injury, the lone Wolf not to score against Concrete was Tia Wurzrainer.
But her calling card has always been defense, and the senior guard made her impact felt on that end of the floor, harassing the Lion ballhandlers and forcing numerous turnovers.
Coupeville won’t have terribly long to bask in the afterglow of the win, as it hits the road Saturday, traveling to Seattle to face The Bush School.
The Wolves play their first game of their last season in the North Sound Conference next Tuesday, Dec. 17, when they travel to Sultan.
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