Coupeville Sports

Bend, but don’t break.

Showing some serious intestinal fortitude Friday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team made big plays at crucial moments.

Shots which had to go in, went in. Defensive stops which had to be made, were made.

And with that, the Wolves head into the weekend happy, having held on to capture a 31-28 gut-wrencher of a win against visiting Sultan.

The victory lifts Coupeville to 2-1 in North Sound Conference play, 7-3 overall.

This was the kind of game which can give a coach some extra grey hairs. Though, if you win, you can sort of live with that.

The Wolves rode the rollercoaster Friday, jumping out to a big lead, giving it all back, then stepping up to deny Sultan in the fourth quarter for the second time this season.

In the early going, things looked fairly eazy-breezy.

Sultan did drain a long shot from the top of the key, beating the buzzer by half a second, to open the game, then went on to hold a 4-2 lead.

But the Wolves responded in style, using a 14-0 run which started with a first quarter Maddie Georges layup and ended with a second quarter Tia Wurzrainer layup to blow things wide open.

Coupeville was frustrating the Turks with nasty defense, getting out and running, and almost always finishing strongly.

Maybe not at the free throw line, where it missed its first six attempts, but everywhere else.

Whether it was Chelsea Prescott slashing through the middle to convert a layup off of a dart of a pass from Hannah Davidson, or Georges hitting from long range, everything was going in for the Wolves.

One of three freshmen on the Wolf varsity, Georges hit a pair of three-balls during the run, and was so quick about it, she actually beat her coach.

In between the treys, Fox sent a sub to check in and replace his fab frosh.

But while the other Wolf crouched by the table, waiting for a stoppage in play so she could check in, Georges went flying by, snagged a pass and nailed a leaning three-pointer, making sure to maximize her floor time.

Up 16-4 after the surge, Coupeville took a small step back after that, but got another long jumper from Georges as soon as she reentered the game, and went to the break up 20-12.

But if things were dandy in the first half, they got a bit desperate later.

While everything had been dropping for the Wolves during the first two quarters, the rim got downright rude in the third quarter, rejecting shot after shot by Coupeville.

Given new life, Sultan crawled back to within 20-19 and was mere ticks of the clock away from pulling off the bagel job in the frame.

But wait, remember those fab frosh I mentioned? Cause they’re here to save the day.

Carolyn Lhamon, with a Sultan player hanging off of each of her arms, out-wrestled the world for the biggest offensive rebound of the game, then flicked the ball out to the shooter with the magic touch.

Some call her Mad Dog. Some call her The Wall.

It doesn’t matter, because Georges blocks out all noise on the floor, even the hollering of her boisterous fan section.

Stone-cold killers are just that way.

Lhamon’s pass on her fingertips, Georges slid forward and calmly reigned holy terror on the Turks, flipping the net skyward with her third three-ball of the night and calming her coach’s angina.

For a moment, at least.

It probably came right back, as Sultan scored the first three buckets of the fourth quarter to erase the 23-19 lead Georges had given Coupeville.

Trailing for the first time in what seemed like forever, the Wolves were down 25-23, the basket had once again closed up shop on their side of the floor, and things might have seemed dire.

But … plot twist.

A team which was having little luck at the free throw line recaptured its mojo and reclaimed the game thanks to turning a weakness into a strength.

Prescott drained a freebie, before senior leaders Avalon Renninger and Scout Smith each went 2-for-2 during back-to-back trips to the charity stripe.

Surprise. Surprise.

Things still got pushed to the final moments, however, as the teams traded buckets, with Coupeville’s coming off of a short banker from Davidson, before a Sultan free throw made life tense at 30-28.

Worse still, the Turks had the ball in their hands with 19 seconds to play, thanks to a questionable call on a play where Renninger was drilled in the face, only to have the ref whistle traveling and not a foul.

Sultan’s momentary joy was short-lived, however, as Smith picked off the inbounds pass, sliding around her rival to yank the lob out of mid-air.

That set up one more free throw from Renninger, and then a final defensive gem to seal the deal.

With the Turks down by three and scrambling to get the ball up court, Georges emulated Smith, her point guard mentor, by making off with the ball and setting off a celebration on her bench.

At which point the Coupeville coaching staff started to breathe again.

Georges led the scoring attack with 13, Prescott (7), Wurzrainer (4), Renninger (3), Smith (2), and Davidson (2) also scored, while Lhamon, Izzy Wells, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, and Audrianna Shaw chipped in with hustle and grit.