Coupeville Sports

Coupeville 8th grader Madison McMillan, playing on the high school JV team, led her squad in scoring in their season opener. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Say hello to the next generation, early.

Unlike a lot of other Northwest 2B/1B League schools, Coupeville High School is fielding two girls basketball squads this season.

With program numbers down, the Wolves salvaged their JV team by allowing 8th graders to play high school ball, and more than half the girls in uniform Thursday were middle school students by day, high school hoops hotshots by night.

And the (truly) young guns held up well, accounting for two-thirds of their team’s points in a closer-than-it-sounds 35-24 loss to visiting Orcas Island.

Coupeville was within a point through the first two quarters, and trailed by just three heading into the fourth, but that final frame stung, with the older Vikings closing on a 12-4 tear.

Coaching her team in a game for the first time in 15 months, Wolf JV hoops guru Megan Smith was realistic with her expectations, and pleased with much of what she saw.

“We had some really good moments of greatness and some of not so much,” she said. “We are super young with not a lot of players that have experience, and that’s okay, we just have some more work to do is all.

“It was good to see them out on the court and actually playing the game!”

With true high schooler Jessenia Camarena leading the way in the early going, the Wolves trailed just 8-7 after one quarter and 16-15 at the halftime break.

Masks in place and no fans in the gym, per Orcas School District request, Coupeville hung tough, exiting the third quarter down just 23-20.

Madison McMillan paced the Wolves with a team-high eight points in her high school hoops debut, while Camarena banged home seven, Lyla Stuurmans knocked down six, Katie Marti flipped in a bucket, and Morgan Stevens swished a free throw.

McMillan, Stuurmans, and Marti, along with fellow Wolf hoopsters Pamela Morrell, Bryley Gilbert, and Kassidy Upchurch, are all 8th graders.

Also seeing floor time for Smith’s squad were Reese Wilkinson, Skylar Parker, and Desi Ramirez.

With Orcas Island and Friday Harbor the only other NWL teams fielding a girls JV squad this season, Coupeville’s second team will play just four games, while other Wolf teams get 10-12 contests.

One of those comes up quick, however, as CHS travels to Friday Harbor this Saturday.