Rough loss, but hope lives

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Rough loss, but hope lives

February 17, 2022 by David Svien

Audrianna Shaw and Co. lost Thursday to La Conner but get another playoff game Saturday on the road. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The wheels on the bus go round and round, all the way to Tonasket.

After absorbing a 70-19 loss to La Conner Thursday in the title game of the District 1/2 tourney, the Coupeville High School girls basketball team gets a second chance at punching its ticket to state.

That game goes down Saturday at 1 PM and will pit the Wolves, now 9-8 on the season, against the Tonasket Tigers (15-7).

But first Coupeville has to travel 241 miles to Okanogan County, where it’s a crisp 29 degrees as I write this.

Saturday’s game is a loser-out, winner-to-state affair.

With Friday set as a travel day, Coupeville won’t have to pop off a bus and immediately open fire, instead getting a chance to camp out in the finest hotel the school system is willing to fund.

When the Wolves do hit the floor Saturday, goal #1 will be to get off to a quicker start than they did against La Conner.

The Braves, with eyes firmly set on competing for a 2B state title, got to 20-1 on the season by throwing down an avalanche of points.

The first 31 of the game to be exact, as La Conner busted out to a 28-0 advantage after one quarter, then nailed a three-ball to open the second frame.

That was the fifth of 10 treys the Braves hit on the evening, as they stung Coupeville inside, outside, and every which way.

The Wolves finally got on the board thirty seconds into the second quarter, thanks to a runner off the fingertips of Maddie Georges.

That sparked Coupeville’s one sustained run, as Ja’Kenya Hoskins banked in a shot from the paint, followed by freshman Savina Wells drilling the bottom out of the net on a long jumper from the side.

But a 6-0 mini-run, while nice, wasn’t going to be enough to catch La Conner, which stretched its lead to 42-8 at the half and 64-14 heading into the final frame.

Coupeville’s best play probably came on a defensive stand, with Georges scrambling back to continue her streak of drawing offensive charges from out-of-control rival ballhandlers.

Sliding into a narrow gap, the Wolf point guard planted herself and accepted the collision without budging a muscle, earning a hearty round of congratulations from her teammates as they hauled her back up off the floor.

Audrianna Shaw, who paced Coupeville with five points, made off with a couple of steals late in the game which she turned into breakaway buckets, while Georges chipped in with four points.

Savina Wells, Hoskins, Abby Mulholland, Lyla Stuurmans, and Izzy Wells added a basket apiece, with Carolyn Lhamon, Nezi Keiper, and Gwen Gustafson also seeing floor time for the Wolves.