Low numbers, lots of fight

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Low numbers, lots of fight

January 6, 2023 by David Svien

Alita Blouin knocked down a team-high 13 points Friday. (Andrew Williams photo)

Rumble with who you have.

Missing two key starters Friday night, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad pushed visiting Orcas Island to the final moments before falling just short.

While the final score was 37-30 in favor of the Vikings, it was a one-possession game before the visitors closed out the game by netting four free throws in the final seconds.

The loss, coming in the conference opener for Coupeville, drops the Wolves to 4-4 overall, 0-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play.

CHS coach Megan Richter had a short bench Friday, with injured starters Maddie Georges and Carolyn Lhamon both in street clothes.

Their active teammates more than picked up the slack, however, attacking Orcas on both ends of the floor.

A three-ball from team scoring leader Alita Blouin got the Wolves on the board, before Lyla Stuurmans dropped a pair of haymakers right before the end of the quarter to knot things up at 7-7.

The ever-springy sophomore made off with back-to-back steals at midcourt, snatching the ball up and bolting to the other end, where she slapped home running layups.

Orcas, which had its own issues with a short bench, responded however, using an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter to claim the lead, before Blouin knocked down a pair of three-balls to keep things close.

Trailing 19-15 at the half, Coupeville pulled ahead in the third quarter, but just for a moment.

Wolf sparkplug Katie Marti, muscling her way in between a pair of Vikings, yanked down an offensive rebound and put the ball back up and in to get things started.

Then it was time for Stuurmans to start raining down haymakers again.

She banked a runner off the glass, before making off with yet another steal, this time turning it into a three-point play the hard way after being hammered while getting her shot off.

Draining the free throw, Stuurmans staked Coupeville to a 22-21 lead, only to see Orcas nail a pullup jumper to surge back ahead as the third quarter faded into memory.

The final eight-minute segment was a tense, back-and-forth affair, with Marti and Blouin knocking down hook shots under duress to keep the Wolves close.

Blouin’s bucket sliced the Orcas lead to just 29-28 with about two-and-a-half minutes to play, but would be the final Coupeville field goal of the night.

The Vikings got a huge put-back off of a missed free throw and a beautiful bank shot which barely cleared a defender’s outstretched fingertips to get the lead out to five points, and time ran away from the Wolves.

Ryanne Knoblich netted a pair of free throws at the 1:48 mark to pull Coupeville within 33-30, but the game’s final four points all came courtesy Orcas charity shots.

The Wolves were paced by Blouin, who splashed home a trio of three-balls on her way to 13 points, while Stuurmans (9), Marti (4), Gwen Gustafson (2), and Knoblich (2) also scored.

Mia Farris and Madison McMillan both saw floor time, as well, with McMillan making her varsity debut and immediately going high to snatch a rebound out of the hands of a Viking player.

The Wolves have a busy week ahead, with home games against Mount Vernon Christian (Jan. 10) and Darrington (Jan. 13), plus a road trip to Neah Bay (Jan. 14).