Coupeville Sports

Haylee Armstrong and the Wolf JV basketball squad earned a big win in their season opener. (Jackie Saia photo)

So, I’ve got good news, and news which will probably keep me awake at night.

The good news first.

Playing with skill and passion, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad opened a new season in style Monday, bouncing host Mount Baker 44-41.

Holding off a foe from a bigger school, and on the road, brought a huge smile to the face of Wolf coach Kassie O’Neil.

“We have a lot of things to improve on, but they brought heart, and you could see it!” she said while bouncing in a bus somewhere on the backroads of Washington state.

O’Neil unleashed eight players on the hardwood, and every one of them gave her something back in return.

“Teagan (Calkins) had a ton of fast break lay ins,” O’Neil said. “Capri (Anter) was a beast on rebounding and putting it back up.

“We went out in a press, and it frazzled them.”

Coupeville came out on fire, jumping out to a 10-4 lead after one quarter of play, with Calkins scoring half of that tally.

She got help from Bryley Gilbert and Haylee Armstrong, then the Wolves held on through a brief Mount Baker rally in the second frame to carry an 18-16 lead into the locker room.

And this is where I break out in a cold sweat…

Coupeville lost its scorekeeper at the half, which means I have no way of knowing who scored the 26 points put up by the Wolves across the third and fourth quarters.

For someone addicted to stats, especially scoring stats, I have one word for you … AAAGGGGGOOOONNNNYYYY.

But I shall go on, probably forever haunted. If you catch me sitting in a gym in the future, staring wistfully into the great abyss, now you’ll know why.

But anyway. Back to reality.

From what we do have, Calkins led the Wolves with nine points in the first half, with Gilbert (5), Armstrong (2), and Anter (2) banking in buckets.

Brynn Parker, Dakota Strong, Desi Ramirez-Vasquez, and Lexis Drake also saw floor time for Coupeville.

The Wolf JV girls don’t play their next game until Saturday, Dec. 9, when they travel to the wilds of Sultan for another non-conference game.

Plenty of time for me to stare into the abyss and come to terms with the loss of my precious numbers.

Maybe…