Coupeville Sports

Capri Anter shows off a steely focus. (Bailey Thule photo)

Growth matters most.

As her squad battles through its season, Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball coach Scout Smith is looking for steady improvement from young players building for their future.

And she’s seeing it, even in tough losses like the one the Wolves endured on their home floor Tuesday night.

Facing off with “a well-coached, well-organized (team) that were clinical finishers,” Coupeville fell 54-25 to brutally efficient Mount Vernon Christian.

The loss drops CHS to 4-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 5-6 overall, with two games left on the 2024-2025 schedule.

With contests still ahead against La Conner and Friday Harbor, the Wolves want to finish strong, and Smith came away from Tuesday’s loss believing they will.

“The team fought hard for much of the game, and I am proud of how we never backed away from a tough opponent,” she said.

“A lot of credit to our team for being flexible and continuing to adapt and grow throughout the season. We will learn from this loss and turn all focus to La Conner.”

MVC bolted out to a 17-7 lead after one quarter of play Tuesday, before stretching the halftime lead to 31-10.

Coupeville played its best ball in the second half, fighting hard while coming up just short in 15-12 and 8-3 frames.

Haylee Armstrong paced the Wolves with a team-high eight points, with Lexis Drake, Adeline Maynes, and Ava Lucero each going off for five in support.

Capri Anter and Marin Winger rounded out the scoring, each slipping a free throw through the net, with Jeann Nitta, Amelia Crowder, Chelsi Stevens, and Sydney Van Dyke also seeing floor time.