Madison McMillan is on the rampage. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Unleash “The Red Dragon” and feel her wrath.
Going off for a career-high 24 points Tuesday, fueled by five successful shots from behind the three-point line, Teagan Calkins led the charge as the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad rolled to a convincing win.
From two points down early in the second quarter to cracking visiting Concrete 65-34 by the time things were all said and done, the Wolves were at their most explosive.
The victory, Coupeville’s fourth in its last five games, lifts the Wolves to 4-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-7 overall.
Heading into a road trip Friday to Orcas Island, Megan Richter’s squad has moved up into third place in the seven-team conference.
Slipping past Concrete (3-2), the Wolves are a half game back of La Conner (4-1) and a game-and-a-half off of heavyweight Mount Vernon Christian (5-0).
McMillan tells Teagan Calkins to go forth and destroy their foes.
Tuesday’s tilt was a tense one for about nine minutes or so.
Concrete, which is a tidy 11-4 overall, played even with the Wolves through a 10-10 first quarter, then hit two free throws to open the second frame.
Coupeville had swished a couple of sweet early shots, with Mia Farris and Lyla Stuurmans drilling jumpers and Katie Marti splashing home a three-ball set up by a rebound and kick-out from Stuurmans.
But then things got loud, suddenly and with a startling intensity.
Calkins kicked off a 20-0 run with a free throw, then a steal which she converted into a breakaway bucket, and the Wolves were off to the races.
During the game-busting run, Coupeville ramped up its defensive intensity, frequently poking the ball free and holding its own on the boards.
The Wolves quickly converted their extra opportunities, whether it was Marti nailing a pullup jumper after snatching a loose ball off the floor, or Calkins knocking down a three-ball off of a rebound.
When Concrete finally stopped the bleeding, swishing its own trey, CHS hit right back 2.1 seconds later, with Danica Strong rippling the nets on another three-ball.
Set up by a silky-smooth pass from Tenley Stuurmans, Strong’s shot from the parking lot staked the Wolves to a 33-15 lead at the half and sent her team into the locker room on a giddy high.
That high never broke, with Calkins exploding right out of the gate in the third quarter.
Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, the “Red Dragon” connected on four consecutive three-balls, with the final one coming from somewhere around half court.
That pushed the lead out to 47-17, then Calkins turned the scoring over to others.
Madison McMillan came roaring off the bench to rain down all 10 of her points in the second half, with Jada Heaton setting up one of those buckets by ripping a rebound away from a Concrete rival.
Farris and McMillan both scored off of precise passes from each other, with McMillan’s pass thrown behind her back, as the senior sparkplug was wheelin’ and dealin’.
Mia Farris looks for an opening in the defense in an earlier game.
Coupeville, which had its biggest scoring day of the season, split the offensive action between eight different players.
Calkins (24), Farris (10), and McMillan (10) all hit double-digits, with Marti (7), Lyla Stuurmans (6), Strong (5), Capri Anter (2), and Haylee Armstrong (1) also scoring, while Heaton and Tenley Stuurmans rounded out the rotation.
In the midst of all the points, two Wolves hit personal milestones, as “Mia the Magnificent” (206) joined the 200-point club and Calkins (170) cracked the 150-point club.
Coupeville Sports 