Lindsey Roberts is just the 24th CHS girls basketball player to score 400 career points. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
They’ve had better nights.
The Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball squad fell apart under an avalanche of turnovers Tuesday, and slipped a rung lower in the league standings because of it.
Falling 48-28 at Cedar Park Christian, the Wolves drop to 2-2 in North Sound Conference action, 4-7 overall.
After entering the night in second-place in the six-team league, CHS now sits tied for third with Granite Falls (2-2, 4-9), with six games to play.
The Wolves are chasing King’s (4-0, 9-3) and CPC (3-1, 6-5), while still ahead of Sultan (1-3, 4-8) and South Whidbey (0-4, 2-10).
Heading to Bothell, Coupeville knew the Eagles star, Irena Korolenko, was dangerous.
But knowing you need to stop someone and being able to do it are often two very different things.
“Korolenko is as advertised for CPC,” said Coupeville coach David King. “She got them going early and often.
“She scored 25 points that looked effortless, from a variety of drives, jumpers and at the free-throw line.”
The Wolves, who recently put together a run of games in which they sparkled on offense, didn’t have that same golden touch this time out.
“Offensively we struggled all game until the fourth quarter,” King said. “Normally our defense leads us, but tonight we struggled.
“When our defense isn’t up to par it takes a toll on our offense.”
Trailing 12-6 after the first quarter, the Wolves went stone-cold in the second frame and never fully recovered.
Unable to net a single point over an eight-minute span, CHS entered the locker room facing a 26-6 deficit, and things didn’t improve much during the third quarter.
It was only in the fourth, a quarter they entered on the wrong side of a 44-13 score, in which the Wolves were able to rekindle their flame.
“All game long we looked for a lineup that would compete. We found it starting the fourth,” King said. “We rode the group of Scout (Smith), Chelsea (Prescott), Tia (Wurzrainer), Izzy (Wells), and Lindsey (Roberts).
“This lineup came out with energy and heart,” he added. “The effort picked up defensively and like it does for us, it guided our offense. They got steals, rebounded well and had an urgency on both ends of the court.”
Prescott led the way down the stretch, banging home five points, while Roberts and Scout Smith each added four, and CHS closed the game on a 15-4 tear, even with Korolenko on the floor.
While the finale was a positive, Coupeville was stung by 28 turnovers and poor free throw shooting, netting only seven of 19 freebies.
“I knew this would be a tough game; we seemed to be evenly-matched based on scores from games played, but tonight, CPC outplayed us and out-coached us,” King said. “The positive we can take from this game was the play in the fourth quarter.”
Roberts finished with a team-high nine points and 10 rebounds, exiting the game with 408 career points, passing Ashley Manker (404) for #23 on the Wolf girls all-time scoring list.
Scout Smith tossed in six in support, Prescott notched five, Avalon Renninger banked home three, Ema Smith and Wells netted a bucket apiece and Nicole Laxton tickled the twines for a free throw.
Just a sophomore, Prescott became the fourth active player and 98th in the 45-year history of the Wolf girls program to top 100 career points.
With 102 and counting, she’s hot on the trail of Roberts, Ema Smith (153) and Scout Smith (110).
Cedar Park doesn’t have a girls JV team, so Coupeville’s second unit had the night off.
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