Freshman Anya Leavell tossed in eight points Monday as Coupeville’s JV bushwhacked Oak Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Our freshmen are better than yours.
Completing a 4-0 run against Whidbey Island rivals this season, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad drilled visiting Oak Harbor’s C-Team 45-16 Monday night.
The win, the fourth in the last five games for the Wolves, lifts them to 8-6 on the year.
Coupeville’s JV, which featured eight freshmen among its nine active players Monday, swept home-and-away series from both 1A North Sound Conference rival South Whidbey and 3A Oak Harbor, granting them the possibly made-up, but still spiffy title of “Island Champs.”
And none of those four games were remotely close, either.
Facing a withering Wolf defense, Oak Harbor spent much of the first half Monday just fighting to get out of its back-court.
The Wildcats didn’t get a shot up that connected with either the rim or the backboard until seven and a half minutes into the game.
At that point, OHHS already trailed 16-0, en route to an eventual 24-0 deficit midway through the second quarter, and Coupeville was clicking on all cylinders.
Bucket after bucket was set up by crisp passes, as the Wolves picked apart Oak Harbor’s interior defense with ease.
The game opened on a layup from Izzy Wells, with Coupeville’s lone active sophomore, Mollie Bailey, providing the sweet dish, as she came off the dribble and flipped the pass right onto Wells waiting fingertips.
Less than two seconds later, having yanked an in-bounds pass away from the intended target, Ja’Kenya Hoskins crashed hard to the hoop, slapping home the ball with a satisfying thunk.
After that the buckets came bam-bam-bam, many set-up by steals or Wolves wrestling 50/50 balls away from their rivals and immediately crashing towards the hoop.
Wells had the hottest hand in the opening frame, popping for eight, but Coupeville spread its 18-0 surge among five shooters.
Six of Coupeville’s nine buckets in the first quarter came courtesy layups, two on sideline jumpers by Wells and Anya Leavell, and one on a power move down in the paint from Abby Mulholland.
The heir to the Keefe basketball legacy (go look it up, it’s pretty dang impressive), Mulholland posted up, caught an entry pass, then knocked her defender backwards with a subtle hip shot before draining the turnaround jumper.
The second quarter was a showcase for Audrianna Shaw, who kicked in three buckets as CHS went up 24-0 before setting for a 28-2 lead at the break.
Showing she’s dangerous from anywhere on the floor, Shaw drilled a pull-up jumper, off a kick-out from Leavell, then rolled around the corner to bank home a shot before capping things with a burst right up the middle, splitting two defenders and hitting a runner.
Mulholland, who scored in every quarter, paced the Wolves in the third, but fellow frosh Alana Mihill earned the biggest curtain call.
The scrappy cross country veteran, who had been zigging and zagging on defense all night, frustrating the Wildcat shooters, suddenly pulled up and drained a three-ball from the top of the arc late in the third frame.
Her teammates, JV and varsity, went bonkers for Mihill’s surprise bomb, her second bucket and first trey of the season.
Up in the crow’s nest, varsity players Avalon Renninger, Tia Wurzrainer, and Scout Smith, shooting game film, got so excited they came close to knocking each other down into the stands.
Perhaps taking some inspiration from Mihill, Oak Harbor, which had struggled mightily on offense through three quarters, hitting just one field goal and two free throws, picked things up down the stretch.
The Wildcats managed to put together an 8-0 run during the fourth quarter, topped double-digits scoring for the night, and “won” the final frame 12-6.
A huge part of that was Coupeville having long past taken its press off, but the Wolf defenders did pull off a couple of strong plays late, while being careful not to be so aggressive as to be jerks.
Morgan Stevens hauled down her fair share of rebounds, scrapping hard in the paint, while Lily Leedy made off with several steals, turning one into a breakaway layup.
As the ball settled through the net, Leedy turned, and flashing a smile at her family in the stands, charged back down court, ready to harass any and all ball-handlers foolish enough to dribble her way.
While CHS coach Amy King was missing four players with injuries (Kylie Van Velkinburgh, Ivy Leedy, Kylie Chernikoff and Kiara Contreras), she got big contributions from everyone able to take the floor.
Wells led the scoring attack with 12 points, while Mulholland was coming up hot in her rear-view mirror with 10 of her own.
After that, the Wolves got eight from Leavell, six from Shaw, three from Mihill, and a bucket apiece from Hoskins, Bailey, and Leedy.
