Mia Farris will destroy you. (Bailey Thule photos)
A freshman stole the spotlight on Senior Night.
Pouring in 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half Friday, Tenley Stuurmans sparked the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team to a crowd-pleasing come-from-behind win against visiting Friday Harbor.
With the fab frosh scoring from all angles, and her veteran teammates all chipping in with key plays, the Wolves pulled out a 31-27 victory to close the regular season in style.
The triumph evened Coupeville’s final record in Northwest 2B/1B League play to 5-5, while lifting its overall mark to 8-10.
Next up is the double-elimination District 1/2 tournament, which kicks off next Thursday, Feb. 13.
The bracket is expected to be released Monday, allowing everyone to know if the Wolves host their opening game or hit the road.
For now, Megan Richter’s squad can bask in the afterglow of a stirring victory played out in front of a rambunctious audience on hand to bid CHS seniors Jada Heaton, Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, Lyla Stuurmans, and Katie Marti farewell.
Coming off the high of the pre-game festivities, the Wolves looked flat in the early going.
Once on the floor, Tenley Stuurmans broke her team’s four-minute-plus dry spell with a free throw, then threw down a layup off a nice pass from Heaton.
Still, Coupeville trailed 10-3 at the first break, and saw the deficit pushed out to 14-5 midway through the second frame.
Jada Heaton hungers for rebounds.
Looking for a spark, the Wolves found one, and her name is Jada Rose.
Heaton snatched a rebound away from a Friday Harbor rival, then banked the ball home, and suddenly things started clicking.
Coupeville closed the half on a 9-4 run, with Marti and McMillan knocking down buckets to cut away at the visitor’s lead.
Back within 16-12 at the half, the Wolves opened the third quarter on an 8-0 tear to claim their first lead of the night.
Danica Strong drilled a soft jumper, Mia Farris rose up to swat away a Friday Harbor shot, and CHS proved to be devilishly delightful on inbounds plays.
Tenley Stuurmans was the trigger woman, sliding a pass to Teagan Calkins for one bucket, but a play earlier she really shook things up.
With all four of her teammates lined up to one side, the Wolf freshman caught a defender napping, bouncing a pass off a Wolverines back, snagging the ball as it returned to her, then flipping it up and in for a game-busting layup.
Friday Harbor did fight back, actually pulling ahead 22-21 thanks to a bucket with just three seconds to play in the third quarter.
But the momentum had changed by that point, and Coupeville firmly controlled the action in the final frame.
Tenley Stuurmans amazes even herself.
Closing the game on a 10-5 surge, the Wolves got three buckets from Tenley Stuurmans, who was poppin’ jumpers and takin’ names, and two from Farris.
“Mia the Magnificent” may have claimed in her Senior Night writeup that “I do not love basketball,” but she does seemingly find great joy in ripping out the hearts of her on-court rivals.
Netting Coupeville’s final two baskets of the night, Farris scored off of an offensive rebound and put-back, then on a silky layup with the ball threaded through the defense on a lob from Tenley Stuurmans.
Richter sent nine players to the floor in the regular season finale, with seven of them scoring, and all nine having an impact.
The younger Stuurmans netted her varsity career-high with those 14 points, while big sis Lyla didn’t score on this night, but was a buzzsaw on defense, repeatedly knocking the ball into the stands, her smile getting bigger each time she did.
Farris (6), Marti (3), Heaton (2), Strong (2), McMillan (2), and Calkins (2) rounded out the scoring, while Haylee Armstrong brought sizzle to the defensive end of the floor.
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