Wolves Tiffany Briscoe (left) and Mikayla Elfrank vie for a rebound. (John Fisken photo)
Five days, four teams, two berths in the state tournament.
The Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad will be traveling back and forth to Bellarmine Prep High School this week, making two, and possibly, three trips to Tacoma, as it seeks postseason glory.
The Wolves open the double-elimination portion of the West Central District 3 tourney 6:00 PM Tuesday against Seattle Christian.
Bellevue Christian and Cascade Christian follow at 7:45 on the same “neutral” court.
Win or lose Tuesday, Coupeville returns on Thursday for another game, with a possible third visit set for Saturday.
With just two state berths available to District 3 (down from three last season), Coupeville has to win twice to punch its ticket to be one of the state’s final 16 teams for a second straight year.
You can check out the bracket here:
http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2187&sport=12
The postseason match-up with Seattle Christian will be the third in as many years for the Wolves.
SC knocked Coupeville out of the playoffs in 2015, winning an overtime thriller 50-44, before the Wolves rebounded to drill the Warriors 49-33 last year.
That CHS win punched a ticket to state for the first time in a decade, while sending Seattle Christian home.
Coupeville’s reputation as road warriors — they played 12 of 19 away from home, including an unprecedented eight straight, yet still went 9-3 on the road — will come into play.
The Wolves travel 91.4 miles one way to Bellarmine Prep (2300 S. Washington St. in Tacoma), further than the other three teams combined.
For some background info on each of the teams, check out these capsules:
Coupeville:
Season record: 15-4
Seed: Olympic League #1
Coach: David King
Tallest player: Lindsey Roberts – 5’10
Smallest player: Lauren Rose – 5’2
Miles to Bellarmine Prep: 91.4
Most recent trip to state: 2016
Student body size (WIAA classification count): 227
Mascot: Wolves
RPI ranking: #13
ScoreCzar ranking: #27
Bellevue Christian:
Season record: 16-4
Seed: Nisqually League #1
Coach: Mark DeJonge
Tallest player: Molly Olson – 6’1
Smallest player: Elizabeth Lew – 5’3
Miles to Bellarmine Prep — 38.0
Most recent trip to state: 2016
Student body size (WIAA classification count): 254.50
Mascot: Vikings
RPI ranking: #6
ScoreCzar ranking: #8
Seattle Christian:
Season record: 15-2
Seed: Nisqually League #2
Coach: Dave Jansen
Tallest player: Julia Seibel – 6’1
Smallest player: Olivia Clark – 5’4
Miles to Bellarmine Prep: 35.1
Most recent trip to state: 2012
Student body size (WIAA classification count): 171.75
Mascot: Warriors
RPI ranking: #19
ScoreCzar ranking: #11
Cascade Christian:
Season record: 9-11
Seed: Nisqually League #3
Coach: Bryan Peterson
Tallest player: Mindy McCreary and Shelaine Lorenz – 5’10
Smallest player: Kinsley Nohr – 5’4
Miles to Bellarmine Prep: 11.5
Most recent trip to state: 2015
Student body size (WIAA classification count): 239.75
Mascot: Cougars
RPI ranking: #28
ScoreCzar ranking: #20
