Wolves (l to r) Mia Littlejohn, Makana Stone, Lindsey Roberts and Kailey Kellner celebrate on the bench near the end of the game. (Amy King photos)
Off to dinner after the game.
“Of course we won.”
Allison Wenzel can not be stopped.
The Coupeville High School sophomore basketball player got her first varsity floor time Friday and immediately went off, draining a three-point bomb on her way to a five-point fourth quarter explosion.
Toss in 21 more from senior sensation Makana Stone, and the Wolf duo combined to outscore Overlake by themselves in the opening game of the Friday Harbor Tip-Off Classic.
By the time the game was done, with Coupeville’s big three (Stone, Mia Littlejohn and Kailey Kellner) completely sitting out the fourth quarter, the Wolves had strolled to a 37-20 win to kick-off the two-day tourney.
Now 1-1 on the season, CHS will get a chance at garnering a bit of revenge and redemption Saturday.
The Wolves will play Island rival South Whidbey — which nipped Friday Harbor 33-30 — in the tourney title game at 1:30 PM.
Less than 72 hours after it fell to the Falcons by a single bucket on opening night Wednesday, Coupeville will get the rematch it was anticipating.
The Wolves will be coming in on a big high, after they took the best their private school foes could offer and never blinked.
“We came out fired up and ready to play,” said Wolf coach David King. “Led from start to finish.”
Fresh off a bus-and-boat trip to get to Friday Harbor, Coupeville clung to a narrow 11-10 lead after the first quarter.
Stone tossed in five, Littlejohn added four and Tiffany Briscoe banked in a bucket, but the Owls seemed like they would make a tight affair of things.
Then, the Wolves clamped down on defense, holding Overlake to just five points over the next two quarters.
An 11-2 run in the second, fueled by eight more from Stone, pushed the halftime lead to 22-12.
Then a decisive 8-3 surge in the third — with all of Coupeville’s points coming from its lone senior — sealed the deal.
Comfortably ahead, King went to his bench big-time in the fourth, with Kyla Briscoe, Lauren Rose, Lauren Grove and Wenzel playing the whole way.
Lindsey Roberts and Tiffany Briscoe split the remaining eight minutes, allowing the squad’s trio of captains to rest up and enjoy the view from the bench.
They may have been on the bench, but they were loud ‘n proud while they were there.
“One thing about this team, they all want each other to succeed and play well,” King said. “Makana, Mia and Kailey all were vocal and cheering on their teammates.”
Wenzel, who played in all four quarters, made the most of her time in the spotlight.
“Allison stole the show in the fourth,” King said. “As the shot clock was winding down and our bench counting it down, she found herself outside the three-point line in front of our bench with the ball.
“With three seconds left on the clock, she knew she had to shoot, she squared up and banked home a three,” he added. “Our bench went CRAZY!”
Proving she wasn’t a one-hit wonder, Wenzel took a pass just below the free throw line on the side of the key on the very next possession and drained the jumper.
At that point, Overlake began to wave the white towel of surrender.
Littlejohn added five points to back up the two-headed beast of Stone and Wenzel, while Tiffany Briscoe (3), Kellner (2) and Grove (1) rounded out the scorers.
Stone snared 16 rebounds, made off with three steals and rejected three shots, while Grove (five boards), Kellner (four rebounds, three assists) and Rose (three steals, two assists) all chipped in.
Tiffany Briscoe hauled in four rebounds and pilfered three steals, while Littlejohn, Roberts and Kyla Briscoe had three rebounds apiece.
While they’re happy with any win, this one was particularly satisfying for the coaching duo of David and Amy King.
“After the South Whidbey game we talked about being more patient on offense, don’t force the ball into the middle and don’t take the first open shot,” David King said. “We practiced that very well Thursday night and came out today and moved the ball very well.
“This was probably our best game in our three-plus years of coaching varsity that we didn’t rush our offense and played at the tempo we wanted to play at,” he added. “Overall it was a complete game with each player contributing.”
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