Julia Myers, offensive juggernaut. (John Fisken photo)
Julia Myers can use her world-famous elbows for something other than clearing out space in the paint and reprimanding pesky foes who try to snatch rebounds away from her.
Wednesday night, playing in front of a loud, very pro-Judy crowd, the Coupeville High School senior cocked those elbows and drained shot after shot.
By the time she was done, plopped on the bench with a mile-wide smile on her face, she had racked up a season-high 21, sparking the Wolves to a 63-29 romp over visiting Chimacum.
The victory gave CHS (9-5) seven wins in its last ten games and improved it to a perfect 3-0 in Olympic League play.
Hot in pursuit of the program’s first league title since 2002, the Wolves have six games left, with two each against Port Townsend, Klahowya and Chimacum.
After the first go-round, they have outscored their league mates 166-84.
A huge part of that margin came in the first quarter Wednesday, as Coupeville threw down 18 straight points en route to a 23-2 lead.
Six different players rattled down points in the quarter, with Myers tossing in seven points to lead the way.
Holding Chimacum without a field goal in the quarter — the Cowboys went nearly 11 minutes into the game before finally hitting a short jumper — CHS attacked relentlessly.
Moving the ball crisply, looking for the open shooter and being ruthless ball-hawks on defense, the Wolves frazzled Chimacum to its very last nerve, then shoved the Cowboys over the edge.
Whether it was Madeline Strasburg powering up the sidelines on breakaways, tangling up a Chimacum defender’s feet as she cut back at the last second, or Makana Stone grazing the gym ceiling pulling down one of her 15 rebounds, the women in red and black were everywhere.
And they never let up, stretching the lead out to 62-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
Hailey Hammer fought hard for back-to-back buckets inside, then Myers ripped a rebound loose and popped it back in to push herself over the 20-point barrier.
Moments later, freshman Mia Littlejohn juked a defender out of her high tops and slashed hard to the hoop for a bucket, triggering a running clock when the Wolves went up by 40.
Chimacum put together its only sustained run, closing the game on a small 8-1 surge — the only time all night that the Cowboys hit from the field on consecutive possessions — to slightly narrow the gap.
While never fully satisfied — what coach ever is? — Wolf hoops guru David King was pleased with much of what he saw unfold on the court.
After hailing Myers breakout offensive performance and Stone’s high-flying acrobatics, he called out two role players for their performance.
“Wynter (Thorne) played really, really well tonight, I thought. Hustled and fought for everything,” King said. “Hailey had a bounce pass to set up Julia for a basket that was just beautiful. She is such a smart player for us out there on the court.”
Stone backed up Myers on the offensive end, tossing in 14, while Hammer and Strasburg dropped in eight apiece. Kacie Kiel (4), Thorne (3), Littlejohn (3) and Monica Vidoni (2) rounded out the scorers.
McKenzie Bailey and Kailey Kellner didn’t have a chance to join the scoring parade, but both made an impact on defense, rattling Chimacum ball-handlers (and maybe a few of their teeth).
Hammer had six boards and four assists, while Vidoni helped anchor the defense with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Myers and Thorne both snagged five boards apiece.
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