This photo was shot at a different game, but CHS coach David King wore this expression most of the game Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)
If Saturday was the party, Wednesday was the hangover.
Playing more like a team already on vacation and less like a team returning to the court after pulling off the biggest come-from-behind victory in recent memory, the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad laid an egg against visiting Friday Harbor.
All the positive energy from the weekend upset of 2A Sequim oozed out the gym door as the Wolves staggered through a listless 24-19 non-conference loss that dropped their record to 4-3.
It wasn’t so much that they played badly as they just didn’t do anything all that right.
In a game devoid of excitement — Friday Harbor played like a team quite willing to be rolled, only to find the Wolves surprisingly toothless on this night — the victor was the team who played just slightly less uninspired.
Even after suffering through a seven-minute scoreless stretch in the second half, while getting off precious few shots as they routinely made one pass too many and seemed to have no one willing to step up, CHS had a shot at the end.
Putting together what passed for a rally, the Wolves scored five straight midway through the fourth to cut the lead to 19-18.
Julia Myers banked in a bucket off of an in-bounds pass, Kacie Kiel swished a short jumper and Makana Stone slid a free-throw through the twine.
But, after her second charity stripe shot slid around the rim before falling off at the last second — a team-wide issue as Coupeville shot less than 20% from the field in the game — the Wolves offense was done.
Friday Harbor rolled in a desperation three-point bomb, followed by a basket off of an inside cut, to stretch the lead back out and the Wolves answered with … nothing.
Over the final minute — the time where they had played so brilliantly against Sequim — they came up empty.
Back-to-back shots hit nothing but air, never even grazing the rim, and Coupeville coach David King, who was poised to call timeouts after buckets to set up a defensive plan, could do little but softly shake his head.
The sputter at the end matched the flow of the entire game, as the two squads combined for an apathetic performance that was odd considering both teams entered the game with winning records.
The first half started muted and stayed that way, with the teams tied at four after one and Coupeville clinging to a 10-8 lead at the half.
A lone highlight came from Myers, who, showing why she is a defensive dynamo, rose up and rejected a Friday Harbor shot with not one, but both, hands.
The booming no-no-no briefly sent a surge through the crowd and her team, but then, as soon as it surfaced, it was gone.
Neither team could do anything in the third quarter, going three-and-a-half minutes into the half without adding a single point to the scoreboard.
Friday Harbor finally flipped a switch, running off an 8-0 stretch to essentially put the game on ice.
Coupeville didn’t score until the 1:02 mark in the quarter, and then only when McKenzie Bailey had a prayer answered when she banked in a three-pointer from the side.
Stone, who entered the game averaging almost 16 points a game, paced the Wolves with six, while snagging 12 rebounds. She also had three blocks and three steals.
The rest of Coupeville’s limited offensive attack came from Hailey Hammer (4), Bailey (3), Myers (2), Kiel (2) and Monica Vidoni (2).
Myers had eight rebounds while Kiel collected three assists.
The Wolves will get a chance to rediscover their spark Friday, when they travel to Orcas Island for a non-conference game. After that, they are off until Dec. 29, when Vashon Island visits Whidbey.
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