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Archive for the ‘Girls Basketball’ Category

Birthday buddies: Fabrizi scores!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Happy birthday, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Amanda Fabrizi

Amanda Fabrizi

She was electric.

Capping a stellar athletic career at Coupeville High School, Amanda Fabrizi took a quantum leap during her final season in the red and black.

Fabrizi, who celebrates her 18th birthday today, was always a good basketball player. But as a senior, something new surfaced.

Running along side fellow captain Breeanna Messner, Fabrizi brought the grit, toughness and quiet leadership you knew she would. Then she added some sizzle.

She relentlessly attacked the basket, forcing opponents to backpedal and often foul her, and had no fear, regardless of whether it was the opening minute of the game or the final ten seconds.

Of course, Fabrizi was also her team’s best three-point bomber, which meant you had to guard her everywhere on the court.

With her sudden emergence as a player who was willing to take the scoring load on her shoulders, that opened up the floor for sophomore teammate Makana Stone to run wild and blossom into one of the league’s best players.

With a playoff win at home and a chance to play in a post-season all-star game with Messner, Fabrizi got the sort of ending you always hope for when a player works as hard, overcomes as much, as Fabrizi did.

Poke her in the eye? Slam her to the floor? She never missed a game or a beat, coming right back at you.

Off the floor, she couldn’t have been more different. Friendly, outgoing, extremely loyal to her family and friends, a young woman of amazing grace in everything she did.

Her graduation will leave a huge hole for both the Wolf basketball and volleyball squads. Inevitably, someone else will step up and take the spotlight. Circle of life and all.

But Fabrizi won’t be forgotten.

She accomplished much, and she did it the right way. She is an example to show to future Wolf athletes as they come up.

Here walked Amanda Fabrizi. She was a legend, because she never, ever stopped working.

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Birthday buddies: Bailey soars!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Girls Tennis, Happy birthday, Volleyball, tagged , , , on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

McKenzie Bailey

McKenzie Bailey

McKenzie Bailey may be the second sister, but she’s a star in her own right.

The Coupeville High School junior-to-be, who celebrates her birthday today, makes a dandy duo with big sis McKayla, the Photo Bomb Queen of Cow Town.

Together, and with lil’ sis Mollie, they’re keeping family tradition alive by kickin’ fanny in as many sports as possible.

And, in the brief moment when they’re not actually playing themselves, each of the Bailey girls can usually be found at one of their sister’s games, being loud and proud in support.

In her two years at CHS, McKenzie has been a true throw-back, one of the few Wolves to play year-round.

Bouncing from volleyball to basketball to tennis, where her star might be the brightest, Miss Bailey lives up to the reputation that comes with her last name.

She works hard. She plays hard. She’ll crack a girl in half and leave her on the hardwood (if necessary).

And, she’ll always, kinda, sorta, know where the camera is during every game. Cause no one has EVER accused a Bailey of being camera shy.

Which is why McKenzie and her family are the very definition of awesome.

They give me a lot to write about, and they provide me with billions of photo opportunities — which means less actual work for me. Win-win.

As long as there’s a Bailey doin’ their business in a Wolf uniform, we’re solid gold.

So thank you, McKenzie, for being a great athlete, an amazing sister and a pretty terrific person, all wrapped in one.

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Know Your Foe: Port Townsend’s Crystal Crump!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Softball, Swim, tagged , , , on June 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Crystal Crump

Crystal Crump

Crystal Crump is a three-sport athlete, but Coupeville will only see her in two.

The Port Townsend High School senior-to-be swims, plays basketball and wraps the school year with her favorite sport, softball.

Since the Wolves don’t field a swim squad, though, they’ll have to wait until the winter to go toe-to-toe with the busy, talented Redhawk.

When they do meet her, CHS players and fans will find a young woman with a positive, make-it-happen personality.

“As an athlete, I think some of my greatest strengths are working hard and pushing through when things are challenging,” Crump said. “I always work to keep a positive attitude and motivate others to do the same.

“Being that I will be a senior next year I want to work on becoming even more of a leader to the younger kids.”

Crump has set a goal of qualifying for districts during her swim season, a sport in which you largely compete as an individual, especially during the postseason.

When she picks up her basketball and, later, her softball gear, she hopes to write a beautiful swan song to her final year of high school life.

“In basketball, I want to maintain a positive attitude and have fun,” Crump said. “For softball, I also want to have fun, but I want to play to the best of my ability.

“Softball is by far my favorite sport because I love being outside,” she added. “I also enjoy the technique that is required, and, of course, the sunflower seeds are the best!”

Playing three sports enables Crump to grow as an individual, while also building friendships with her teammates.

She then passes on some of those lessons when she works in Building Futures, her school’s mentoring program for young children.

“I like the feeling of belonging to a team and the relationships that are built through them,” she said. “I also like to challenge myself to keep getting better.”

While she plays sports year-round, there is far more to Crump than just athletics.

She loves to hike, is teaching herself the guitar and works for Dogspaw, a dog grooming business in Port Townsend. At school, Crump enjoys her language (English and Spanish) and science classes.

Before the new school year starts up, she will travel to Eugene for a five-week trail restoration program, which will allow her to enjoy her love of hiking and backpacking while helping to clean up trails in national parks.

Through it all, she treasures her family and friends, who provide her with the support necessary to pull off a busy, successful life. One person, in particular, is near and dear to her.

“My guardian, Shannon, has been a great support to me,” Crump said. “I wouldn’t be where I am at today without her. She is amazing!”

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Messner a woman of the people!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Polls, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , on June 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Breeanna Messner (John Fisken photos)

Breeanna Messner, always popular with the people. (John Fisken photo)

Breeanna Messner (Robert Bishop photo)

Messner and the tools of her trade. (Robert Bishop photo)

Wolf seniors (l to r) Haley Sherman, Breeanna Messner and Madeline Roberts. (John Fisken photo)

  Wolf seniors (l to r) Haley Sherman, Messner and Madeline Roberts during their run to the state tourney, the school’s first trip in softball in 12 years. (Fisken photo)

Breeanna Messner is the Al Gore of 2014.

The recent Coupeville High School graduate took the popular vote, but was denied the ultimate crown when the people behind the throne made their selection.

Messner, a four-sport (volleyball, cheer, basketball, softball) star for the Wolves, held off Lakewood’s Kiana Smith to win the public voting for the Everett Herald’s Female Prep Athlete of the Year.

She won 506-464 to best a 23-woman field that included athletes from big-name schools like King’s and Glacier Peak.

But the Herald editors selected Lynnwood basketball superstar Jasmin Edwards, who collected 223 votes in the popular vote, as their top athlete.

It was the same on the boys side of the battle, as Garrett Stich of Snohomish topped Hunter Bingham of Monroe in polling, only to see Bingham be tabbed as the Athlete of the Year.

Coupeville’s Ben Etzell was nominated for the boys’ award.

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Know Your Foe: Chimacum’s Kyah McKinlay!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Track, tagged , , , on June 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Chimacum's Kyah McKinlay

Chimacum’s Kyah McKinlay

With Coupeville leaving the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and joining Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya in the 1A Olympic League this fall, now is a great time to learn a bit about some of the players who will face off with the Wolves in the future.

Kyah McKinlay is an equal opportunity athlete.

The Chimacum High School junior-to-be plays year round, bouncing from soccer to basketball to track, where she throws the javelin, discus and shot put and her favorite sport changes with the season.

“I don’t have a favorite sport, I love every sport I play,” McKinlay said. “I enjoy how many friends I get to make. Also the memories we make as a team.”

A strong student who enjoys a wide range of classes (“My favorites are biology, history, Spanish, leadership and English”), she’s also involved in her school’s ASB.

On the field or court McKinlay prides herself on being receptive to the advice she receives from her coaches.

“My athletic strengths are being a coachable person,” she said. “I’m willing to work hard.

“I would like to work on my physical strength.”

With the Cowboys going head-to-head with their arch-rivals from Port Townsend, as well as new league mates Coupeville and Klahowya, McKinlay would like to be one of the building blocks in Chimacum becoming an athletic power.

“My goals for next year are to win more games and get more commitment out of my teams,” she said.

McKinlay credits her coaches for helping her develop her skills and for always being there for her, win or loss.

“My family, my basketball coaches, Trevor Huntingford and Mike Dowling, and my track coaches, Tony Haddenham and Josh Chapman, have helped me improve throughout the seasons and helped me keep my head up after tough losses.”

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