Tuesday’s starting five: (l to r) Makana Stone, Julia Myers, Kacie Kiel, Breeanna Messner and Amanda Fabrizi. (Robert Bishop photo)
Even her teammates were impressed.
“Mom! Mom! Makana had 23 points tonight! She was awesome!!,” was the first thing Coupeville High School senior captain Breeanna Messner said to Aimee Bishop after Tuesday night’s almost-win over the #5 team in 2A.
While the Wolves, representing the smallest school in 1A, couldn’t quite finish off an upset for the ages over Cedarcrest (691 students in grades 9-11 to the 225 at CHS), there was little doubt as to who the best player on the court was.
The visiting Red Wolves may have used a fourth-quarter surge to derail Coupeville, turning a one-point game into an eventual 57-47 victory, but Makana Stone was nothing short of electrifying.
Rampaging with a purpose, pulling up for quick jumpers in the paint, or crashing the boards for rebounds like a woman possessed, the silky-smooth sophomore was unstoppable at times.
By herself, she outscored Cedarcrest 11-7 in the first quarter, eventually going on to throw down points in all four quarters.
Her 23 points were the most scored by any Wolf this season, boy or girl, JV or varsity.
And she had help, big-time help, with her #1 admirer, Messner, gunning for eight of her 10 points in the second quarter as Coupeville carried a 30-24 lead in at the half.
Messner hit a long three-ball early in the second for the first Wolf points to come from a player not named Stone. Then she lit the fire on a quarter-closing 9-0 run, hitting a tough running jumper and three free throws.
Kacie Kiel and Stone put back-to-back rebounds back up and in to cap the spurt, while Amanda Fabrizi tossed in five points in the quarter, including a three-point bomb that she launched from so far back she might as well have been out in the parking lot.
With Cedarcrest looking a bit stressed and amping up the speed of the game, the Wolves tired a bit in the second half and weren’t able to get as many dead-on shots.
Stone banked in a jumper to open the fourth, staking Coupeville to its final lead of the game at 38-37.
The Red Wolves, who hadn’t looked quite like a Top 10 team up until then, suddenly clicked into another gear, however. Holding Coupeville without a field goal for several minutes, Cedarcrest went on a game-busting 15-3 run.
Stone finally broke the cold streak with a final pair of buckets, one on a pull-up jumper, another off of an offensive board, but a run of missed free throws in the final two minutes didn’t help Coupeville’s cause.
Now 6-7 overall, 3-5 in Cascade Conference play, the Wolves finished the game with confident smiles still attached.
They had staggered a major foe, come close to a knock out, and look like a squad ready to erupt on a winning streak as they enter what should be a much-easier stretch run.
Stone was dominant, spark-plug Madeline Strasburg (three points) had the bounce back in her step and fire in her play, Julia Myers was still swinging her elbows like her daddy told her to knock someone out and Messner and Fabrizi (seven points) played like the seasoned warriors they are.
Go down the bench and everyone chipped in.
Kiel (four points) was a whirlwind on both ends of the court, Monica Vidoni skied high for her most impressive rebound yet and McKayla Bailey and Wynter Thorne attacked with their usual pedal-through-the-metal ferocity.
The Wolves are hungry, and they look like a team that should keep the smile on Messner’s face the rest of the season.
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