Hailey Hammer scored five Saturday, before leaving the game with a badly hurt ankle. (John Fisken photo)
Hammer’s ankle after the game. (Linda Hammer photo)
Amanda Fabrizi got mugged two times.
After recovering a loose ball in the corner with less than three seconds to go Saturday, the Coupeville High School senior drove hard to the hoop and put up what could have been a game-tying shot.
As she did so, she was pounded on by several Mount Vernon Christian players trying to force the miss.
Then, the Worst Referee in High School Basketball (a serial offender known to local fans as “Rogaine” or “Mr. Ed“) swallowed his whistle and ran, no, sprinted, out of the CHS gym while everyone, included the MVC team, waited for the call that never came.
The call that would have given Fabrizi a chance to change the outcome of what then went into the books as a 38-36 loss.
The third loss in a row for the Wolf girls, it dropped them to 5-5 on the season.
And no, the ref wasn’t solely responsible for the loss. An inability to deal with a full-court press inflicted by the visiting Hurricanes got Coupeville off to a rough start, and 18 missed free throws was a huge self-inflicted wound.
Toss in the absence of senior captain Breeanna Messner — out for a game after smacking her head in a game the night before — and the loss of junior Hailey Hammer, who crashed hard to the floor with an ankle injury that swelled up quite nicely by the end of the game, and it was a rough afternoon all around for the Wolves.
But, through it all, Coupeville had a chance to win, or force overtime, and were blunted by the show pony himself, who, for the 3,918th time, inserted himself awkwardly into the storyline, then pranced away, goofy grin intact.
Before the non-call on Fabrizi, he stung the Wolves with a call he even knew was wrong. Not that he would back down.
With Coupeville going for a steal late in the game on an in-bounds play, Rogaine whistled Madeline Strasburg for a foul — giving MVC two key free-throws.
The only problem? Everyone, including the ref, could see that Strasburg never touched anyone.
So why the call?
As he explained, loudly, to Wolf coach David King, “I anticipated the call. I knew she’d try to foul.”
Except, Coupeville DIDN’T try to foul, but, giggly with anticipation, the ref’s whistle bleated, and then, even though he knew deep in his soul he was an idiot, he refused to back down.
Cause show ponies who prance around after every call, chomping on their gum, love to be the center of attention, even when they look like morons.
Take away one ref (please) and the game was a hard-fought, if not especially pretty, contest.
While everyone around her lost the ability to shoot the ball, Wolf sophomore Makana Stone scored eight of her game-high 16 in the first half to stake Coupeville to a 12-10 halftime lead.
The offenses on both sides clicked in a bit more in the second half, with the Wolves clinging to a 25-24 lead after three.
Stone teamed up with Kacie Kiel for a beautiful basket, taking Kiel’s pinpoint pass and whirling between multiple defenders for a soft jumper in the paint, while Madeline Strasburg brought the 14 fans in the stands (the Seahawks were playing…) to their feet with a coast-to-coast romp after a steal.
The Hurricanes flipped a switch, however, in the early minutes of the fourth, using an 8-1 run to claim the lead. Up 37-31, MVC got another break when Stone fouled out.
Coupeville — minus starters Messner, Hammer and Stone at that point — and with freshman Carlie Rosenkrance on the floor as a first-time varsity player, made one final run however.
Wynter Thorne hit a turnaround jumper, then, after a MVC free throw, Fabrizi broke the press for a running layup and Julia Myers notched a pressure-packed free throw to cut the lead to two.
Then came Mr. Ed time, a rerun no one in Coupeville is particularly thrilled to see again.
Fabrizi hit for nine to go with Stone’s 16, while Hammer hit for five before hitting the hardwood. Strasburg popped for three, Thorne had a bucket and Myers added her free-throw to cap the scoring.
