Madeline Strasburg will kick your butt 17 different ways on a basketball court. It’s that simple. (John Fisken photo)
Two teams stepped on the court. Only one team walked off.
By the time the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad had thoroughly made the case that it was the stronger, tougher (both mentally and psychically), more electrifying team on the floor Tuesday, there was little left for South Whidbey’s painfully young team to do but stagger off to the side.
The Wolves’ 42-27 victory, giving them a two-game edge in the Cascade Conference standings over the rival Falcons, wasn’t even remotely as close as a 15-point win might sound.
Using a 31-11 run from midway through the first quarter until the very final one-tenth of a second in the third quarter (more on that later), Coupeville took advantage of South Whidbey missing senior point guard Madi Boyd and terrorized a freshman-heavy squad.
The Wolves sent players from all sides, with McKayla Bailey and her bright green shoes ripping heads off and the deceptively sweet-natured Julia Myers swinging her elbows with unholy glee as she hauled in rebounds.
Toss in the trio of ballhawks that are Madeline Strasburg, Amanda Fabrizi and Breeanna “The Steal Queen” Messner, and the Falcons could barely hold onto the ball.
When they did, they looked flustered, rushed and decidedly not very confident.
Taking advantage of that, Coupeville attacked at will, with Makana Stone pumping in a game-high 16 points on a variety of dazzling moves.
Then Strasburg put the hammer down, pulling off a stunning play to end the third that sent the packed stands into a tizzy.
Having stretched an 11-point halftime lead to 16, the Wolves were scrambling back on defense when Strasburg, a junior with a motor that never stops, suddenly reversed field.
Picking the pocket of a Falcon ball-handler at mid-court, she spun to her left, paused for a micro-second, her cheeks bulging out as she let her breath fly as the ball left her hands, then danced away as the ball smacked the glass and banked home perfectly for a three-pointer with literally no time left.
The reactions on both sides told you all you needed to know, as the Wolf bench went berserk, while the Falcons lowered their heads and glumly walked to their end of the court.
Now 3-2 overall, 2-1 in league play, Coupeville is in control of its playoff destiny, at least as much as you can be just a fourth of the way into the season.
Two of the three 1A schools in the eight-team 1A/2A conference will claim a postseason berth, and the Falcons are mired now at 1-6, 0-3.
The Wolves came out a bit jumpy, maybe too eager to run past their younger counterparts, and missed a string of chip shots in a first quarter that ended with Coupeville clinging to an 8-7 lead.
The Wolves trailed 5-4 before Kacie Kiel singed the nets with a jumper from the side and then Messner turned a steal into a breakaway bucket with Fabrizi drawing a crowd and then dishing to the gently swooping Stone.
After that, it was a completely different game, as the Wolves opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run.
Stone threw down six of the points — she had nine in the quarter — while Strasburg and Hailey Hammer kicked things off with back-to-back buckets in the paint.
The third quarter opened with the whack heard round the world — or at least the gym — as Strasburg dove to fight for a loose ball and smacked her elbow with a crunch that echoed over the roar of the crowd.
Bouncing to her feet, her face a mixture of pain and giddiness, she refused to leave the game, swinging her elbow round and round.
Apparently the pain fueled her fire, however, as Strasburg scored seven points in the quarter AFTER the hit, swishing a short jumper, outgunning the field on a breakaway and then slamming home the dagger with her buzzer beater.
Coupeville spread the offensive love around, with eight of its ten players scoring.
Stone (16) and Strasburg (9) were joined by Hammer (4), Messner (4), Kiel (4), Wynter Thorne (2), Monica Vidoni (2) and Fabrizi (1) in the scoring column.
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