Coupeville Sports

Kyla Briscoe (left) and Wolf hoops teammate Hope Lodell.

“There is nothing more disappointing as a coach when a win is so close but just falls out of reach.”

That was the sentiment Sarah Stuurmans was left with Monday, after her Coupeville Middle School 7th grade girls’ basketball squad failed to hold on to a five-point lead with three minutes to play at Northshore. Killed by a rash of turnovers, the Wolves watched as a 23-18 lead slipped away, ending in a 26-23 loss.

“Turnovers really killed us today and most of the mistakes are coming from a lack of game time experience,” Stuurmans said. “I can tell that the game is coming at the girls so fast. With some playing experience and time on the court, the game will start to slow down for them so they can make better decisions with the ball.”

Coupeville came out aggressively on defense, with Katrina McGranahan and Sage Renninger pounding the boards.

Meanwhile, Mia Littlejohn paced the Wolves on offense, hitting for a game-high 12, including several nice drives to the hoop and a long put-back for three.

Kyla Briscoe banged home “two nice jumpers in the short corner off rebounds” on her way to six points, while McGranahan popped for three and Payton Aparicio tossed in a bucket off a “great inbounds pass.”

The Wolves play their next two games at home, with Lakewood coming to the Island Wednesday, Feb. 27, followed by King’s on Monday, March 4.

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           Mia Littlejohn destroys defenses like she eats her food — like a wild woman. (Melissa Losey photo)

Mia Littlejohn was so on fire Wednesday, not even the referees could put out her flame.

They tried, calling a technical foul on the Coupeville Middle School 7th grader for the horrible crime of stealing the ball away from a Granite Falls player as she crossed mid-court.

In the ultra-sensitive world of middle school hoops, teams aren’t allowed to press in the back-court when they’re up by 10 or more (because heaven forbid they actually get prepared for high school basketball…). Since the visiting Tiger player had only one foot across the line when Littlejohn picked her pocket, out came the whistle to a hail of laughs from local fans.

It was just about the only time anything slowed down the Wolves, as they romped to victories at both the 7th and 8th grade levels.

“It always helps to get a win against Granite Falls because the rest of the league is really strong,” said Wolf 7th grade coach Sarah Stuurmans. “Lakewood, King’s and Northshore typically have strong teams and Sultan is always a wild card.

“So this is a big boost for us,” she added. “Luckily we get to play them twice!”

By the time the rematch rolls around, the Tigers may have recovered from the shredding Littlejohn gave them. Not counting her momentary run-in with the refs, she made off with an astonishing nine steals on the afternoon.

“Mia was so amazing today,” Stuurmans said. “She really was pulling out all the stops with a great crossover and even doing a between the legs move that got her free of her defender.”

Her primary partners in crime were Sage Renninger (five steals) and Katrina McGranahan (nine rebounds and two blocked shots).

With the defense sparking numerous fast-break opportunities for Coupeville, the Wolves were able to fire up shot after shot against their overwhelmed opponent.

“Payton (Aparicio), Kyla (Briscoe,) Lauren (Rose) and McKenzie (Meyer) were great running the court and taking the open shots on the wing,” Stuurmans said. “Not all going in, but just sooooo glad that they are shooting!!!”

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