Arianna Cunningham scored a team-high 10 points Friday night in the regular season home finale. (Jackie Saia photo)
They don’t quit.
That was shown once again Friday night, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team rebounded to play its best ball in the fourth quarter during an otherwise rough game against visiting La Conner.
Facing off with a hot-shooting Braves squad which also dominated on the boards, the Wolves scored nearly half their points in the final frame before falling 57-29.
The loss leaves Coupeville at 1-8 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-13 overall, with just a Feb. 6 road trip to Friday Harbor left on the regular season schedule.
After that, the Wolves will take part in the double-elimination District 1/2 tourney, one of six teams chasing three tickets to state.
CHS will learn its opening opponent, and whether that game is on the road or at home, the day after the regular season ends.
Squaring off with La Conner, which is solidly the number #2 squad in the NWL behind powerhouse Mount Vernon Christian, the Wolves started strongly.
At least for the first three minutes.
Coupeville forced a shot clock violation on the game’s opening possession, before Wolf senior Danica Strong later rippled the nets on a three-ball to give her team its only lead of the night at 3-2.
Then things went off the road and down a deep, dark ravine.
Owning the boards and getting big buckets from senior gunner Maeve McCormick, La Conner ripped off a 17-2 run to end the opening quarter, carrying a 19-5 lead into the first break.
Things got bleaker from there, as the Wolves could only manage a single basket in the second quarter, courtesy a rebound put back up and in by Arianna Cunningham.
Down 37-7 at the half, with shots finding every possible way to roll off the rim or pop back out of the net, Coupeville eventually fell behind 51-10 late in the third quarter.
That triggered a running clock, but it also seemed to trigger Scout Smith’s squad, which hunkered down and made a solid stand over the game’s final 10 minutes.
CHS closed the third on a 6-0 spurt, with Cunningham draining three free throws, before finally finding a consistent shooting groove in the final quarter.
Haylee Armstrong and Tenley Stuurmans both knocked down six points in the fourth, while the Wolf defense ramped up in intensity, led by Cunningham, who was a beast on the boards as usual.
While defense has been her primary calling card this season, Cunningham also showcased some solid offensive mojo Friday, pacing CHS with a season-high 10 points.
Stuurmans (6), Armstrong (6), Strong (4), Teagan Calkins (2), and Adeline Maynes (1) also wrote their name in the scorebook, with Kennedy O’Neill, Lexis Drake, Sydney Van Dyke, and Capri Anter rounding out the roster.
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