Morgan Pease, seen here corralling a loose ball in an earlier game, scored eight points for the CMS 7th grade squad Thursday. (John Fisken photo)
They will break you. CMS 8th graders (l to r) Maya Toomey-Stout, Avalon Renninger, Emma Mathusek, Hannah Davidson and Scout Smith. (Charlotte Young photo)
Pop-pop-pop.
Or, maybe, swish-swish-swish.
Once the Coupeville Middle School 8th grade girls’ basketball squad locked on Thursday, they were dead-eye shooters, riding a wave of shots that tickled the twine to a 29-24 win over visiting Sequim.
The victory, which lifted the Wolves to 3-2 on the season, put a most pleasant cap on a day in which CMS had dropped the first two games to their much-larger rivals.
Coupeville fell 43-32 in the 7th grade varsity game and 32-20 in the 8th grade JV contest.
The nightcap was worth the price of admission, though (if they charged for middle school sports, which they don’t).
A tightly-fought affair with nine lead changes and six ties, the game was a war of attrition until Coupeville made its move late in the third quarter.
Trailing 20-19, the Wolves closed the quarter with back-to-back buckets that would have made Steph Curry nod and smile in appreciation.
First Avalon Renninger lofted a one-hander while on the move that hit nothing but net on its way down, then Maya Toomey-Stout banked home a miracle shot from the right corner as time ran down.
Not content to stop there, Coupeville opened the fourth with lil’ Emma Mathusek abusing two Sequim players, ripping down a rebound and exploding back up through them for the game-clinching bucket.
Sequim twice got the lead back down to three points, but each time the Wolves answered.
Hannah Davidson knocked down a shot in the paint, then Mathusek put a bow on things, dropping a ball off the glass for the game’s final bucket.
The frantic finale brought an end to a game that started with a monster blocked shot by Davidson and featured some especially sweet shot-making by the Wolves.
Renninger, in particular, was in a special zone, with nearly all of her made shots barely making the net move.
Not to be outdone, Wolf point guard Scout Smith, who actually led CMS in scoring with nine points, nailed a three-ball from the top that brought a roar from her fan section.
A relentless ball-hawk much of the evening, Renninger finished with eight to back Smith, while Toomey-Stout (5), Mathusek (4) and Davidson (3) all chipped in, as the starting five, who played the entire 32 minutes, all scored.
7th grade rallies:
Coupeville, which had only six girls, got stronger as the game wore on, actually winning the second-half battle to a 20-15 tune.
While it wasn’t quite enough to pull out the win, the scrappiness displayed by the Wolves (2-3) left coach Ryan King with a smile on his face.
Chelsea Prescott torched the nets for a game-high 14 to pace Coupeville, while Morgan Pease banged away inside for eight, Genna Wright knocked down six and Mollie Bailey popped for four.
Luci Coleburn and Catherine Lhamon didn’t score, but both stepped up with hustle plays, chasing loose balls down and pestering Sequim shooters until the final whistle.
JV hurt by rough first quarter:
Take away the first eight minutes, when the Wolves were drilled 14-4, and it was a close game.
Coupeville saved its best for last, rallying to take the fourth quarter 11-4 behind six points from Cassidy Moody.
Moody led the Wolves with 10, while Megan Thorn (5), Tia Wurzrainer (3) and Seraina Weatherford (2) also scored.
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