Coupeville Sports

Katrina McGranahan, big-time scorer. (Justine McGranahan photo)

McGranahan and Sage Renninger control the paint. (Kevin McGranahan photo)

Mia Littlejohn took a shot to the face, but Katrina McGranahan got some revenge for her teammate.

Capping a wild trip to Granite Falls Monday, the Coupeville Middle School 7th grade varsity girls’ basketball squad destroyed their hosts 27-7. With McGranahan pouring in a season-high 14 to double up her foes by herself, the Wolves ran wild.

Well, at least when they weren’t being hit in the face.

Guarding the inbound pass on one play, the always-scrappy Littlejohn had her bell rung by a frustrated passer.

“Mia got a fat lip because a Granite Falls girl hit her in the face with the ball,” said Coupeville coach Sarah Stuurmans. “Literally hit her in the face, holding on to the ball. Not a pass.”

Facing a very physical opponent, the Wolves countered by controlling the boards. With the inside duo of McGranahan and Sage Renninger, who pumped in eight points of her own, patrolling the paint, the host Tigers had little chance to stage a comeback.

“Awesome rebounding and an adjusted zone offense sparked the Katrina show,” Stuurmans said. “We ran some great fast breaks and focused on getting the ball into the post.”

Lauren Rose dropped in three, while Littlejohn settled for two. Two JV girls (Kameryn St Onge and Ashley Smith) moved up and got quality minutes, as well.

“They played great defense and held their own,” Stuurmans said. “It was good playing time for them and they got some time on the court.”

Coupeville wraps the girls’ middle school season Wednesday, March 13 with a home game against Langley. Being the finale, it will be in the high school gym and action starts an hour earlier at 2 PM.

8th grade loses:

The 8th grade varsity was nipped 39-29. Since coach Brett Smedley never sends us any info, that’s all you get…

Read Full Post »

     Katrina McGranahan catches some air during the opening tip. (Justine McGranahan photos)

Kyla Briscoe hauls in a rebound.

McGranahan gets back on defense.

It may not have been pretty, but it was winning basketball.

Playing against rough-and-tumble teams in Sultan (what a surprise…) Wednesday, the Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball squads eventually limped out of town with a few more bruises and three wins in four games.

The Wolf 8th graders split a pair of games, with the JV storming back to win 5-4, while the varsity lost 28-16.

Down 4-0, Coupeville pulled out the JV win by scoring the final five points on a bucket by Robin Cedillo and three points from Naika Hallam.

It was the 7th grade squads that laid down a whuppin’, however, as the JV blanked Sultan 12-0 and the varsity clamped down defensively on its way to a 15-4 win that should have been much bigger.

Sparked by a run of steals, the JV stormed the hoop and spread the wealth. Emma Blanchette and Brittany Powers each popped for four, while Kameryn St Onge and Allison Wenzel each dropped in a bucket.

The 7th grade varsity ramped up their defensive pressure considerably, employing a full-court press for the first time this season, and it paid immediate dividends.

“Their team could not have had more than eight shots the whole night,” said Coupeville coach Sarah Stuurmans. “We either stole the ball or caused a turnover on about 95% of their possessions.”

However, poor shooting by the Wolves allowed them to run their full-court press longer than anticipated. Middle school teams aren’t allowed to press if they’re up by 10 or more points, something which didn’t come into play thanks to numerous missed shots.

“It really was almost comical, if I wasn’t the coach,” Stuurmans said. “It could not have been a worse shooting night for us.

“We could not get that ball in the hoop,” she added. “It was not for a lack of trying. I sincerely wish I could get an official count on missed shots. It had to be close to 80.”

With offensive rebound after offensive rebound, it ended up not mattering, as enough shots dropped through in the end.

Mia Littlejohn rained down 11 points to pace the Wolves, while Sage Renninger and Katrina McGranahan each chipped in with a bucket.

Poor shooting or not, a win is a win, and this one had many moments Stuurmans could appreciate.

“Either way, the positives are that we played amazing defense, anticipated passes, and did outstanding offensive rebounding. It was rare for us to get less than two shots on each possession,” she said. “We played through some very physical play and not a single girl quit or complained. I was very proud about that.”

Read Full Post »

Mia Littlejohn shooting a free-throw. (Justine McGranahan photos)

Mia Littlejohn is a baller.

Her Coupeville Middle School teammates play ball, certainly, but Littlejohn has the strut in her step, the wiggle in her dribble and a combination of explosiveness and the get-out-of-my-way looks she often delivers to those foolish enough to guard her.

And any referee dumb enough to make a call she disagrees with.

She plays like she stepped off a school yard in Jersey, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Like older brother Zepher Loesch, a star in his days in the red and black, Littlejohn has an edge most Wolf players simply never develop.

There are moments when it can get her into trouble on the court, when she tries to put the entire team on her back and play 1-on-5, but good lord is it nice to see a kid in a Coupeville jersey believe they CAN go 1-on-5.

You can see that belief, that attitude of “We don’t care if your jersey says King’s!” seep over into her teammates.

7th grade running mate Mckenzie Meyer has a good dose of it, and the 8th grade bruisers (Valen Trujillo, Skyler Lawrence, Lauren Grove, etc.) will lay you out regardless of the school you’re from.

It’s possible to be perfectly nice young men and women off the court, and then step on the hardwood and blast people.

Other schools know it. Other schools preach it. Other schools live it.

It’s nice to see Coupeville reclaiming a bit of its heritage, whether it’s Littlejohn bustin’ ankles on the dribble or Trujillo ripping balls out of people’s hands and not always leaving the other player’s arms still attached to their bodies.

You’re Wolves. That’s the way you’re supposed to play.

Read Full Post »

   7th grade varsity players listen to coach Sarah Stuurmans during a time-out. (Justine McGranahan photos)

So close.

Katrina McGranahan prepares to defend her paint.

           Jae LeVine (left) and Carlie Rosenkrance celebrate their three-point bombs. (Amy Briscoe photo)

The day started with a bang, sputtered a bit in the middle, then ended on a triumphant high note.

If nothing else, if you put in the whole three-and-a-half-hours Monday as the Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball squads faced off with visiting King’s, you got your money’s worth. Even if you didn’t have to pay for a ticket in the first place.

The biggest opponent any team faces when the bus from King’s rolls in is the overwhelming thought, “Oh my sweet lord, it’s KING’S!!”

The Wolf 7th grade JV team quickly got over that trepidation, with Ashley Smith and Kameryn St Onge stealing the ball the first two times down the court. Back-to-back buckets off of rebounds by Jessica Bester and St Onge staked Coupeville to an early lead and they never let up on defense, rolling to a 13-6 win in the opener.

St Onge poured in five points and Brittany SassPowers popped for four, while Emma Blanchette capped a game-clinching 6-0 run with a brilliant breakaway bucket, much to the delight of her dad enthusiastically screaming in my ear.

After a less-inspiring 8th grade JV game (a 10-1 loss with Jasmine Melena’s free-throw the lone Wolf point), things got wild in the varsity games.

With Mia Littlejohn running wild, tossing in buckets and threading passes to open teammates for easy buckets, the 7th grade varsity looked unstoppable … for a half. Up 19-9 at the break, all the talk in the stands was of Littlejohn bobbing and weaving her way to nine points, while doling out award-worthy assists to Sage Renninger and Mckenzie Meyer.

Then King’s brought out a full-court press and things fell apart a bit.

Unable to consistently get the ball in to Littlejohn, who was jostled, shoved, bumped and smacked, Coupeville had a run of turnovers that resulted in easy buckets for the Knights.

Katrina McGranahan stemmed the bleeding for a moment, snatching a rebound and putting it right back up for two. Never actually losing the lead, the Wolves clung to a 23-22 lead after three, but then the wheels fell completely off in the fourth.

The final score of 38-29 sounds worse than it was, as a late 10-4 run, with King’s still pressing, expanded the lead in the final minutes.

Littlejohn poured in 15 to pace the Wolves, while McGranahan, Renninger and Meyer each banked in four. Lauren Rose rounded out the scoring with a bucket off of a broken play.

The final game of the afternoon went South quickly, as King’s rolled to a 21-8 lead on its way to a fairly easy 37-21 win in the 8th grade varsity game.

What the game was notable for was the rough-and-ready play of Wolves Mattea Miller and Lauren Grove, who lived up to the gold standard set by defensive dynamo Valen Trujillo.

Miller fought like a beast in the paint, while Grove dove to the floor in pursuit of loose balls several times, sliding under her foes and flipping Knight players skyward three separate times.

With a very-deep King’s squad rotating in five girls at a time (a fact not appreciated by CMS star Luke Merriman, on hand to watch his female hoops counterparts), Coupeville pulled off a pair of picture-perfect three-point bombs to end the day.

The first came from team spark-plug Jae LeVine, who waved her arms in the air Rocky-style after her shot.

The second one was a beautifully-executed buzzer beater from Carlie Rosenkrance, who brought the ball up under pressure and drilled her shot a micro-second before the final buzzer blared.

Miller, Rosenkrance and Skyler Lawrence dropped in six apiece to pace the Wolves, while the irrepressible LeVine is likely still dancing over her three.

Read Full Post »

Katrina McGranahan prepares for the opening tip in a 7th grade varsity game. Watching her are teammates Sage Renninger (14) and Payton Aparicio (4).

Wolf coach Sarah Stuurmans imparts some wisdom.

      McGranahan goes hard to the hoop, while Mia Littlejohn (21), Aparicio (top left) and Mckenzie Meyer (23) trail the play.

Wolf domination.

Basketball is not done just yet!

As spring sports teams cap their first week of practice today, Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball plays on.

The Wolves have four games remaining over the next two weeks, with home games Monday, March 4 against King’s (3 PM, middle school gym) and Wednesday, March 13 against Langley (2 PM, high school gym.)

To carry you through the weekend, we offer four photos from Justine McGranahan, one of the proud moms who are in the gyms for every game.

Read Full Post »