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Big effort, but bigger foe

January 30, 2019 by David Svien

Mollie Bailey slapped home a pair of buckets Tuesday as the Coupeville JV girls tangled with powerful King’s. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a brawl, then it was a blowout.

The Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad stood tall for nine minutes Tuesday, pushing visiting King’s to the brink.

Then, the Knights remembered they have a roster stocked full of AAU vets with dreams of playing college ball, and they reverted to form, exploding on separate runs of 15-0, 20-0, and 12-0.

What was a 10-9 CHS lead after Morgan Stevens rained down a fall-away jumper to open the second quarter turned into a 58-23 King’s win, and you can’t say it wasn’t expected.

The Knights second squad is a shiny 11-4 this season, having lost only to 3A and 4A schools and one of the state’s premier 1A schools, Cashmere.

But, while the Wolves fell to 4-3 in North Sound Conference play, 8-7 overall, heading into their season finale Friday at Granite Falls, they made some inroads.

The 23 points is the most the King’s JV has surrendered to a conference foe this season, and is a solid nine-point improvement from the first time the schools met, a 49-14 Knights win.

Coupeville came out aggressively Tuesday, using inspired rebounding from Ja’Kenya Hoskins to force King’s to up its game.

Early buckets from Mollie Bailey, off a sweet feed from Anya Leavell, and Hoskins, off of an offensive rebound, staked the Wolves to a 4-2 lead, the first of four positive scores for CHS.

Izzy Wells drained a put-back after snagging a rebound to make it 6-5, Abby Mulholland twirled in a jumper off a pass from Audrianna Shaw to put Coupeville up 8-7, then Stevens netted her bucket off a Leavell set-up pass.

The action was crisp, the Wolves were scrambling for loose balls and caroms, and anything seemed possible.

And then death came from above.

King’s dropped in a trio of three-balls, part of the seven it would hit in the game, and, in the blink of an eye, a 15-0 run had changed everything.

Mulholland did her best to get the Wolves back into the flow, netting back-to-back jumpers, with the second bucket coming of yet another superb pass from Leavell, but King’s wasn’t having it.

Scoring the final eight points of the half, then 24 of the first 26 after the break, the visitors put the game far out of reach.

From the final three minutes of the second quarter until the last half of the fourth, Coupeville could only hit one single, solitary shot, though it was a beautiful, crowd-pleasing jumper from hard-working freshman Alana Mihill.

While the rim was unforgiving, the Wolves never stopped working, and they garnered some respect from their foes at the end, closing the game on a 7-2 surge.

Wells went off for five of her team-high seven points during that part of the game, while Bailey added an artful layup.

Mulholland tossed in six points to back Wells, with Bailey (4), Mihill (2), Stevens (2), and Hoskins (2) also scoring.

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Falcon ace gets historic, sinks Wolves

January 29, 2019 by David Svien

Junior point guard Jered Brown and the Coupeville varsity boys need a win Friday to clinch a playoff berth. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Kody Newman stung the Wolves one more time.

The South Whidbey High School senior rattled home 32 points Tuesday, becoming the third member of his family to top 1,000 points on the prep hardwood, as the Falcons blitzed visiting Coupeville 72-40.

The loss drops the CHS varsity boys to 1-8 in North Sound Conference play, 2-14 overall heading into their regular-season finale Friday at Granite Falls (0-9, 2-17).

That game will be huge for the Wolves, as a win clinches the fifth, and final, postseason berth from their six-team conference.

If Granite wins Friday, however, the teams return immediately to the court Saturday, though this time in Coupeville, for a tie-breaker game to decide the final playoff team.

That contest, if necessary, would tip off at 5 PM.

Tuesday’s game at South Whidbey fell on Senior Night for the Falcons, and while Brock Gray netted a fourth-quarter three-ball, it was the other SWHS 12th grader, Newman, who dominated action.

Scoring from every angle, he hit a perfect 14-14 at the free-throw line, netted four treys, and tossed in three regular old-fashioned field goals just for fun.

Newman’s 1000th point came on a three-ball launched from the back reaches of the parking lot, allowing him to join siblings Lindsey and Riley in the exclusive club.

Paced by their senior sharpshooter, the Falcons took control of the game early, turning a 19-8 lead after one quarter into a 37-17 bulge at the halftime break.

Coupeville played its most-competitive ball in the third quarter, staying within 14-12, with five different Wolves connecting on shots in the frame.

Eight CHS players scratched their names in the score-book, with Hawthorne Wolfe, Sean Toomey-Stout, and Jacobi Pilgrim leading the way with eight points apiece.

It was a varsity career-high for Pilgrim.

Mason Grove banked in a pair of three-balls en route to six points, with Gavin Knoblich (4), Ulrik Wells (3), Jean Lund-Olsen (2), and Xavier Murdy (1) also scoring.

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Fourth quarter shooting woes derail JV boys

January 29, 2019 by David Svien

Tucker Hall swooped in for eight points Tuesday as Coupeville’s JV battled at South Whidbey. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a barn-burner for three quarters.

Unfortunately, high school basketball games run four quarters, and a shooting drought at the end Tuesday killed the Coupeville JV boys.

After battling to a 34-34 tie at South Whidbey, the Wolves couldn’t hit a single field goal over the game’s final eight minutes, eventually falling 52-38 to their Island rivals.

The loss drops the CHS young guns to 2-7 in North Sound Conference play, 6-10 overall, heading into their season finale Friday at Granite Falls.

Facing off with the Falcons Tuesday, Coupeville hung tough for 24 minutes.

Trailing 7-6 after one quarter, the Wolves rallied behind Xavier Murdy to claim a 21-19 lead at the half, before settling for the tie entering the fourth.

It was then that their shooting touch evaporated, as, other than four free throws from the hard-charging Tucker Hall, they couldn’t buy a score.

South Whidbey closed efficiently, racking up six field goals and six free throws of its own to end on an 18-4 surge.

“Great game until the fourth,” said Coupeville coach Chris Smith, before turning his attention to the next challenge.

Murdy paced the Wolves with a team-high 11 points, pouring in seven of those during the second quarter, while Hall knocked down eight and Cody Roberts slipped seven through the nets.

Daniel Olson and Grady Rickner rounded out the Wolf offense, banking in six points apiece, while Sage Downes, TJ Rickner, and Logan Martin also saw floor time.

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Stone injured in Whitman win

January 29, 2019 by David Svien

Whitman College won again Tuesday night, but lost Coupeville grad Makana Stone to a high ankle sprain. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a night of mixed emotions in Walla Walla.

On one hand, the Whitman College women’s basketball squad held off pesky Whitworth University 89-78 Tuesday, moving into sole-possession of first-place in the Northwest Conference, while giving coach Michelle Ferenz her 300th career win.

But, on a troubling note, Coupeville grad Makana Stone, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, ended the night on crutches after suffering a possible high ankle sprain.

Limited to just 13 minutes of action, the former Wolf had four points, six rebounds and an assist when she left the game.

Stone will definitely sit out this Friday, when Whitman (10-1 in league play, 16-4 overall) hosts Lewis & Clark College (1-9, 2-17).

After that, the Blues don’t play for a solid week, until George Fox (9-1, 16-3) comes to Walla Walla for a battle royal.

Tuesday night, Whitman overcame the loss of its junior leader by spreading the offensive love out among a number of players.

Taylor Chambers knocked down a team-high 18, while Maegan Martin (16), Kaelan Shamseldin (15), and Mady Burdett (13) joined her in notching double figures.

Down by a point after the first quarter, Whitman broke the game open with two runs, taking the second frame 19-12 and the third quarter 24-16.

Stone, a three-time league player of the week this season, sits with 297 points, 175 rebounds, 38 assists, 23 steals, and 17 blocks.

She’s hit on 124-246 field goal tries and 48-62 free throw attempts.

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Goodnight but not farewell, Senorita Smoke

January 29, 2019 by David Svien

Jamie “Senorita Smoke” Bartlett, enjoying her days as an Oak Harbor High School softball star. (Original photos by Geoff Newton)

So much joy every time she stepped on the diamond.

Jamie Bartlett was always so happy to be on a softball field.

Big win or tough loss, her joy at getting to play, her love for her teammates and her favorite game, is something which has always stuck with me.

Back in 1993, Jamie was a sophomore at Oak Harbor High School, and I, not quite six years older than her, was stumbling through a two-year run as Sports Editor at the Whidbey News-Times.

With not a single day of college to my credit, my run in the big chair had its highs and lows.

One of those peak moments was when I started referring to Jamie as “Senorita Smoke” because of the way she torched batters with her blazing fastball.

Many stories, and many nicknames later, I continue to write, and, while my focus has been firmly on Coupeville in recent years, I don’t forget my Oak Harbor roots.

From late ’89 to ’92 as a freelancer, and then ’92 to ’94 as Sports Editor, I covered many athletes whose names still invoke memories.

Manny Martucci to Natalie Turner, Gretchen Talmadge to Joe Sarpy and Pickle Sullivan, and two who have passed too soon.

Two years ago, we lost Jon Diem and now Jamie.

As I read her obit last night, discovering that my “Senorita Smoke” nickname was something which her family fondly remembered, the cancer she fought was a footnote, as it should be.

Instead, the focus was on her life with her husband, Joel, and her children, Joel, Jr. and Tayah, who are students at their mom’s alma mater.

It’s a story of a young woman of great promise who fulfilled that promise, who achieved much in what time she had.

I left the News-Times after Jamie’s sophomore year, so my image of her is somewhat frozen in time.

Staring down batters from behind her glasses, then zipping fastballs past their bats, #11 was a star. Her pitching records still stand at OHHS two decades later for a reason.

But, while the the individual strikeouts, which came one after another, fade into memory, it’s the happiness which stays with me.

Jamie played with pure joy, every single time I saw her on the diamond, and it spread to her teammates.

I am sad for her family and friends. They shouldn’t have to lose someone so dear to them just shy of her 42nd birthday.

But I am also happy for them, that they got to be part of her life, and to be touched by her joy.

Our paths crossed briefly, a writer in his early 20’s, and an athlete on the cusp of going from a teen prodigy to an all-time Wildcat legend.

A part of “Senorita Smoke” will always be with me, forever kickin’ and firin’, forever lighting up the diamond with nothing but pure joy.

 

To read Jamie’s obituary, jump to:

https://obittree.com/obituary/us/washington/oak-harbor/wallin-funeral-home–cremation-llc/jamie-mami/3687410/

Posted in In Memorium, Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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