Coupeville Sports

   Lauren Rose paced the Wolf JV Thursday with seven points, two rebounds and two steals. (John Fisken photo)

JV is more about improvement than wins and losses.

Now, there is no doubt Coupeville roundball guru Amy King enjoys the former more than the latter (she was thrilled to go 14-5 last year), but the highlights of her season don’t always come from the scoreboard.

So, while this year’s young Wolves (7-10 overall, 5-3 in league play) fell 40-34 at Chimacum Thursday, she mourned the loss but came away happy with slices of the game.

King makes sure every one of her players scores during the season, so when Brisa Herrera, who has missed several games with illness, notched a free throw in the first quarter, that was one bright moment.

“The first (free throw) dropped and we all went nuts,” King said.

The second moment was seeing the continued development of one of her freshman who are brand new to the sport.

“Watching Maddy (Hilkey) play, it is hard to believe she has never played basketball before,” King said. “She was driving to the basket, taking the shots, playing tough defense and ended the night with a big bag of ice on her knee!”

And Hilkey wasn’t the only frosh who caught her coach’s eye.

“Nicole (Lester) was so aggressive! Where did this girl come from?,” King said with a smile. “She found herself at the free throw line twice – fun to watch her come alive.”

The game itself was a wild one, as the two teams battered each other — often for real, as Chimacum prides itself on being a, shall we say, “scrappy” squad.

Tied at eight after the first quarter, the Wolves hit a cold spell in the second and watched as the Cowboys ran wild to the tune of 15-6.

“We got out-played. Made a lot of weak or bad passes allowing Chimacum easy steals and lay ups,” King said.

The Cowboys repeatedly sent one player flying up behind the Coupeville ball-handler, something the Wolves didn’t deal well with, even as their coaches warned them again and again.

A bit of tough talk at halftime lit a fire under the Wolves, who emerged in the second half much more in control.

“The third quarter was much better defense and steadier on offense. Fighting more for the ball, going strong after rebounds and out-scoring them like we knew we could,” King said.

Ashlie Shank and Allison Wenzel “were everywhere,” Sarah Wright “was moving around helping out anywhere needed” and Hilkey and Lauren Rose put considerable pressure on Chimacum’s ball-handlers.

Down by six with eight minutes to play, Coupeville played aggressively, throwing on a full-court press, but couldn’t quite catch the Cowboys.

Brittany Powers was a major force in the fourth, playing like “a crazy spider monkey,” which brought a smile to her coach’s face.

“She mauled a girl, stopping her from dribbling, then not giving her any room to breathe, let alone keep the ball,” King said. “The Chimacum girls aren’t exactly “clean” players and our girls were just tired of not getting some of the foul calls.

“Pushing calls and all their contact went unnoticed, so we dished some of that out as well.”

Powers ended the game with a bright red arm after being smacked on a play where the ref went conveniently blind, but she and her teammates made their coach proud.

“The girls gave everything they had – left it all on the court,” King said. “The energy and effort, attitude and fight they gave in that last half was awesome and just a good end to the game, regardless of the score.”

Rose paced the Wolves with seven points, while Wright and Lester dropped in five apiece.

Skyler Lawrence (4), Wenzel (4), Kyla Briscoe (3), Powers (3), Shank (2) and Herrera (1) all chipped in.

Coupeville snagged 40 rebounds and made off with 27 steals, as all 11 Wolves hauled down at least one board, from Wright (7) to Lindsey Laxton (1).

Powers pilfered six steals, with Shank hot on her heels with five.