Lindsey Roberts was one of seven Wolves to score Tuesday as Coupeville ran its league mark to 7-0. (John Fisken photo)
Getting a little something from everyone on the roster Tuesday night, the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad rolled past host Port Townsend 51-39.
The victory, the team’s fourth straight, lifted the Wolves to 13-4 overall, 7-0 in league play.
Having clinched its second straight 1A Olympic League title a game before, Tuesday was about maintaining momentum (and keeping their almost two-year unbeaten run in league play alive).
They did both, though not without a few hiccups in the early going.
“We struggled out of the gate on defense, a trend that has become all too familiar lately,” said CHS coach David King. “We allowed the RedHawks to get open jump shots or get to the basket.”
When they had the ball themselves, the Wolves attacked the basket, drawing fouls and putting several key Port Townsend players in foul trouble early.
The only problem is, Coupeville, which has been shooting free throws strongly of late, didn’t do so Tuesday, at least in the first quarter.
Clinging to a slim 11-10 lead after the first eight minutes, the Wolves found their groove after the break, throwing down 20 in the second quarter.
Coupeville spread its offense out, getting huge buckets from Tiffany Briscoe (“she came out strong at the beginning to get us going offensively”) Mia Littlejohn and Lindsey Roberts.
With Port Townsend forced to focus on more than one player, that opened up the game and Makana Stone immediately made them pay, throwing down 10 of her game-high 22 in the game-busting second quarter.
Up by 11 at the half, Coupeville cruised home with the win.
While he was happy his team didn’t give anything back, King would have liked to have seen a bit more of a killer attitude after halftime.
“At times we are battling ourselves and play slower than we should be,” he said. “We need to work on playing aggressive the whole game and not play in spurts.”
One aspect he was especially happy with was his team’s effort on the boards.
“Our rebounding effort tonight was so much better than the last time we played Port Townsend; that was great to see,” King said. “We also are sharing the ball well, with 7 of 10 players getting in the scoring column.”
Littlejohn drained nine to go with Stone’s 22, while Roberts, Tiffany Briscoe and Kailey Kellner all had five apiece. Lauren Grove banked home three and Allison Wenzel dropped in a bucket to round out the scoring.
Stone snatched 14 rebounds and blocked four shots, while Kellner had five rebounds and four assists. Grove dealt out three assists and rejected two shots.
Kyla Briscoe, Lauren Rose and Skyler Lawrence all saw floor time as well, with Rose snaring a rebound.
