Makana Stone (left) and Mia Littlejohn, seen here in an earlier game, were still jumping with joy Wednesday. (Sylvia Hurlburt photos)
Kailey Kellner, just here to drop treys and take names.
Kailey Kellner has a new nickname.
After watching the Coupeville High School junior drop six three-point bombs on visiting Orcas Island Wednesday — with the net barely rippling on any of them — Wolf fans started referring to her as “Stephanie Curry.”
With Kellner banging away for 20, the perfect complement to Makana Stone’s game-high 24, CHS cruised to a win in much the same style that Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are doing on a daily basis in the NBA.
On a night when they and their fans honored the memory and legacy of the late, great hoops sensation Marlene Grasser, this year’s squad rolled to a 52-38 non-conference win that wasn’t even remotely close.
Coupeville actually led by 27 early in the fourth quarter, before taking the foot off the gas pedal a bit.
Now 3-2, with both their losses being one-bucket defeats to stellar squads, the Wolves look strong as they head into the first game in defense of their 1A Olympic League crown.
Coupeville hosts Klahowya (0-5) this Friday (varsity 5:15, JV 7:00).
The Wolves hit the floor Wednesday looking in mid-season form as they rolled out to a 9-0 lead before Orcas knew what hit them.
Kellner kicked the opening run off by drilling a trey from the right side, then capped it with a three-ball from the left side.
The net never moved on either shot, and a small smile begin to creep across her face as Kellner was hollered at non-stop by her fan club’s most enthusiastic boosters, Kacie Kiel and Sydney Autio.
She added another jumper on her way to an eight-point first quarter, Lauren Grove drained a looooooong jumper and Mia Littlejohn dropped in a beauty of a runner as the Wolves went to the first break up 15-7.
Not content to sit on the lead, Coupeville busted things wide open in the second as the Wolves handed the ball to their rampaging force of nature, the zen-like (but maybe not always) Stone.
With the senior scoring 12 in the quarter with a variety of dazzling moves, Coupeville stretched the lead out to 21, then put a punctuation mark on things.
Fighting for a rebound, Stone, who was being mercilessly hacked, poked and prodded every time she touched the ball, ripped the ball away with enough force she sent a rival player airborne, depositing her several feet away on her butt.
The home crowd, especially players from the Wolf boys’ squad, went crazy, stomping and cheering in support of her.
And, while an overly touchy-feely ref whistled a technical on the last player you might expect to get one, a valuable lesson was imparted.
The number of times Orcas players tried to get rough with Stone after that? Less than zero.
Stone, for her part, walked away, regained her composure and returned to hurting the Vikings in her normal fashion — one bucket at a time — dropping in 13 of her 24 after the technical.
And Kellner?
She couldn’t stop if she tried, hitting treys in all four quarters. The only thing that finally cooled her off was being put on the bench to give the Wolf reserves some playing time.
Even then she rocked back and forth in her chair, with the look of a gunfighter who wanted to drop in a three-ball while seated just to prove she could do it.
On this night, few, if any, would have bet against her making the trick shot.
Coupeville was relentless, opening the fourth with a 7-1 run to push the lead all the way out to 52-25, before Orcas salvaged some self-respect in the late going.
Littlejohn banged away for six and Grove added a bucket in support of the big two, while Tiffany Briscoe was an animal in the trenches, fighting for rebounds (she had seven) and loose balls.
Stone hauled down 19 rebounds, pilfered four steals and dealt out four assists, while Littlejohn matched her with four assists of her own.
Lindsey Roberts, Kyla Briscoe, Lauren Rose, Allison Wenzel and Skyler Lawrence all saw floor time as well.
Roberts, the freshman daughter of Grasser’s teammate, Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts, played strong full-court defense, hustling just like her mom and Marlene once did on the very same floor.
