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Liam Lawson has got that killer gene

January 6, 2026 by David Svien

Liam Lawson, draining game winners and taking names. (Julie Wheat photo)

It’s in his DNA.

Coupeville High School freshman Liam Lawson comes from a family full of cold-blooded hardwood assassins, and he’s more than ready to keep the tradition alive.

Drilling a pair of fourth-quarter three-balls Tuesday, including the game winner with just a few ticks left on the clock, Lawson sparked the Wolf JV boys’ basketball team to a 37-34 win over visiting Friday Harbor to create the first great prairie athletic memory of 2026.

The win, Coupeville’s only one in four contests against the Wolverines on this day, lifts the CHS young guns to 2-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-5 overall.

It also writes another successful chapter in a tale which has warmed the hearts of Central Whidbey hoops fans for years.

Back in the day, it was Liam’s mom, “Killer Kassie” (Lawson) O’Neil who dined, more than once, on the sweet, sweet tears of the private school prima donnas, shafting King’s with multiple buzzer-beaters.

Equally dangerous were aunts Katie Smith and Kayla Lawson, and great-grandpa Dale Sherman wasn’t too shabby himself.

Jump forward to 2026, and the game was knotted at 34-34 with the ball in the hands of the Wolves and the clock ticking down.

Enter Liam, who hit nothing but the bottom of the net, setting off a (somewhat) premature celebration, as CHS coaches implored their players to stop hugging and get back on defense as the buzzer hadn’t yet sounded.

Friday Harbor didn’t have an answer, however, and the win was assured, capping a game in which CHS led at every major juncture.

Lawson and Jayden McManus combined to net 10 points in the first quarter as Coupeville built a 13-10 lead, and the Wolves stretched their advantage to 25-15 by the half.

The final 16 minutes were a bit more of an adventure, as Friday Harbor sliced the deficit back to 31-25 through three quarters, before forcing the late tie.

McManus finished with a team-high 14 points, while Lawson rattled the rims for 12.

Khanor Jump (6), Josh Stockdale (4), and Brian Thompson (1) also scored, with Trent Thule, Ayden Warren, and Chris Zenz rounding out the rotation.

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JV girls buried by three-ball barrage

January 6, 2026 by David Svien

Wolves Ava Lucero (32) and Allie Powers join the battle for a loose ball. (Jackie Saia photo)

It slipped away.

Locked into a tight battle for three quarters Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad couldn’t quite pull off a fourth quarter miracle.

Instead, visiting Friday Harbor used a 20-5 surge across the game’s final eight minutes to turn a tense tussle into a blowout and headed back to the bus with a 49-28 win.

The loss, coming in the Wolves first home game of 2026, drops CHS to 0-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-6 overall.

Coupeville hung tough for much of the game, trailing just 9-6 after one quarter and 17-11 at the half, before battling to a 12-12 tie in a barnburner of a third quarter.

Anna Powers and Ava Lucero each knocked down four points coming out of the halftime break to keep CHS within a couple of buckets before the dam finally broke in the final frame.

Friday Harbor stung the Wolves from long distance and did so repeatedly.

While the visitors couldn’t make a free-throw, going 0-3 at the charity stripe, they did splash home five shots from behind the three-point arc to bust things open.

Coupeville spread out its offense, with Lucero, Taylor Marrs, and Anna Powers each racking up six points, while Olivia Hall banked in five.

Zayne Roos (4) and Cami Van Dyke (1) also etched their names in the scorebook, while Willow Leedy-Bonifas, Emma Cushman, and Allie Powers all saw floor time for the Wolves, who return to action Friday with a trip to La Conner.

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Wolves make the bucket bounce

January 5, 2026 by David Svien

Ayden Warren knocks down a bucket. (Julie Wheat photo)

We’ve crossed over into four-digit territory.

With the high school basketball season now firmly locked into the 2026 portion of the 2025-26 season, Wolf players have combined to rattle the rim for 1,138 points.

Senior Chase Anderson leads all scorers, despite not playing in the season opener, while junior Haylee Armstrong currently tops all girls in delivering presents to the hoops gods.

With home games coming up Tuesday against Friday Harbor, here’s where things sit through Jan. 5:

 

GIRLS:

Varsity
(9 games):

Haylee Armstrong – 95
Tenley Stuurmans – 80
Teagan Calkins – 69
Danica Strong – 29
Kennedy O’Neill – 22
Adeline Maynes – 17
Arianna Cunningham – 15
Lexis Drake – 3
Capri Anter – 2
Sydney Van Dyke – 2

 

JV
(6 games):

Ava Lucero – 62
Cami Van Dyke – 31
Willow Leedy-Bonifas – 23
Anna Powers – 22
Finley Helm – 10
Olivia Hall – 5
Zayne Roos – 4
Elizabeth Marshall – 3
Emma Cushman – 2
Taylor Marrs – 2

 

BOYS:

Varsity
(8 games):

Chase Anderson – 136
Camden Glover – 80
Aiden O’Neill – 46
Davin Houston – 45
Malachi Somes – 36
Easton Green – 15
Riley Lawless – 13
Mahkai Myles – 12
Sage Arends – 10
Carson Grove – 7

 

JV
(7 games):

Josh Stockdale – 52
Carson Grove – 49
Nathan Coxsey – 36
Liam Lawson – 35
Jayden McManus – 34
Khanor Jump – 15
Ayden Warren – 9
Trent Thule – 7
Chris Zenz – 2
Brian Thompson – 1

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Gyms rumble back to life

January 4, 2026 by David Svien

The CHS gym will be loud once more. (Jackie Saia photo)

Everything revs back up to 100% after this.

With the holidays in the rearview mirror, Coupeville High School basketball teams head into the thick of league play and also return to play on their home court for the first time in three weeks.

There are two sets of games on the schedule for the week ahead, with the Wolves hosting Friday Harbor Tuesday, followed by a Friday road trip over to La Conner.

As the 2026 portion of the 2025-26 season powers up, here’s a look at where things sit through Jan. 4:

 

Northwest League boys’ basketball:

School League Overall
Orcas Island 2-0 6-2
MV Christian 1-0 5-3
Concrete 0-0 2-5
Darrington 0-0 4-3
Friday Harbor 0-0 0-10
La Conner 0-1 0-9
Coupeville 0-2 3-5

 

Northwest League girls’ basketball:

School League Overall
La Conner 1-0 6-4
MV Christian 1-0 7-1
Orcas Island 1-1 4-5
Concrete 0-0 4-1
Darrington 0-0 2-3
Friday Harbor 0-0 2-7
Coupeville 0-2 2-7

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Rally kings capture road thriller

January 3, 2026 by David Svien

Davin Houston slices ‘n dices the defense. (Jackie Saia photo)

They saved the best for last.

Capping a long day of hoops far from home Saturday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad stormed from behind late to topple host Morton-White Pass 47-41.

The non-conference win gives the Wolves back-to-back victories for the first time this season and lifts them to 3-5 heading into an important week.

Brad Sherman’s squad has two Northwest 2B/1B League clashes on the schedule, hosting Friday Harbor Tuesday before traveling to La Conner Friday.

With those two teams a combined 0-19 on the season, the time is ripe for the Wolves to take care of business and get a true hot streak going.

Saturday’s game was a nice gut check for Coupeville, and it passed the test.

Missing three players, including #2 scorer Camden Glover, the Wolves spent a lot of time sitting as they waited for their game, the fourth of the day, to tip off.

Once on the floor, that showed a bit, as CHS fell behind 11-5 at the first break.

Second-quarter three-balls from Riley Lawless and Aiden O’Neill kept the Wolves close, within 20-13 at the half, before things began to change in the second half.

That was when senior Chase Anderson caught fire, throwing down 20 of his game-high 26 points to fuel the comeback.

Coupeville cut the deficit down to a single point at 30-29 heading into the fourth, then put the game away with a 18-11 surge across the final eight minutes.

Anderson dropped in 11 of his points in the fourth, including hitting six of seven free throws to ice the win.

While the Wolves didn’t set any records at the charity stripe, hitting just 50% of their shots at 12-24, they got there a whole lot more than MWP, which was just 4-6 on freebies.

CHS also won the three-ball war 5-3, with Anderson and Davin Houston joining Lawless and O’Neill in torching the net.

While Anderson’s 26 provided the bulk of the offense, Coupeville spread out its other 21 points between six players, with Lawless (5), Houston (5), O’Neill (4), Carson Grove (4), Malachi Somes (2), and Easton Green (1) scoring.

Liam Blas rounded out Sherman’s rotation, providing strong work on the defensive side of the ball.

Chase Anderson (20) and Hawthorne Wolfe compare their career scoring totals. (Julie Wheat photo)

With his 26 points, Anderson moves from #22 to #19 on the Wolf boys’ career scoring chart, which was launched back in 1917.

He has 735 points and counting, passing Tom Sahli (719), Dan Nieder (729), and Steve Whitney (730) Saturday, with Hunter Hammer (755), Barry Brown (769), Jack Elzinga (770), and Hawthorne Wolfe (800) next up.

Though, as I always like to point out, Sahli — the only Coupeville grad to play against NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor in college — is still being shortchanged.

His 719 points reflect his junior and senior seasons at CHS, but his scoring totals from his sophomore season are still AWOL, with the missing scorebook from the 1951-1952 season being my personal holy grail.

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