Coupeville Sports

Seniors spark Wolf girls to important win

January 27, 2023 by David Svien

Maddie Georges rattled the rims Friday for a season-high 16 points. (Karen Carlson photo)

Big moments are made for big stars.

Playing in their next-to-last regular-season home game Friday, Coupeville High School’s seniors combined to score all but four of their team’s points in a 47-27 romp over visiting Friday Harbor.

Hitting six three-balls while playing inspired defense, the Wolves led virtually start to finish while grabbing a win which has huge playoff implications.

The victory lifts Coupeville to 7-8 on the season, but it was whom it came against which matters most.

The Northwest 2B/1B League has three 2B schools, and two earn berths to the bi-district tourney based on how they do against each other in the regular season.

La Conner is 2-0 in the round-robin, Coupeville is 1-1, and Friday Harbor 0-2.

The Braves and Wolverines play again Feb. 3, with Coupeville hosting La Conner Feb. 7, then travelling to Friday Harbor for the regular-season finale Feb. 10.

In between that, CHS has a road game Feb. 2 against non-league foe Auburn Adventist Academy.

Friday’s win give the Wolves a big leg up on Friday Harbor in the scramble for a playoff berth, and Megan Richter’s squad made a statement.

Alita Blouin splashed home a three-ball to open the game, before Coupeville fell behind for the one and only time, trailing 5-3.

That was when senior point guard Maddie Georges stepped up, muttered “give me the dang ball” (I’d like to think…), and flipped the script.

First, she pegged a floor-long pass to Ryanne Knoblich for a game-tying layup, before knocking down back-to-back treys, which each shot coming from a different side of the floor.

In between the game-altering bombs, Georges also made off with a steal, collected a floor burn or two, and delivered withering side-eye to anyone who dared to step into her path.

So, a typical day for the calm, yet fiery one.

Heading into the first break with an 11-5 lead, Georges and her associates kept attacking in the second quarter, with Knoblich knocking down a pair of buckets to kick things off.

One of her baskets was set up by a slick inbounds pass from Lyla Stuurmans, the other came courtesy of Knoblich wrestling a rebound out of the hands of a taller rival.

Coupeville as a team has struggled at the free throw line all season, but on this night, Georges calmly sank four in a row, signaling a positive change.

The lead was up to double-digits by halftime, with the Wolves heading to the locker room with a 23-11 advantage, but CHS was just getting warmed up.

Blouin and Georges hit back-to-back daggers from behind the arc in the third quarter, the second and fourth treys of the night for the Wolf sharpshooters, respectively.

Coupeville’s lead ballooned to 14, was trimmed back to eight for a brief moment, then settled in at a comfortable 35-24 heading into the fourth.

That final frame belonged completely to the Wolves, as they held Friday Harbor to just a single field goal over the game’s final eight minutes.

By contrast, Blouin was on a tear, dropping runners in the paint, while Coupeville also hit four free throws and capped things with a beautiful bank shot from Stuurmans.

Scoring all of her points from either the three-point line or the charity stripe, Georges led the way with a season-high 16, while Blouin was hot on her heels with 15.

Knoblich made it three Wolves with double digits, banking in 10, while Gwen Gustafson capped the senior attack with a bucket.

Sophomores Mia Farris and Stuurmans chipped in with two points apiece, with Carolyn Lhamon and Katie Marti also seeing floor time for the Wolves.

While the playoff-positive win was the big headline, two CHS players achieved personal milestones as well.

Blouin, who has played 17 varsity games, cracked the 150-point club and now sits with 159.

Georges, meanwhile, moves into exclusive company, becoming the #30 scorer in CHS girls’ basketball history for a program started in 1974.

With her performance Friday, she jumps to 343 career points, passing all-timers Taniel Lamb (330), Misty Sellgren (331), Amanda Allmer (331), and Kailey Kellner (339).

Posted in Girls Basketball | Tagged CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, girls basketball, Maddie Georges, Northwest League | Leave a Comment »

Can’t contain them, can’t beat them

January 27, 2023 by David Svien

A dapper Landon Roberts hangs out with the woman who taught him how to play the game, mom Sherry.

“Incredibly proud of this group of guys.”

Former Wolf hoops legend Hunter Smith capped his run as Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball coach by guiding his squad to a seventh-straight victory.

Using a 15-0 fourth quarter run to seal the deal on a 46-26 win over visiting Friday Harbor, the Wolves get to 8-3 on the season.

While Coupeville’s young guns still have three games left on their schedule, Smith, a 2018 CHS grad in his third season working the sideline, is heading off to start fire academy.

Jon Roberts and Craig Anderson will step in to take his place for the final two weeks of the campaign.

Hunter Smith (with clipboard) spreads hoops wisdom. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

Playing a final time for the dude who scored 847 varsity points during his own CHS school days, the Wolves jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead at the first break Friday.

Five different Coupeville players scored in the opening frame, with Landon Roberts rippling the net on a three-ball.

Friday Harbor proved resilient, though, cutting the deficit down to 23-20 at the half, and were still hanging around at 31-26 heading into the fourth.

That was when Smith unleashed his pack, which swarmed the Wolverines, not allowing them to score a single point in the fourth quarter.

Malachi Somes splashed home a pair of three-balls in the final frame, with Hunter Bronec adding five points, and Coupeville closed the night on a rampage.

Eight Wolves scored, with Somes topping the chart with 10 points.

He had plenty of help, with Hurlee Bronec (8), Hunter Bronec (7), Jack Porter (6), Roberts (5), Aiden O’Neill (5), Johnny Porter (3), and Camden Glover (2) also scoring.

Yohannon Sandles and Carson Field rounded out the Wolf roster, with everyone on the floor bringing the heat.

Posted in Boys Basketball | Tagged Boys Basketball, CHS Wolves, Hunter Smith, JV, winning streak | Leave a Comment »

“We hustled so hard!”

January 27, 2023 by David Svien

Liza Zustiak prepares to launch a pass. (Jackie Saia photo)

Kassie O’Neil is going into the weekend full of positive feelings.

While her Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad was nipped 27-26 Friday night by visiting Friday Harbor, it was the way the Wolves played which pleased their coach.

Playing less than 24 hours after a somewhat lackluster loss against big-school rival Mount Vernon, the CHS young guns brought the excitement to the hardwood.

“We hustled so hard,” O’Neil said. “Way different energy than last night.

“If only our baskets fell, we would have had it,” she added. “But they had a lot of great looks and everyone played well.”

The loss drops the Wolves to 6-8 on the season, and now, after playing three times in four days, they’ll sit for a bit.

The Coupeville varsity has a road game at Auburn Adventist Academy next Thursday, Feb. 2, but the small private school doesn’t field a JV girls’ team.

So, O’Neil’s squad will sit until Feb. 7, when they host La Conner in their home finale, before closing the season on the road at Friday Harbor Feb. 10.

Facing off with the visiting Wolverines, Coupeville fell behind early, but then carved the lead down as the game progressed.

Friday Harbor went to the first break up 10-4, but the Wolves netted a pair of three-balls in the second frame, with Desi Ramirez-Vasquez and Madison McMillan makin’ the net pop from long distance.

Coupeville got its third, and final trey in the third quarter, this time off the sweet-shooting fingertips of Kierra Thayer and trailed 25-18 heading into the final eight minutes.

Clamping down on defense, the Wolves limited Friday Harbor to just a single fourth-quarter bucket, closing the game on an 8-2 run which came up just a single, solitary point short of forcing overtime.

Ramirez-Vasquez paced CHS with a team-high seven points, with McMillan popping for six, and Reese Wilkinson knocking down four.

Thayer (3), Skylar Parker (2), Liza Zustiak (2), and Brynn Parker (2) also scored, with Bryley Gilbert, Teagan Calkins, Kassidy Upchurch, Kayla Arnold, and Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo all seeing floor time.

Posted in Girls Basketball | Tagged CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, girls basketball, Liza Zustiak, nailbiter | Leave a Comment »

CHS sophomore commands the stage

January 27, 2023 by David Svien

Matthew Campbell will be live on stage this weekend, carrying the banner for Wolf Nation.

The Coupeville High School sophomore held off nine other contestants to win a Poetry Out Loud competition, and now moves on to compete at regionals.

That event goes down Saturday at the Phil Tarro Theatre on Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon campus, with two finalists advancing to the state finals in March.

Nationals are typically held in Washington DC in late April or early May.

Poetry Out Loud was launched in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts, and draws contestants from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The goal is to promote the art of performing poetry.

Washington state has a previous national champion, with Langston Ward of Spokane claiming top honors in 2013 for his recitation of “The Gift” by Li-Young Lee.

This year’s opening poetry rumble drew 10 Coupeville High School students, with Campbell, Sydney Wallace, and Cristina McGrath finishing in the top three.

Contestants memorized and performed two poems, and were graded on “physical presence,” “voice and articulation,” “dramatic appropriateness,” “evidence of understanding,” and “overall performance.”

Each performer was also checked for accuracy as they recited their poems.

Campbell is slated to perform the work of poets Jones Very and Richard Blanco at regionals.

The former, who died in 1880, was a “poet, clergyman, and mystic” who was also a huge Shakespeare fan boy, while the latter is still going strong, born in 1968 and noted for performing at Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

Posted in Not sports? Tough! | Tagged CHS Wolves, Matthew Campbell, poetry, Richard Blanco, Skagit Valley College | Leave a Comment »