Coupeville’s varsity girls play three times next week. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
One thing was nothing like the other.
Saturday’s royal rumble between the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad and visiting Sultan had halves which played out very differently.
The first 16 minutes was a tense, defense-orientated slugfest, with the Wolves trailing by just a bucket at the break.
The second half, however, featured Sultan discovering a new weapon in the three-point bomb, and the two teams combining for more points in just the fourth quarter than in the entire first half.
By the time things came to an end, Coupeville found itself on the unhappy side of a 60-43 loss, left to wonder a bit just how things fell apart against their non-conference foe.
Now 1-2 on the season, the Wolves get right back at it with three games next week.
The varsity girls host Crescent Wednesday, travel to Sedro-Woolley Thursday, then wander off the end of the map with a trek to Forks Saturday afternoon.
After that comes a two-game Christmas tournament in Eastern Washington, with league games starting up in early 2023.
One thing the Wolves will need to consider working on between contests is their collective aim at the free-throw line.
Crashing hard and often to the hoop against a hack-happy rival, Coupeville had plenty of charity shots Saturday, but couldn’t drill them often enough.
The Wolves left a lot of points hanging out in the air, netting just 17 of 33 from the free-throw line, good for 52% as a team.
Sultan was 15-20 at the stripe, including rippling the twine for 10-12 in the fourth quarter.
But it wasn’t just free throws which hurt Coupeville, as Sultan netted five three-balls — all in the second half — and cleaned up on the offensive boards.
Even with the refs frantically calling fouls on almost every other play, the Wolves held up well in the first half.
Alita Blouin splashed home a shot from behind the arc for Coupeville’s first points, before Lyla Stuurmans banked in a beauty of a runner to cut the early deficit to 6-5.
Powered by a seven-point run from Blouin, the Wolves snatched the lead away early in the second quarter and looked like they might be ready to bust things open.
But the Turks refused to fade, running off an 8-3 mini tear of their own right before the close of the half.
Maddie Georges made the net jump on a three-ball to knot things at 19-19, but Sultan knocked down the final bucket before the buzzer, then turned things up several notches after that.
The Wolves went without a field goal for most of the third quarter, and by the time Stuurmans swished a runner over her defender’s outstretched arms to end the skid, CHS was trailing by double-digits.
The final frame was an offensive showcase, with the schools combining for 41 points, but while Coupeville sliced the deficit to nine, it could get no closer than that.
Sultan nailed three long-distance bombs, each one exploding at just the right moment to stop a brief Wolf rally, before the Turks closed the game on a 10-3 tear.
Blouin and Georges paced CHS with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while defensive dynamo Stuurmans chipped in with a season-best seven.
Gwen Gustafson, Katie Marti, and Ryanne Knoblich rounded out Coupeville’s offense, adding three points apiece, with Carolyn Lhamon and Mia Farris working hard on the boards.
