Coupeville Sports

Plenty of fight, not enough points

February 1, 2022 by David Svien

Reese Wilkinson scored a season-high five points Tuesday in a loss to Sedro-Woolley. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Take away one cold-shooting quarter, and the game was a barn burner.

Unfortunately for the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball team, that one bad stretch doomed them Tuesday night during a rumble with visiting Sedro-Woolley.

The Wolves were outscored 13-1 in the second frame by the Cubs, and that was the difference in a 48-35 loss.

Despite falling to 2-7 with the non-conference defeat, Coupeville’s JV squad held up well playing a rival from a much-larger school.

The 2B Wolves went nearly basket-for-basket with 2A Sedro-Woolley over the opening eight minutes, trailing just 12-10 at the first break.

Coupeville spread its offense out in the early going, with five different players dropping in points and the team closing the quarter on a 7-2 run.

Desi Ramirez-Vasquez kicked off the rally by draining a bank shot off the glass, catching the pass and letting go of her shot in one fluid motion.

After that, big buckets from Madison McMillan and Skylar Parker — the first on a power move in the paint, the second coming off of a steal and breakaway — pulled the Wolves to the edge of a tie.

But then the rim turned brutally unforgiving for Coupeville, which didn’t hit another field goal for almost 12 minutes of on-court action.

A free throw from Brooklyn Thayer was the lone saving grace for the Wolves in the second quarter, and a beautiful three-ball from Parker finally snapped the dry spell deep into the third frame.

Trailing 33-18 headed into the final quarter, CHS suddenly found its rhythm, making the nets jump for 17 points over the final eight minutes of play.

Sedro ultimately held the Wolves at bay, but Katie Marti, McMillan, and Reese Wilkinson kept the visiting coach on the edge of her seat until the final buzzer.

Katie Marti sparked the Wolves on both ends of the floor.

Eight of nine players to see floor time scored for Coupeville, with Thayer (7), Parker (6), Marti (6), and McMillan (6) leading the way.

Wilkinson banked in five points, Kayla Arnold (2), Ramirez-Vasquez (2), and Mia Farris (1) scratched their name in the scoring column, and Bryley Gilbert brought intensity on defense.

The young Wolves have three games left on their schedule, with a Feb. 4 road trip to Friday Harbor next up for Greg Turcott’s squad.

Posted in Girls Basketball | Tagged Brooklyn Thayer, CHS Wolves, girls basketball, JV, Sedro-Woolley | Leave a Comment »

Two rivals, one camera

January 31, 2022 by David Svien

Carolyn Lhamon goes strong to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s a matchup which doesn’t happen often enough.

With Oak Harbor High School being a 3A institution, and Coupeville repping the much smaller 2B classification, the next-door neighbors rarely face off.

Saturday was one of those rare opportunities however, as the Wildcats welcomed the Wolves to Oak Town for a girls basketball rumble.

Not having to travel very far from his house, wanderin’ photographer John Fisken was on scene, and the pics seen above and below are courtesy him.

To see everything he shot — including Senior Night festivities for the OHHS cheerleaders — you can pop over to the links below.

Coupeville:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Basketball-2021-2022/GBB-2022-01-29-Coupeville-at-OH/

Oak Harbor:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Oak-Harbor-Basketball-2021-2022/GBB-2022-01-29-OH-vs-Coupeville/

Paige Fortin keeps her eye on the goal.

Nezi Keiper drains a free throw.

Wolf point guard Maddie Georges prepares to break the ‘Cat defense in half.

Addisen Boyer stops ‘n pops.

Lyla Stuurmans lofts a jumper.

Annaleah White is a force to be reckoned with.

Posted in Girls Basketball | Tagged Carolyn Lhamon, CHS Wolves, John Fisken photos, Lyla Stuurmans, OHHS Wildcats | Leave a Comment »

X-Man crushes puny polls

January 31, 2022 by David Svien

Xavier Murdy makes a deposit. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

We rolled right over them.

Sparked by a grandma on a mission, Wolf Nation overwhelmed 37 other fan bases to carry our guy to a lopsided win at the polls.

Coupeville High School senior Xavier Murdy, one of the leaders of a 13-0 boys basketball squad, handily won a voting showcase which ended Sunday night.

The poll brought together a mad mix of girls and boys from across the state, and hailing from every classification, and was hosted by SB Live Washington.

Its official name is the “WaFd Bank Washington High School Athlete of the Week,” and for the dates of Jan. 17-23, that’s one Mr. Murdy.

And it was like a tsunami hitting the shore, as the Wolf senior captured 138,436 votes, or 48.14% of every vote cast.

Murdy held off Zillah hoops star Ashton Waldman, who started strong, and finished less so, ending with 113,106 tallies.

Third place was way, way back, with Eastlake’s Will Woodward, a basketball player who has signed with the University of Washington as a baseball star, eking out 8,185 votes.

In all, the 38 athletes involved in the poll brought in 287,568 votes.

Posted in Basketball, Polls | Tagged Boys Basketball, CHS Wolves, poll, SB Live, WaFd Bank, Xavier Murdy | Leave a Comment »

Wolves scorin’ buckets all day

January 31, 2022 by David Svien

Skylar Parker sends the basketball off to be free. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Jack Porter (or is it Johnny?) pushes the ball up court.

It’s the stat which makes the world go round.

Rebounds, assists, and offensive charges absorbed all play vital roles in which team wins a basketball game.

But points are the first thing everyone tends to look at, and we here at Coupeville Sports do enjoy the page hits.

So, as we head into another week of hoops action, a look at how Coupeville High School players stack up on the ol’ scoring chart.

Girls varsity
(11 games):

Maddie Georges – 89
Audrianna Shaw – 76
Carolyn Lhamon – 48
Izzy Wells – 47
Savina Wells – 38
Gwen Gustafson – 28
Lyla Stuurmans – 28
Abby Mulholland – 20
Ja’Kenya Hoskins – 15
Alita Blouin – 11
Nezi Keiper – 9
Katie Marti – 6
Mia Farris – 4

Boys varsity
(13 games):

Xavier Murdy – 184
Caleb Meyer – 152
Logan Downes – 141
Alex Murdy – 111
Hawthorne Wolfe – 99
Grady Rickner – 93
Logan Martin – 35
Cole White – 30
Dominic Coffman – 19
Jonathan Valenzuela – 8
Nick Guay – 2
Zane Oldenstadt – 2

Girls JV
(8 games):

Madison McMillan – 51
Katie Marti – 34
Gwen Gustafson – 32
Brooklyn Thayer – 25
Desi Ramirez-Vasquez – 16
Lyla Stuurmans – 12
Kayla Arnold – 10
Mia Farris – 8
Skylar Parker – 8
Reese Wilkinson – 8
Bryley Gilbert – 5
Jada Heaton – 5
Nezi Keiper – 3
Edie Bittner – 2

Boys JV
(9 games):

Hunter Bronec – 65
Nick Guay – 62
Ryan Blouin – 49
Zane Oldenstadt – 34
Mikey Robinett – 28
Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim – 22
Hurlee Bronec – 21
Jack Porter – 15
William Davidson – 8
Johnny Porter – 8
Landon Roberts – 6
Carson Field – 2

Posted in Basketball | Tagged Basketball, Caleb Meyer, CHS Wolves, scoring stats, Skylar Parker | Leave a Comment »

They (sort of) like us

January 30, 2022 by David Svien

Coupeville High School boys hoops assistant coach Greg White lays it on the line. “Just win, baby! The rest will take care of itself.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Well, we get some respect, just not all the respect.

Despite being the only unbeaten 2B boys team left in the state, Coupeville High School has yet to top any of the state-wide rankings this season.

But the Wolves, now 13-0 after road wins at Mount Vernon Christian and Granite Falls this past week, have bumped back up.

So, it’s a start.

Evans Rankings, which uses “an unbiased ranking system using a formula of my creation,” according to well-respected writer/numbers cruncher Matt Evans, has the CHS boys #6 as of Sunday night.

Coupeville trails Kalama (12-1), Chief Leschi (13-1), Ilwaco (14-1), Okanogan (16-2), and Napavine (13-2), but does rise four slots from last week, when they were tabbed at #10.

Meanwhile, the Wolves also sit at #6 in the RPI rankings posted by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, trailing the same five schools, just in a slightly different order.

The WIAA goes Kalama, Ilwaco, Okanogan, Chief Leschi, and Napavine currently.

While there is a lot of (often well-deserved) carping about the WIAA’s system, that’s the one which directly affects where and who Coupeville would play if it advances to the state tourney.

Meanwhile, new “Top 10 power rankings” from SB Live should be out in the next day or two.

In the last one, posted on Jan. 25, Okanogan was #1 in 2B, and Coupeville was on the outside looking in, considered one of “the next three teams up.”

Finally, there’s last week’s Associated Press poll, where pampered Seattle and Tacoma newspaper people sit around eating caviar and bonbons while ignoring the outer kingdoms.

I kid, I kid.

With the newspaper industry crashing to Earth like the Hindenburg, it’s more like a dented bottle of off-brand bottled water and an out-of-date pack of Ho Ho’s, am I right?

Honestly, it’s not surprising the Wolves get no love (or a single vote) from the AP, as the Coupeville boys haven’t been to the state tourney since 1988.

That means most voters haven’t seen CHS play in years and have no base of reference to draw from.

Out of sight, completely out of mind.

A few years back Makana Stone averaged 20+ points and 20+ rebounds a night while leading the Coupeville girls to a third-straight Olympic League title — a stretch where no conference rival came within single digits of the Wolves.

Local voters handed her another unanimous league MVP, but, when AP voters tabbed All-State teams, they ignored Kana.

Instead, they voted in favor of a girl from Klahowya who wasn’t the first option on a team which finished at the bottom of the league.

Why did they do that?

Because the Klahowya girl was one of the best soccer players in the state, the anchor of a state-title winning team.

AP voters mindlessly voted for a name they recognized, exposed an epic blind spot, then went back to hustling to keep their industry from vanishing from the face of the Earth.

And thus it has ever been so.

Evans Rankings: