Allison Wenzel (right) seen here jumping center in an earlier game, went for a team-high 10 Tuesday at Vashon. (John Fisken photo)
Allison Wenzel was in tune with the hoop.
Dropping a season-high 10 points, one for every day she and her teammates had been off, the Wolf sophomore was a bright, shining star for the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad Tuesday night.
And, while she and her teammates eventually fell 32-20 at Vashon Island — victim of a fourth-quarter slump — they came away with a lot of positives for playing in their first game in a week and a half.
Now 2-4, the JV will join the Wolf varsity (5-2) in taking another week off (from games, not practice), as they don’t play again until Dec. 30.
That will give the young guns, and coach Amy King, time to work on things, figuring out what clicked against the Pirates and what didn’t.
“Overall, we need to decide we want to play less passive defense and handle the ball with more strength and confidence,” King said. “Tonight we did run a few of our plays very successfully, and had many rebounds.
“We just need to get better at taking care of the ball after we do get it.”
Coupeville stayed close early, trailing just 9-6 after one quarter.
Sarah Wright and Skyler Lawrence dropped in buckets, while Brittany Powers and Ema Smith added a free throw apiece.
Vashon, having some issues with its man-to-man defense, promptly switched to a more-successful zone.
“We found some holes in the man defense that made them switch over and that gave us some trouble,” King said. “They had a few girls playing the guards fairly aggressively, which accounted for a few of their baskets.”
From the second quarter on, it was the Wenzel Experience on full display, as the swing player went off for 10 of Coupeville’s final 14 points.
She tossed in all four of Coupeville’s points in the second, doubled that in the third and topped the night with a fourth quarter bucket.
The Wolves made a run in the third, sparked by another of its swing players, Kyla Briscoe, who brought high energy and aggressive, steal-orientated defense to the floor.
“We made a little run with the help of Kyla and her defense, which caused a little panic in Vashon,” King said. “Our defense picked up, as did our energy overall.
“We moved the ball on offense better and forced some turnovers,” she added. “It was exciting to win that quarter.”
Any hopes of a successful comeback fell apart in the fourth, however, as a lid went on the basket for the Wolves.
While Coupeville pressed matters on the other end of the court, a lack of buckets killed them in the end.
“Our defense worked hard, but just came up short,” King said.
Wenzel snagged four rebounds and a steal to go with her team-high 10 points, while Lawrence (three points, four rebounds, three steals), Smith (three points, two boards) and Wright (two points on “a great drive to the basket” and three caroms) all chipped in to the group effort.
Briscoe and Powers rounded out the scorers with a point apiece, with Powers a whirlwind on defense with a season-high five steals, including one she turned into a breakaway.
Ashlie Shank (five rebounds, two steals) and Maddy Hilkey (four rebounds) sparked the defense, while Lauren Rose and Lindsey Laxton snagged a board apiece.
King also credited Brisa Herrera and Nicole Lester for their “hustle and solid court play,” while praising Laxton for her “nice passes.”
Coupeville Sports 