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Posts Tagged ‘Ashlie Shank’

Now that’s what I call a rout!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   With a game-high 10 points Tuesday, Ashlie Shank outscored Port Townsend by herself in a 27-2 win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

So, so close.

Employing a withering defense Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad came within a single lucky shot of completely blanking visiting Port Townsend.

But, after a bounce here, a bounce there, a wild RedHawk shot found the bottom of the net two minutes into the fourth quarter, and the Wolves had to “settle” for just a 27-2 win.

The victory lifts Coupeville’s young guns to 2-1 in Olympic League play and evens their overall mark at 6-6, best of any of the four Wolf hoops squads this season.

The game was essentially over as soon as Nicole Lester slipped a free throw through the net two minutes into the game.

But, just in case that 1-0 lead wouldn’t hold up against the super-cold-shooting RedHawks, Mollie Bailey pulled up and netted a sweet jumper while on the move to seal the deal at 3-0.

From there, it was nothing but easy street for the Wolves, as they stretched the margin to 7-0 after one, 15-0 at the half and 22-0 after three quarters.

Port Townsend had at least two shots start to go down, then pop straight back up and out, as Coupeville’s mysterious invisible defender did her job superbly.

On offense, it was the Ashlie Shank show, as the Wolf guard rained down a game-high 10 points, while twice beating the clock.

Shank closed the second quarter by driving right up the middle against a fleeing defense as the clock ticked madly away, getting hammered on the arms on a buzzer-beating three-ball try.

While her trey didn’t drop, all three of her free throws whispered sweet nothings to the net as they softly slipped through.

Just to prove she truly has the heart of a killer lurking underneath her friendly exterior, Shank pulled up and splashed a jumper a half tick before the clock hit 0:00 in the third.

That rightly earned an appreciative nod and smile from her dad, Coupeville Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim Shank.

The Wolves spread their scoring out, with seven of the eight players in uniform scratching their names into the scoring column.

Lester hit five free-throws, while Maddy Hilkey (3), defensive beast Tia Wurzrainer (3), Bailey (2), Avalon Renninger (2) and Genna Wright (2) all tallied points.

Spanish sensation Julia García Oñoro came dangerously close to netting her first American basket.

While the ball wouldn’t drop for her, the foreign exchange hoops star, who is learning the game as she goes, provided hustle on defense and an enthusiastic welcome back to the bench for each of her teammates.

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Our spirit is strong, our game better!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on January 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Brittany Powers was one of several Wolves who hit huge fourth-quarter shots Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

   Brittany Powers was one of several Wolves who hit huge fourth-quarter shots Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

Guts.

The Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad does not back down, does not give in, does not believe it will lose.

And that’s why the Wolves won again Tuesday night.

Because, one player after another stepped into the spotlight, seized their moment and sent their family and friends home riding a wave of euphoria.

Scoring the game’s final six points, the Wolves upended visiting Klahowya 29-27 to remain undefeated in Olympic League play.

They sit at 4-0 (6-0 if you give them forfeits for the two times league foes cancelled due to lack of players) and 8-3 overall.

Playing at home for the first time in 45 days, the young Wolves saved their best for the finale.

Trailing 23-21 coming into the fourth, they got one high-pressure play after another, with every player on the floor stepping up at one point or another.

Brittany Powers got things started when she swished a long jumper from the left side to knot things back up, before Klahowya scored back-to-back buckets to take its biggest lead of the night.

Little did the Eagles know they would never score again.

Sarah Wright pulled Coupeville within a bucket, backing her foe down in the paint before whirling to drop in a softly-banked shot off the glass, then Ema Smith sacrificed her body for the good of the team.

Charging from one end of the court to the other, in a mad attempt to get ahead of the ball-handler, Smith somehow got between the basket and the hard-charging Eagle.

Planting herself squarely in the oncoming path of a runaway freight train, she held her ground and got promptly run over.

A little dazed and confused, Smith happily peeled herself off the hardwood as the ref emphatically whistled an offensive foul on Klahowya, giving CHS the ball and a chance to tie with the clock ticking under a minute.

The Wolves took advantage, beating the Eagle press and putting the ball in Ashlie Shank’s hands.

Playing on the day her dad (Coupeville Superintendent Dr. Jim Shank) was celebrating his birthday, the youngest member of the clan drilled a soft jumper to knot things back up at 27-27.

Re-enter Smith, who got in the middle of a scramble for a loose ball — having been the one to knock the ball free in the first place — and recovered it while being blasted to the floor again.

Bouncing down court, the ever-giddy one grabbed the ball from the ref, and with no fanfare or wasted time, swished both of her free throws to give the Wolves a lead they would not relinquish.

Coupeville had started the game strongly, with Maya Toomey-Stout draining an eye-popping three-ball from the corner that she banked off the glass.

With Shank on a rampage — she dropped six of her team-high nine in the opening quarter — the Wolves ran to an early lead, then built on it later with strong inside play.

Nicole Lester dropped in a pair of buckets to fuel an 8-0 run in the second quarter, the first coming off of a rebound, the second on a picture-perfect play where she relentlessly backed down her defender in the paint.

The Wolves spread out their scoring, with seven of 11 players scratching their names in the scoring column.

Shank had four steals to go with her nine points, while Toomey-Stout rattled home five points and Lester and Wright banked in four apiece.

Powers (3), Ema Smith (2) and Avalon Renninger (2) rounded out the scoring, while Scout Smith ran the point and the three-headed beast of Maddy Hilkey, Tia Wurzrainer and Emma Mathusek harassed the Eagles on defense.

Lester led the Wolves on the boards, collecting seven caroms.

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Young guns in a groove!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Ashlie Shank (John Fisken photo)

   Ashlie Shank scored six points and hauled in seven rebounds Friday night in a 25-point Wolf JV win. (John Fisken photo)

Scout Smith 14, Port Townsend 7.

Sparked by its rampaging freshman guard, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad romped to a runaway win Friday night at Port Townsend.

Toss in 18 points from Smith’s teammates and the final tally was 32-7 in favor of the Wolves.

The conference victory lifts the CHS young guns to 7-3 overall, 3-0 in Olympic League play.

Just getting on the floor was a win for the Wolf JV, which had two previous games cancelled when Chimacum and Port Townsend were unable to pull together enough players to compete.

Friday night the RedHawks put two seniors and a junior on the floor as part of a six-player roster, and Smith and Co. promptly ran them out of the gym.

It all started with defense, where the Wolves shut down both of Port Townsend’s tall players.

The three-headed beast of Scout Smith, Maya Toomey-Stout and Emma Mathusek shut down the passing lanes, while Ashlie Shank, Ema Smith and Nicole Lester took turns matching up with the RedHawks post players.

The Wolves held Port Townsend scoreless through the first eight minutes — a feat the CHS varsity would match later in the night — and was never threatened.

Scout Smith and Shank spent much of the night sniping away on outside shots, as the Wolves controlled the offensive flow.

“Our offense was fast but fairly patient with girls taking shots whenever open,” said Coupeville coach Amy King. “It was great to see that kind of aggressive play.”

Scout Smith brought her bench to its feet with a pair of back-to-back steals, while everyone chipped in, often by trying out something new.

“Tia (Wurzrainer) came up with several fourth quarter rebounds, passing the ball out to her teammates,” King said. “Avalon (Renninger) helped us out by playing point guard in the fourth and Maya stepped in as post at the end of the game.”

Shank drew a special heapin’ of praise.

“It was a full team win but a standout for me was Ashlie,” King said. “Her leadership on defense was huge, and her being able to shut down the taller post caused extra heartache for Port Townsend.

“She was aggressive on offense as well as on defense.”

Scout Smith’s 14 paced the attack, while Shank chipped in with six. Lester (4), Mathusek (4), Ema Smith (2) and Renninger (2) also put their names in the scoring column.

Lester and Shank ripped down seven boards apiece, while Maddy Hilkey picked up two boards and two steals.

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Shanks for being you, Ashlie!!

Posted in Happy birthday, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ashlie Shank

Ashlie Shank: A legend in her own time. (John Fisken photos)

The force is strong with this one.

Coupeville High School freshman Ashlie Shank has a lot to live up to, following in the footsteps of older brothers/gentlemen around town Matt and Brian and her dad, Dr. Jim Shank, the snappiest Superintendent in school history.

But, to no one’s surprise, the youngest Shank may surpass them all (plus her older siblings who never got a chance to attend CHS).

Ashlie, in her time here in Coupeville, has set the gold standard for being an exceptionally smart, kind, friendly young woman who also happens to go full tilt in the athletic arena.

She’s a fast-rising star in the basketball world, where her gentle exterior barely masks the killer who lurks inside.

Whether she’s shanking (heh heh) Klahowya with a buzzer-beater that blew the roof off the CHS gym or throwin’ elbows down low while pursuing a rebound, Shank is the kind of eager young player Wolf coaches David and Amy King love.

Toss her on the track oval this spring, and she’s won over the other King, Randy, consistently bringing her times down and signalling her willingness to try whatever events the track guru asks of her.

When she’s not competing, Shank is almost always to be found in a gym or camped on the bleachers outside, supporting her close friends and random classmates alike.

She might not be as loud as some of her companions, but Ashlie is as dedicated as any of them in her support, and is always willing to go the extra mile for any wandering photographers, which makes her especially well-liked here at Coupeville Sports.

Like her brothers before her, she has been a true gift to our town. Utah’s loss continues to be a boon to Cow Town.

As she celebrates her birthday today, we just want to take a moment to wish the very classy Miss Shank the happiest of cake days. And add the hope that all of her days are just as note-worthy.

We are very lucky to have you grace our school and town with your presence.

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Fight till the last moment!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , on January 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ashlie Shank (John Fisken photo)

   Wolf freshman Ashlie Shank played strongly Wednesday, snagging 10 rebounds and four steals. (John Fisken photo)

Second game in as many nights, both on the road. Middle of finals week. Three ill players and a fourth who got injured during the action.

Wednesday night was rough at times for the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad.

But even during a 27-15 loss to a very-tough Bellevue Christian squad, the young Wolves (4-8) had moments to make their coach’s heart happy.

The final three minutes of the game were a classic example.

Already missing three players (Lauren Rose, Lindsey Laxton and Brisa Herrera), Coupeville lost a rampaging force of nature when freshman Ema Smith took a blow to her knee.

Regrouping on the sideline, the Wolves elected to go to a high-intensity defensive strategy to finish the game.

“The decision was made by the team that we would go full-out man defense, full-court press and do what we could to slow them down,” said Wolf coach Amy King. “It was seriously, the most intense three minutes of the season.

“The girls did an awesome job, and left it all on the court.”

While they finished strongly, a slow start derailed the Wolves.

Coupeville managed just a single free throw from Allison Wenzel in the first quarter and fell behind 8-1 after the first eight minutes of play.

The Wolves made an immediate 180-degree turn in the second, sparked by one of their swing players.

“Kyla (Briscoe) sparked the offense in the second quarter, some lay-ups off of steals or rebounds and hitting them hard on defense,” King said.

Coupeville won the second quarter battle 7-6, but tired legs began to creep in and the Wolves weren’t able to make it all the way back.

“The girls fought the whole game, fast-breaking, looking up the court but getting shots to fall just didn’t happen,” King said. “Their defense did a really good job of anticipating our passes that resulted in steals.

“That was our downfall in this game.”

King praised the work of her post players (Sarah Wright, Skyler Lawrence, Nicole Lester and Wenzel) for “digging in for rebounds,” and the defense of Maddy Hilkey and Brittany Powers.

Freshman guard Ashlie Shank, who ripped down a career-high 10 rebounds and made off with a team-high four steals, was a true standout on the evening.

“Ashlie really played with an intensity we haven’t seen from her,” King said. “Diving in for rebounds and going after steals. It was great to see.”

Briscoe paced the Wolves on the offensive end of the floor, popping for seven points, while Wright banged home five. Shank tossed in two and Wenzel tickled the twines for her free throw to round out the attack.

Wright snagged seven boards, Wenzel cleaned the glass for five and Smith made off with four caroms. Briscoe and Hilkey each had three steals and Lawrence rejected two shots.

While she never accepts defeat easily, King came away focused on the good, and how it will affect her squad heading into its next game, Friday at home against Port Townsend.

“The loss was hard to take, especially after that (fourth quarter) spurt,” she said. “But we now know what we can do and will bring that with us to our next game.”

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