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Wolf JV routs big city neighbors

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Mollie Bailey and the Coupeville JV basketball squad crushed their big city neighbors Monday night, routing Oak Harbor 48-10. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Clemson football has nothing on Coupeville JV girls basketball.

Routing their big city neighbors to the North, the Wolf young guns thrashed Oak Harbor’s C-Team 48-10 Monday night, capturing their fifth win in their last seven games.

Now 5-5 this winter, the JV girls boast the best record of Coupeville’s five high school basketball squads.

And the Wolf girls, fronting a tiny 1A school, cruised Monday despite not having much advance word on their foes, who rep a 3A school.

“Not knowing what to expect, the game plan was decided and all we could do was move forward with it,” said CHS coach Amy King. “We set up for the jump ball a little different, hoping to spread out their defense and give ourselves a better chance to score on the first play.”

Bim-bam-boom, mission accomplished, as Ja’Kenya Hoskins soared high into the air, spiked the tip to Anya Leavell, then celebrated as her fellow fab frosh drove the lane and slapped home a bucket.

Operating with a press on defense, the Wolves then harassed Oak Harbor’s ball-handlers, picking off back-to-back inbound passes.

With Audrianna Shaw providing the tip to the defensive spear, Izzy Wells and Leavell made off with steals.

Get past that trio, and Hoskins was hovering at mid-court, where she immediately clamped on to any wayward balls, as well.

With the host Wildcats crumbling, King switched things up midway through the first quarter, moving to a zone defense and unleashing her not-so-secret weapon.

“Kiara (Contreras) came in and made her presence known,” King said. “Ball-hawking and driving back down the court.

“The girls all played very well off each other – true team, making that pass, setting those screens,” she added. “Ja’Kenya was unstoppable with ripping the rebounds and even had some nice put-backs.”

Up 13-2 after one quarter, Coupeville pushed the lead to 21-4 by the half, then went bonkers after the break.

Six Wolves scored during a 20-5 third-quarter surge, with Contreras and Wells leading the way with six apiece.

With the game getting out of hand, King did what she could to keep things reasonable, asking for “good, clean, tough defense,” but moving to a no-steals philosophy during the fourth quarter.

With the win well in hand, Coupeville was able to try new things, such as using post players Wells and Hoskins at point guard, and King was pleased with the effort she got from her 11 active players.

“Everyone stepped up their games tonight,” she said. “Kylie (Van Velkinburgh) was a constant help, whether at wing or post, while Abby (Mulholland) came up with some key rebounds and had a nice scoring night.

“Alana (Mihill) was a burst of energy each time she went out on the court. She had a few steals that got the crowd cheering,” King added. “Same with Morgan (Stevens); her defense is getting stronger and stronger and when she grabbed the rebounds, the crowd exploded.

“Very proud of how the girls played.”

Lily Leedy, back in the lineups after being out for multiple games while recovering from a concussion, made an immediate impact, “getting good minutes” and “playing where she hasn’t before on defense and helping handle the ball.”

She also popped in a basket off of a nice drive and kick-out from Contreras.

Audrianna Shaw, Mollie Bailey and Contreras ran Coupeville’s offense for much of the night, and all three “were strong with the ball, setting up our offense and keeping things moving.”

Wells, who “always seems to be in the right place at the right time” paced the Wolves with a game-high 12 points, while also snagging five rebounds and pilfering three steals.

Contreras was hot on her heels with eight points, with Mulholland (7), Leavell (7), Hoskins (6), Shaw (4), Leedy (2), and Bailey (2) also scoring.

Coupeville ripped down 27 boards for the game and recorded 20 steals in three quarters, with Hoskins garnering nine and six, respectively. Contreras topped the team with three assists.

While she couldn’t suit up, Kylie Chernikoff, who is working her way back from an injury, kicked things off nicely by bring a speaker on the bus and filling the relatively short drive with “some great music.”

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Buckets were their biz

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Lexie Black played on three of the five highest-scoring Coupeville High School girls basketball teams. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Every coach and commentator and fan and player says the same thing – basketball is about more than just scoring.

And, it’s sort of true, until it isn’t, cause the only way you win a game is by having more points on the scoreboard than the other team.

The people doing the dirty work in the trenches — rebounding, scrapping for loose balls, setting picks with authority — are super important.

In that they set up people making baskets.

Which is why we tend to remember the players and teams who scored the most. Since they tend to be the most successful.

When you look back at the history of Coupeville High School basketball, there is no question as to the greatest offense to ever hit the hardwood.

It’s the 1969-1970 Wolf boys, who torched the nets for 1,836 points, without the help of the three-point shot.

No other CHS team, boys or girls, has come close to toppling that mark in the past 50 years, and, like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, it’s as close to an unbeatable record as we have.

I’ve written my fair share of stories about the 69-70 team, which was led by Jeff Stone, whose 644 points in 24 games remains the gold standard for not just Coupeville, but all of Whidbey Island.

But I just realized if you asked me which Wolf girls team was the best offensive machine in school history, I couldn’t tell you that off the top of my head.

So, off I scampered to my records, and, after scanning from 1974 to 2019, I found my answer, and I can’t say it’s much of a surprise.

The 2001-2002 CHS girls won a league title, then advanced to the state semifinals before finishing 6th – best finish in program history – and featured a mix of stars from top to bottom.

It’s the only Wolf girls team in school history to have six different players top 100 points during the same season, a feat Coupeville boys have accomplished 12 times in 101 seasons, most recently in 2009-2010.

So, as we continue to wade through the 45th season of CHS girls hoops, here’s the top five scoring teams all-time:

 

2001-2002 season — 1499 points

Brianne King 386
Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby 266
Sarah Mouw 259
Erica Lamb 174
Amy Mouw 137
Tracy Taylor 115
Vanessa Davis 68
Carly Guillory 43
Christine Larson 22
Lexie Black 13
Whitney Clark 8
Taniel Lamb 8

 

2002-2003 season — 1424 points

Brianne King 442
Erica Lamb 247
Amy Mouw 216
Carly Guillory 163
Vanessa Davis 163
Lexie Black 78
Taniel Lamb 43
Christine Larson 28
Whitney Clark 25
Brittany Black 12
Heather Davis 4
Samantha Roehl 3

 

1997-1998 season — 1375 points

Zenovia Barron 376
Ann Pettit 363
Maureen Wetmore 177
Hilary Kortuem 161
Kim Warder 104
Jennifer Pettit 74
Danielle Vracin 63
Stephanie Kipp 48
Rachelle Solomon 9

 

2000-2001 season — 1215 points

Brianne King 446
Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby 280
Tracy Taylor 142
Erica Lamb 76
Emily Young 67
Laura Young 57
Carly Guillory 54
Nicole Shelley 47
Vanessa Davis 23
Lindsey Tucker 13
Kara Warder 4
Jamie Townsdin 3
Christine Larson 3

 

2004-2005 season — 1198 points

Lexie Black 295
Brittany Black 209
Whitney Clark 188
Taniel Lamb 188
Heather Davis 120
Beth Mouw 73
Shawna West 50
Janiece Jenkins 43
Courtney Williams 17
Hayley Ebersole 7
Corrine Skvarla 4
Sarah Burgoyne 3
Corinne Gaddis 1

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Hoops heads towards stretch run

Posted in standings, tagged , , , , on January 6, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Ema Smith is third in scoring among Coupeville girls, and fourth overall among all Wolf players. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

From here on out, every game is big.

As the second part of the 2018-2019 high school basketball season gets fully underway this coming week, both Coupeville squads have the chance to make statements.

The Wolf girls, who sit in a second-place tie, a game off of top dog King’s, travel Tuesday to Bothell and Friday to Sultan.

The first game pits them against Cedar Park Christian, the school they’re tied with, while the second gives them a chance to sweep the season series from the Turks.

Meanwhile, the CHS boys, who are sitting a bit further down in the standings, host Granite Falls Tuesday before joining the trek to Sultan.

A win in the home game, which pits the bottom two teams in the league standings, would propel the Wolves a game-and-a-half up on Granite.

While there’s still plenty of season to play, having that edge could be a huge confidence booster, as five of six league teams make the playoffs.

As we head into a new week, a look at where we are, through Jan. 6:

 

North Sound Conference girls basketball:

School League Overall
King’s 3-0 8-3
Coupeville 2-1 4-6
CPC-Bothell 2-1 5-5
Granite Falls 1-2 3-9
Sultan 1-2 4-7
South Whidbey 0-3 2-9

 

North Sound Conference boys basketball:

School League Overall
King’s 3-0 8-4
South Whidbey 2-0 8-3
Sultan 2-1 2-8
CPC-Bothell 1-2 5-8
Coupeville 0-2 1-8
Granite Falls 0-3 2-10

 

CHS girls basketball varsity scoring:

Lindsey Roberts – 101
Chelsea Prescott – 59
Ema Smith – 57
Scout Smith – 48
Avalon Renninger – 39
Hannah Davidson – 10
Nicole Laxton – 10
Tia Wurzrainer – 10
Mollie Bailey – 8
Izzy Wells – 5
Anya Leavell – 2
Ja’Kenya Hoskins

 

CHS boys basketball varsity scoring:

Hawthorne Wolfe – 90
Sean Toomey-Stout – 50
Ulrik Wells – 47
Mason Grove – 46
Jered Brown – 44
Gavin Knoblich – 28
Koa Davison – 11
Jacobi Pilgrim – 8
Dane Lucero – 2
Jean Lund-Olsen

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Wolf grads light up college courts

Posted in Basketball, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , on January 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS grad Kailey Kellner lets fly in a recent college basketball game. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Kellner)

Coupeville, taking control of women’s college basketball, coast to coast.

Playing on different sides of the country Saturday, Wolf grads Makana Stone and Kailey Kellner both put together strong games.

While one of their teams rolled to a big win, and the other was nipped at the buzzer, the spirit of CHS basketball lives large across the USA.

How Saturday played out:

 

Cruise control:

Stone tossed in 10 of her 13 points in the first quarter as Whitman College buried host Lewis & Clark College early, rumbling to a 77-46 win in Oregon.

The victory lifts the Blues to 3-0 in Northwest Conference play, 9-3 overall.

Whitman, which started a four-game road trip Saturday after not playing since Dec. 21, gets a major test next week.

Stone and Co., currently in a three-tie for first place in league play, face Whitworth (3-0, 8-4) Tuesday, Linfield (2-2, 6-7) Friday and George Fox (3-0, 10-2) Saturday.

Saturday’s game was a nice palate cleanser, as the Blues roared out to a 47-20 lead at the half, then gave their bench players plenty of floor time after the break.

Stone finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists while playing just 22 minutes on the night. It was her second-shortest stint of the season.

For the year, the Whitman junior has 195 points, 99 rebounds, 22 assists, 18 steals and 17 blocked shots.

 

Heartbreak city:

Kellner singed the nets in New York for seven points, including a key three-ball which helped D’Youville College sprint out to a 12-point halftime lead, but the Spartans couldn’t hold on at the end.

A game which see-sawed back and forth in the final two minutes, with D’Youville tying the bout on a pair of free throws with seven ticks left on the clock, ended on a layup.

Unfortunately for Kellner and Co., that final basket came off of the fingertips of a visiting Penn State-Altoona player, giving the Lions an 83-81 squeaker.

The league loss drops D’Youville to 1-3 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play, 4-7 overall.

The Spartans, who are back in action Wednesday against Penn State-Behrend (4-3, 5-8). sit in 8th place in their 10-team conference.

After a relatively mild first quarter, which ended with Penn State up 19-18, the game took huge swings over the next two frames.

D’Youville used a 26-13 surge in the second to build a large lead, then saw most of it crumble away thanks to a 26-15 Penn State run in the third.

Clinging to a one-point lead entering the final frame, the Spartans were outscored 25-22 down the stretch.

Kellner also snagged three boards Saturday, topping all D’Youville bench players in points and rebounds.

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Rough re-entry for Wolf basketball

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Gavin Knoblich knocked down six points Friday as Coupeville basketball returned to the floor after a 12-day holiday break. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The “Showdown in Shoreline” was decidedly one-sided.

None of the Coupeville High School basketball teams have played in 12 days, and their welcome-back present Friday was a road match-up with powerhouse King’s.

It did not go especially well on the scoreboard.

By the time things were done and the bus was headed back to Whidbey, the Wolves had absorbed five losses in as many games.

But, every game is a lesson and tomorrow is another day, as they say.

How things played out:

 

Girls varsity:

The game was a showdown for sole possession of first-place in the North Sound Conference, but one team was a little more oiled-up.

King’s, a tall, athletic team led by all-universe freshman Jada Wynn, was coming off four wins in four games at a holiday tournament in California, and the Knights jumped out to a 15-0 lead Friday en route to a 50-17 win.

With the loss, the Wolves (2-1 in league play, 4-6 overall) slip into a second-place tie with Cedar Park Christian (2-1, 5-5), a game back of King’s (3-0, 8-3).

Coupeville travels to Bothell Tuesday, giving it a prime shot to bounce back and knock CPC down a rung.

While the final score was lopsided, CHS coach David King liked chunks of what he witnessed.

“We came into the game ready to compete,” he said. “Our defensive effort was present all game; in the second quarter we caused a 30-second violation and Lindsey (Roberts) also had a highlight-reel block.

“We did a lot of good things on defense, still have some things to correct,” he added. “But, it’s things we can correct.”

Trailing 15-0 at the first break, the Wolves came back and put together a solid effort in the second quarter, holding King’s to just a 16-10 advantage.

The second frame was a battle of the stars, with Wynn tossing in nine of her game-high 17, while Roberts answered with seven of her team-best nine.

Another bagel job in the third (11-0) hurt, but Coupeville closed strongly, edged just 8-7 in the fourth quarter.

David King praised his team, which fought through any rustiness and showed admirable chippiness.

“The starters led us the whole game with their energy and never-quit attitude,” he said. “Our reserves gave us some great minutes all game long, as well.

“Avalon (Renninger) was aggressive on both ends of the court, while Tia (Wurzrainer) brought us a good spark on the defensive end,” King added.

“Nicole (Laxton) is establishing herself as a very good rebounder; I never like losing, but this game showed me we will compete with the very good teams and can and will get better.”

The nine points for Roberts pushes her career total to 399, leaving her a free-throw shy of becoming the 24th Wolf girl to top 400.

Renninger knocked down four points in support, Ema Smith swished a three-ball and Scout Smith slipped a free-throw through the net to top off the scoring effort.

Hannah Davidson hauled in five boards for CHS, while Chelsea Prescott and Ja’Kenya Hoskins also saw floor time.

 

Boys varsity:

King’s rained down 11 three-balls, with seven different players netting a trey, as it cruised in with a 76-23 win.

The loss drops the Wolves to 0-2 in league play, 1-8 overall.

They currently sit fifth in the six-team conference, a half-game up on Granite Falls (0-3, 2-9), which they host Tuesday night.

Coupeville couldn’t get much to drop in the opening quarter Friday, digging a 16-2 hole it couldn’t recover from.

The Wolves best performance came in the second frame, when they went for almost half of their points on the night, dropping in 11 of 23.

Gavin Knoblich paced CHS with four in the quarter, finishing in a tie with Hawthorne Wolfe for top scoring honors with six for the game.

Wolfe netted both of Coupeville’s three-balls, hitting one in the second and another in the fourth.

Jered Brown (4), Jacobi Pilgrim (2), Mason Grove (2), Sean Toomey-Stout (2) and Ulrik Wells (1) also scored, while Dane Lucero chipped in with rebounding and hustle.

King’s, which sits atop the league at 3-0, a half-game up on South Whidbey (2-0), got points from all 12 of the players on its roster, with Tyler Linhardt leading the way with 19.

 

Girls JV:

Facing a team which shot (and made) a lot of three-balls, Coupeville fell 49-14.

The Wolf young guns fall to 2-1 in league play, 4-5 overall, heading into a JV-only match-up Monday at Oak Harbor.

While her team went scoreless in the first quarter, falling behind 12-0, CHS coach Amy King liked that her squad never fell to pieces.

“Everyone kept working,” she said. “We got a number of shots up that just didn’t fall.

“We worked to slow them down and give no uncontested layups, and we accomplished that,” King added. “It’s about heart, not paying attention to the score, and being a team.

The Wolves finally broke through on the scoreboard when Anya Leavell went coast-to-coast for a bucket after snatching a rebound on the defensive end of the floor.

Leavell added a three-ball to account for a team-high five points, while Izzy Wells knocked down four, Audrianna Shaw drilled a trey and Kiara Contreras popped for two to round out the scoring.

The bucket from Contreras was set up by a “sweet offensive rebound and dish” from teammate Abby Mulholland.

Wells paced the Wolves with nine rebounds and two assists, while Ja’Kenya Hoskins rejected a pair of Knights shots.

Lily Leedy, Morgan Stevens, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, Alana Mihill and Mollie Bailey all saw floor time to round out the active roster.

 

Boys JV:

The first three quarters were brutal, but Coupeville rebounded to win the fourth-quarter battle in a 63-19 loss.

The Wolves slip to 0-2 in league play, 4-5 overall.

Trailing 50-3 after going scoreless in the first and third quarters, CHS closed the game with a 16-13 surge across the final eight minutes.

With six different players scoring in the fourth, the Wolves held off a Knights team which kept its top scorer on the floor in the final quarter, providing a nice finish to a rough night.

Xavier Murdy paced Coupeville with six points, popping for five in the final frame, while Sage Downes (4), Daniel Olson (3), Cody Roberts (3), Tucker Hall (2) and Grady Rickner (1) also scored.

Gibby Marshall led King’s with 23, getting 11 of those in the fourth.

Coupeville’s active roster also included Chris Ruck, Logan Martin, TJ Rickner, and Miles Davidson, who all saw floor time.

 

Boys C-Team:

Coupeville came out extremely-cold and lost 60-3 to a very-efficient Knights squad.

The defeat drops the young Wolves to 0-1 in league play, 0-4 overall, the score-book was lost to the sands of time, and that’s pretty much all we’re going to say about that.

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