Kyla Briscoe racked up nine points, four steals and three assists Wednesday, sparking Coupeville to a huge win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
It was the perfect Christmas present.
Heading into a nine-day break between games, the Coupeville High School girls basketball squad put a win under the tree Wednesday night.
Shredding a visiting Concrete team that offered little match for the Wolves aggressiveness, especially on defense, CHS romped to a 47-7 win.
And no, that’s not a misprint.
Three different Wolves — Ema Smith, Kyla Briscoe and Lindsey Roberts — outscored the Lions by themselves, as Coupeville snagged a much-needed non-conference victory.
In a season of transition, with a roster which has been further shuffled as the season has progressed, the Wolves have been better than their 2-7 record might indicate.
Four of their losses have been by six or less points, and there is little question talent runs deep on this squad.
The key, as they deal with the loss of four starters from last season’s league title-winning team, has been to get all the parts working together. To find that perfect rhythm.
And while no one will call Wednesday’s romp perfect, it was still a big step forward.
Nine of 10 Wolves scored, including sophomore Hannah Davidson, who was making her varsity (and season) debut after a family move this week brought her back from a year-long exile in California.
Reunited with her former teammates, she gave Coupeville an immediate presence in the paint and on the boards, while dishing the ball with panache on back-to-back assists.
The first came on a picture-perfect feed to Scout Smith, a fellow Class of 2020 star, who snagged Davidson’s in-bounds pass and drained a long jumper in one smooth motion.
The very next play it was Davidson, showing a surprising nimbleness for an inside banger, picking off a pass in the open court, whirling and feeding Kyla Briscoe, who slapped home the running layup.
Briscoe, one of three seniors on this year’s squad, has begun to step up and take a featured role in the Wolf offensive attack.
Wednesday night, she was on fire in the second quarter, dropping in seven points, with a pair of layups topped with a sweet three-ball from the top.
Using a withering defensive onslaught, including a frequent trap, the Wolves essentially kept Concrete from getting a decent shot off for 98.7% of the game.
Coupeville rolled to an 11-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, didn’t give up a point until nearly three minutes into the second, and surrendered exactly one field goal all night.
Concrete’s only basket came 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, at a time when the Wolves were safely ahead 37-3.
Other than that, it was four free throws, a handful of misses and a lot of broken-up passes and turnovers for the Lion offense.
CHS, by contrast, had a lot of good looks. While they didn’t always take advantage of every opportunity, they did push the flow of the game, at times playing as if they were involved in a free-flowing scrimmage.
Some of the shots were poppin’ fresh.
Freshman Chelsea Prescott, who recently moved up to varsity full-time, had a scintillating drive down the baseline for a bucket, Ema Smith knocked down a gorgeous runner off the glass and Sarah Wright abused the Lions in the paint.
Working her elbows like a pro, and flashing some vintage Detroit Pistons Bad Boys-style grumpiness while fighting for loose balls, the junior post player made sure Concrete would remember her name, and her game.
Ema Smith led the most-balanced scoring attack of the season, draining 10 points, while Briscoe netted nine and Roberts sank eight.
Wright (6), Prescott (4), Scout Smith (4), Mikayla Elfrank (3), Davidson (2) and Allison Wenzel (1) also scored, while Avalon Renninger spent her time setting up her teammates with crisp passes and defensive hustle.
Davidson led the Wolves on the boards, ripping down eight caroms in her return, while also piling up two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Briscoe pilfered four steals and handed out three assists, with Wright finagling three steals of her own.
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