Maddy Hilkey had eight points, three blocks and two rebounds in a win Tuesday. (John Fisken photos)
Wolves (l to r) Sarah Wright, Skyler Lawrence and Lauren Rose all had big games against Chimacum.
Vengeance is theirs.
Getting some payback for the only 1A Olympic League loss they have suffered in a season-and-a-half, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad rallied in the second half Tuesday and bounced visiting Chimacum 38-31.
The win lifted the young Wolves to 6-8 overall, 4-1 in league play.
Trailing by five at the half, Coupeville clamped down on defense after the break, closing the game on a 22-10 surge that brought a smile to coach Amy King’s face.
“After our loss against the Cowboys last time, we prepared, working on our offenses and getting stronger with the ball,” she said. “Last night in practice we worked on a lot of shooting, driving the ball and rebounding.
“The girls did an excellent job of taking what they worked on into this game.”
The Wolves changed things up this time around, swapping out their normal zone defense for a man-to-man.
Then, just when the Cowboys thought they knew what was coming, wham, King brought the zone back in the second half and Chimacum crumbled under the pressure.
“Did we play with more purpose this time? Yes!,” King said. “We had Lauren (Rose) back (she was out sick the first time the teams met) and she did a nice job moving the ball and moving up the court quickly.
“Ashlie (Shank) and Maddy (Hilkey) helped her out while Skyler (Lawrence) was so strong on defense and offense and Sarah (Wright) was in her own Wolf version of Beast Mode.”
Lawrence dropped in three shots in a row at one point, while running mate Allison Wenzel “was fighting for rebounds and put backs” on every play, helping to fuel the Wolf attack.
Up by one with eight minutes to go, Coupeville kept Chimacum guessing by constantly changing up defenses on the fly.
“We continued that positive energy, going from zone to man to zone,” King said. “Got open shots and attacked the basket more than we had earlier.
“It was all about heart and wanting the game more than Chimacum.”
Hilkey and Lawrence paced the Wolves with eight points apiece, while Wenzel knocked down six and Brittany Powers popped for five. Wright (4), Rose (3), Shank (2) and Nicole Lester (2) all scored as well.
Wright tore up the joint, wrestling down a game-high 15 rebounds while also soundly rejecting five Chimacum shots.
Lawrence and Wenzel snagged eight boards apiece, with Powers (3), Shank (2) and Hilkey (2) glomming on to the leftover caroms. Hilkey also had a season-high three blocks.
“Do we still have work to do?,” King asked. “Yes, definitely. Less turnovers, more comfortable breaking a press and a little more work on man defense.
“But all in all, it was a well deserved win.”
Coupeville Sports 