Top of the world, ma! 60% of Coupeville’s varsity roster celebrates a league title. (David King photo)
Clear space on the gym wall for another banner.
Staying undefeated all-time in 1A Olympic League play, the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad drilled host Klahowya 49-33 Friday to clinch a second straight league title.
The win lifted the Wolves to 12-4 overall, 6-0 in league play.
Regardless of how it does next week, when it closes the regular season with three games in five days, Coupeville will carry a #1 seed into the West Central District 3 tournament and start off in the double-elimination round.
The Wolves are guaranteed at least two playoff games, both of which will be on the road, with the first coming Feb. 17 at Sumner High School.
Win at least one of those and they advance to regionals.
To see the brackets, jump to: http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=1767&sport=12
Friday night was all about taking care of business, and the Wolves showed up early (two hours or so), ready to liven up the quietest gym in the league.
While coach David King felt his squad was a little slow to get firing, Coupeville still led from opening tip to final buzzer.
“Our offense was flat in the first quarter, but you couldn’t tell by the score,” he said. “We played more side to side instead of attacking the basket.
“We did have great ball movement for the whole game and got some greats shots up,” King added. “We knocked down our open jumpers all game. We also did a good job of attacking the offensive boards for some put-backs.”
With big buckets from captains Kailey Kellner, Mia Littlejohn and Makana Stone to spark things, the Wolves surged out to a 15-10 lead after one, then stretched it to 30-20 at the break.
Klahowya stayed fairly close by bombing away from outside, while also converting on virtually all of its free-throw attempts in the first half.
The third quarter, though, signaled a sea change, as the Wolves came out of the break on fire.
“The start of the third was a whole different team,” King said. “Our movement on offense got better and our defensive effort really picked up.
“This game we got back to what makes us successful on offense,” he added. “Smart passes, moving the ball, and passing up a shot to get it to a teammate that has a better shot opportunity.
“When we move the ball like this it gets everyone involved.”
While Stone continued her torrid rampage across the land, tossing in a team-high 26 a game after she blistered the nets for 28, Coupeville’s continued good fortune depends on sharing the load between shooters.
“We have been working on taking the ball to the basket and not settling. We did that,” King said. “For us to be successful, others need to shoot and not rely on Makana; tonight we did that.”
He praised Kellner, who hit a couple of three-balls, Lindsey Roberts and Littlejohn for knocking down jumpers at key moments and a particular play that showcased the team’s ball movement skills.
On that one, Littlejohn had the ball at the top of the key and Tiffany Briscoe was on the low block.
There were defenders between the duo, but the sophomore point guard “found an opening between them and made one of the best passes all year,” setting up Briscoe for a bench-rousing bucket.
Stone “rose to the occasion when we needed a boost and provided sparks throughout the game,” on her way to 26 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks.
Kellner (8), Littlejohn (5), Roberts (4) Tiffany Briscoe (3) and Kyla Briscoe (3) also scored, while Lauren Grove had four rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Kyla Briscoe snared five boards, Littlejohn doled out four assists and swing players Allison Wenzel (one steal), Lauren Rose (one rebound) and Skyler Lawrence (two rebounds) all saw floor time in the fourth quarter.
As Coupeville heads down the stretch, pursuing a 9-0 league mark for the second straight year, King likes what he sees, while remaining very interested in how high his squad can fly.
“The great thing about this young team, that isn’t so young anymore, they are hungry and aren’t finished yet,” he said. “We still have work to do, but I’m very proud of this team.”
Coupeville Sports 