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Posts Tagged ‘Chimacum’

RedHawks, Cowboys bail on softball season!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on March 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   While school officials scramble to replace six cancelled softball games, Wolves like freshman Chelsea Prescott prep for the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Rip up the schedule.

Four days into spring sports, the world of high school softball has come undone, as two of Coupeville’s three 1A Olympic League foes have announced they won’t field teams this season.

Port Townsend, which is on a 51-game losing skid dating back to 2014, and Chimacum, which has won three straight conference crowns, seemed to be polar opposites.

But now the two schools are united in their inability to piece together workable rosters.

It’s not the first time Chimacum has had to skip a season, as the Cowboys did so right before joining the Olympic League.

Last year’s team, which gave Coupeville its only regular season losses and went to the state tourney, had a senior-heavy roster.

Chimacum Athletic Director Tony Haddenham told the Peninsula Daily News Thursday night there is a “lack of adequate numbers to field a team this year.”

Port Townsend and Chimacum chose not to join together to form one team for the season. Doing so would have required the schools to combine their enrollment, pushing them into competing at the 2A level in softball.

The late-breaking decision by the RedHawks and Cowboys to not play leaves Coupeville, in its final season in the Olympic League, with just one conference rival still standing — Klahowya.

The Wolves and Eagles play three times and that trio of games will decide the league crown.

Coupeville travels to Silverdale Mar. 28 and Apr. 30, while Klahowya visits Whidbey Apr. 20.

In previous seasons, three of the four league teams have made the playoffs, so it would seem likely both the Wolves and Eagles are postseason-bound no matter how their seasons play out.

The loss of six league games, especially at this late date, made it hard for Coupeville to pull together a complete 20-game schedule, but Wolf Athletic Director Willie Smith is a man of miracles.

The Wolves, who jump to the new six-team North Sound Conference next fall, have already filled five of the six cancellations and have one more possibility on deck.

Forks, which was coming to Whidbey on a Saturday, has agreed to play a doubleheader as opposed to the one game previously scheduled.

Coupeville has also added a second game against both South Whidbey and Sequim, both at home, and a home-and-away series with Port Angeles.

Smith is currently working on adding a game with Sultan, which would get Coupeville back to a full 20 games, albeit it with just three league contests.

 

The updated Coupeville HS softball schedule as of Mar. 2:

Sat-Mar. 17 @ South Whidbey — 1:00
Fri-Mar. 23 North Mason — 4:00
Sat-Mar. 24 @ Vashon Island — 1:00
Wed-Mar. 28 @ Klahowya — 4:15
Fri-Mar. 30 Port Angeles — 4:00
Mon-Apr. 2 @ Blaine (Doubleheader) – 1:00
Fri-Apr. 6 Meridian — 4:00
Sat-Apr. 7 Forks (Doubleheader) — 1:00
Sat-Apr. 14 @ Friday Harbor — 12:00
Thur-Apr. 19 @ La Conner — 4:00
Fri-Apr. 20 Klahowya — 4:00
Sat-Apr. 21 @ Lynden Christian — 4:30
Fri-Apr. 27 South Whidbey — 4:00
Mon-Apr. 30 @ Klahowya (*) — 4:15
Thur-May 3 @ Sequim — 4:00
Wed-May 9  Sequim — 4:00
Fri-May 11 @ Port Angeles — 3:30

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Hot shots on the hardwood!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Having snatched the rebound, Adrian Burrows dishes the ball off to her point guard. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Dustin Van Velkinburgh lays out his strategy to Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson.

Alana Mihill dreams of raining down buckets.

The CMS gym was packed on opening day.

Samantha Streitler goes strong to the hoop.

   Alex Evans, channeling “The Untouchables,” coaches up Allie Lucero. “They send one of ours to the hospital, we send one of theirs to the morgue!”

Trinity McGee fires a pass.

   While rival players gasp at the destruction laid down by Wolf enforcer Ja’Kenya Hoskins, Audrianna Shaw snatches the ball away and heads off to score.

Basketball is back, even if it never really left.

With the high school teams and middle school boys all done, the floor fully belongs to the CMS girls, and they kicked off their season Thursday in style.

While the Wolves were thrashing visiting Chimacum, wanderin’ camera clicker John Fisken was busy popping off shots of his own.

Now, having returned from the state wrestling tourney, where son Michael was competing this weekend, Fisken was nice enough to share the photos above.

To see everything he shot, pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-basketball-2017-2018/MSGBB-2018-02-15-vs-Chimacum/

And, when you do, remember, purchases help fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes.

Plus, they make it even more likely Fisken will continue to periodically visit Cow Town, camera in hand.

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Total freakin’ domination!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , on February 15, 2018| 2 Comments »

   CMS 8th grader Ja’Kenya Hoskins was a whirlwind on both ends of the floor Thursday in a season-opening win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

This was a back-alley beat down. Brutal and beautiful.

Both of the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball teams this season are stocked with players who have risen through the SWISH ranks, learning the game and jelling as a unit as they do so.

And now that pays off.

Opening the season with a fury, the Wolves scorched visiting Chimacum twice Thursday, in games which were routs and yet could have been far worse, if the CMS coaches hadn’t pulled back the reigns and the refs hadn’t gone into the tank.

8th grade:

The core of the older Wolf squad won a title the last time they were on the floor, capping their SWISH season by routing three big-city teams.

Thursday they picked right back up where they left off, using a withering defense and an opportunistic offense to thrash the Cowboys 56-14.

The game was actually close for about half a second, as both teams displayed cold shooting touches early on and CMS clung to a 4-2 lead with a little over two minutes left in the first quarter.

Enter Ja’Kenya Hoskins, and exit any chance Chimacum would have.

With Coupeville clamping down with a full-court press and trap, the Wolves suddenly ripped off four baskets in approximately 12 seconds, with Hoskins directly involved in all of them.

She started things with a steal and breakaway layup, then fed running mate Izzy Wells for a layup off of another steal.

With the Cowboys going from disorientated to disaster in the blink of an eye, Hoskins ripped a ball free, then launched a pass that dropped perfectly onto Audrianna Shaw’s fingertips.

Catching the ball in mid-stride, the Wolf guard banged home a running layup, part of her game-high 18, and the rout was on.

Just to make sure Chimacum knew their moment had passed, Hoskins promptly stole the in-bounds pass and repeated her air mail assist move, with the ball flung to a sprinting Kiara Contreras this time around.

Up 12-2 at the first break, Coupeville was just getting started.

The second quarter was one bucket after another, as CMS ran the Cowboys ragged as they knocked down 25 points in eight frantic minutes.

Anya Leavell, who somehow was NOT one of the five Wolves to score in the first quarter, made up for it in a big way, dropping in eight points by herself in the second quarter.

All four buckets came on long outlet passes, as Leavell slipped behind the defense, then triggered the jets on her shoes once her teammates lobbed the ball airborne.

The prettiest pass came from Abby Mulholland, who also set up Ella Colwell for a basket as Coupeville kept the ball zipping from player to player, only stopping when the orb hit the bottom of the net.

Just to cap things, Wells sank a three-ball from the top off of an in-bounds pass, then spun, stole the ball right back and fed Shaw on the break.

Everything was clicking for Coupeville — on one play Samantha Streitler stole a pass, flipped it backwards to Hoskins, then reached for the popcorn and enjoyed the show as Hoskins hit Leavell in stride for yet another breakaway bucket.

The only thing slowing down Dustin Van Velkinburgh’s squad was a running clock, which went into effect once the lead hit 40, and refs, who, feeling sorry for Chimacum, decided to stop calling anything on the Cowboys for the final 10 minutes.

I could go on a long tirade about how blatant “charity” from the refs, too frequently displayed during middle school blowouts, actually hurts instead of helps a weak team trying to improve, but we’ll move on.

Seven of the 12 Wolves to see the floor scored, with Leavell dropping in 13 to go with Shaw’s 18.

Wells (9), Hoskins (6), Kylie Van Velkinburgh (4), Contreras (4) and Colwell (2) also scored, while Katelin McCormick, Streitler, Alana Mihill, Mulholland and Angelina Gebhard chipped in with hustle, defense and killer attitudes.

7th grade:

For a very long stretch of this game, it appeared Chimacum wouldn’t score.

While the Cowboys finally netted a bucket nearly 14 minutes in, then went almost 10 minutes before bucket #2, the young Wolves slapped down baskets left and right in a 50-10 rout.

Gwen Gustafson, channeling older sister Amanda Fabrizi, a former high-scoring CHS hoops star, drilled the bottom of the net with a pull-up jumper less than 30 seconds into the game and things were essentially done.

Her basket came off of a rebound by Nezi Keiper, and it signaled complete and utter domination on the glass from the Wolves.

With Keiper, Carolyn Lhamon, Adrian Burrows and the Battlin’ Lucero sisters, Allie and Maya, pulling down 3.9 out of every four rebounds, CMS had second, third, sometimes even sixth chances.

Most of those boards came on the offensive end of the floor, as Coupeville’s guards pestered and harassed the Cowboy ball-handlers into total submission, resulting in painfully few Chimacum shots.

Buzzing like attack insects, Maddie Georges, Alita Blouin, Gustafson and Hayley Fiedler came at the Cowboys from every angle, rarely giving them a chance to breathe, much less think about making solid passes.

Once they had the ball back in their hands, which was on just about every possession through the first three quarters, the Wolves flew to the hoop.

Georges, living up to her “Mad Dog” nickname, was a particular buzz-saw, picking pockets, then flashing by the Cowboys, who saw a burst of red hair go hurtling by but had no answers for the quicksilver hoops star.

With older brother Alex Evans calling the shots in his first game as the CMS 7th grade coach, and former Wolf baller Rhiannon Ellsworth screaming her name every time she scored, Georges served notice the future of Wolf hoops is here and it will be electric.

Draining a game-high 14, Georges teamed with Lhamon, who banged down low in the paint for 10, to form a potent outside/inside combo.

Seven other Wolves scored, with Gustafson (6), Blouin (5), Maya Lucero (5), Allie Lucero (4), Keiper (2), Fiedler (2) and Burrows (2) also etching their names in the book.

Trinity McGee, Jordyn Rogers, Jessenia Camarena and Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson also saw floor time.

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Wolf girls claim hardwood!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , , on February 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Samantha Streitler and the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball squads tip off a new season Thursday at home. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A new season dawns.

The high school teams have wrapped up play, but the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball squads make their debut Thursday afternoon.

The young Wolves host Chimacum, with tip-off set for 3:15 PM.

Coupeville’s 7th graders, coached by first-year coach Alex Evans, kick things off, followed by “grizzled vet” Dustin Van Velkinburgh and his 8th grade squad.

The Wolves play a 10-game schedule, with other home games Mar. 1, 5, 15 and 19.

Rosters as we head into the new campaign:

8th:

Ella Colwell
Kiara Contreras
Angelina Gebhard
Ja’Kenya Hoskins
Anya Leavell
Lily Leedy
Katelin McCormick
Alana Mihill
Abby Mulholland
Audrianna Shaw
McKenna Somes
Samantha Streitler
Kylie Van Velkinburgh
Izzy Wells

7th:

Alita Blouin
Adrian Burrows
Jessenia Camarena
Karyme Castro
Maddie Georges
Gwen Gustafson
Hayley Fiedler
Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson
Nezi Keiper
Carolyn Lhamon
Allie Lucero
Maya Lucero
Claire Mayne
Hannah Mayne
Trinity McGee
Cristina McGrath
Abigail Ramirez
Jordyn Rogers

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Defense to the rescue!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   David King has preached defense all season, and it has carried the Wolves back to the playoffs. (Amy King photo)

   Kyla Briscoe was one of three Wolves honored on Senior Night. (Jackie Calkins photos)

   An injury has kept senior Mikayla Elfrank on the bench for a chunk of the season, but she and her family could joke about it as they all sported bandaged legs.

Allison Wenzel capped Senior Night by playing like a beast on defense.

Defense is their calling card.

Through injuries and defections, through great games and struggles, the Coupeville High School girls basketball squad has hung its hat on stopping the other team from putting the ball in the bucket this season.

Saturday night was a prime example, as the Wolves stepped up huge, holding visiting Chimacum scoreless for 10 minutes to open the second half.

Sparked by the rush of corralling rebounds, taking charges and making off with steal after steal, Coupeville held on for a taut 36-29 win in a game which decided the #2 playoff seed from the Olympic League.

Now 8-13 overall after winning for the fourth time in their last six games, the Wolves finished 6-3 in Olympic League play.

They will host a loser-out playoff game next Saturday, Feb. 10 against the #3 team from the Nisqually League. Their foe will be known after play in that conference wraps Tuesday.

Win that postseason clash and Coupeville advances to the double-elimination portion of districts, from which three of four teams will move on to the state tourney.

After three consecutive 9-0 seasons, Coupeville capped a 33-3 run through the four-team conference by pulling off maybe its biggest accomplishment.

In past seasons, the Wolves had a transcendent star in Makana Stone and deep, veteran rosters.

This time around, they began by losing four starters (three to graduation, one to a transfer), then lost two more, including their leading scorer, as the season progressed.

That required CHS coach David King to find different ways to win, and defense has always been at the core of his teachings.

Saturday night, in the crucible against a very physical Chimacum squad, it paid off handsomely.

“Defensively we have been working really hard on sliding our feet and not reaching,” King said. “Tonight we really played the way we wanted.

“Sarah (Wright) and Allison (Wenzel) were so outstanding stopping the dribble drive,” he added. “Then you take our steals off of our press and going hard to the basket once we had the ball – exactly the goal.”

Clinging to a 20-18 lead at the half, the Wolves erupted from the locker room with fire in their eyes and passion in their hearts.

With youngsters like Scout Smith and Chelsea Prescott coming of age under considerable fire from the elbow-throwing and hip-checking Cowboys, Coupeville’s defense stood tall in the third quarter.

Forcing wild shots or turnovers, then pounding the boards or getting out on the break, the Wolves took control of the game with a 10-0 run.

Kyla Briscoe netted an epic three-ball from the left side, while Ema Smith, Wright and Lindsey Roberts all drained huge buckets off of set-ups from teammates.

Wenzel fed Ema Smith, Scout Smith punched the ball between defenders to find Wright, and Prescott laid the ball right on Robert’s fingertips on a note-perfect in-bounds pass.

Coupeville’s shooting touch dried up a bit in the fourth, as the Wolves couldn’t get a field goal to drop.

A combination of stellar defense, free throws from Ema Smith (she drained six pressure-packed freebies in the game’s final minutes) and Chimacum’s terrible night at the free throw stripe (8-25) prevented the Cowboys from mounting a full comeback.

Chimacum pulled within 33-29 with a little over a minute to play, but Ema Smith drained three of four free throws to close the scoring.

Even better, the Wolf defense thoroughly shut down the Cowboys over those final 60 seconds, not letting the ball come anywhere close to hitting the net.

The game had started with a little back and forth, as Coupeville went to the first break up 9-6.

Scout Smith had the sweetest bucket of the quarter, pulling in a long pass from Briscoe, then hanging in air for an eternity before slapping home a layup over a defender’s outstretched arm.

The second quarter belonged to Roberts, who played the entire 32 minutes and combined with Wright to dominate on the boards.

The Wolf junior tossed in six points in the quarter, sticking a jumper back in off of a rebound, before converting on a pair of breakaways.

Scout Smith was back at it again, as well, losing the handle on the ball, only to spin and steal the ball right back from a Cowboy.

Completing the play o’ wonder, she promptly knocked down the layup to thoroughly befuddle Chimacum.

Ema Smith and Roberts paced the Wolves with 10 points apiece, while Wright knocked down seven, Briscoe popped for five and Scout Smith had a dazzling four.

Prescott, Wenzel and Hannah Davidson all contributed greatly to Coupeville’s withering defense.

JV falls in final moments:

The win slipped through the fingers of the Wolf young guns in literally the final few seconds, as Chimacum scored the last four points en route to a 33-29 win.

The loss leaves the JV with a final record of 3-5 in league play, 7-11 overall.

Coupeville fell behind 8-0 in the early going, then rode the stellar shooting of Ashlie Shank and some strong defense of its own to get back in the game.

Shank, who rattled in a game-high 14, got the Wolves on the board with back-to-back buckets to end the first quarter, then tossed in 10 more in the second-half.

After surging in front 10-8 midway through the second, when Maddie Hilkey took a pass from Avalon Renninger and slashed through two defenders for a go-ahead basket, CHS led most of the way.

Chimacum didn’t regain the lead until a minute into the fourth, when a 6-0 run put it up 24-20.

Shank was having none of that, knocking down a jumper, then snatching a rebound off of a missed free throw and knotting the game up with a put-back.

From that point, there were four lead changes, with neither team being more than two points ahead.

A free throw from Genna Wright gave the teams their final tie, at 29-29, but Chimacum slipped in a basket off of a nice roll under the hoop by their point guard, then sealed the deal with two free throws.

Hilkey finished with six to back Shank’s 14, while Wright (3), Renninger (2), Tia Wurzrainer (2) and Nicole Lester (2) also scored.

Kylie Chernikoff, Julia García Oñoro and Mollie Bailey also saw court time in the JV team’s season finale.

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