Katie Marti makes the net jump. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
OK, you can have one bucket, but that’s it.
Visiting Crescent scored the first basket of the night Wednesday, then the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad unleashed a tsunami.
Closing the first quarter on a 21-0 run, with five different players scoring, the Wolves built an insurmountable lead on their way to a 46-22 rout of the Loggers.
The non-conference victory evens Coupeville’s record at 2-2, with road trips to Sedro-Woolley and Forks coming up fast on the schedule.
The first of those two bouts arrives Thursday, the second Saturday.
If the Wolves play in those contests like they did against Crescent, good things are on the horizon.
Attacking the Loggers from the opening tip, Megan Richter’s squad harassed the visitors into frequent turnovers, before converting many of those opportunities.
Maddie Georges delivered the first knife thrust, poppin’ the net on a long, low three-ball, added another bucket off of a steal and breakaway, then became the reincarnation of John Stockton.
Pulling in the Logger defense before zipping note-perfect passes to her teammates, the Wolf senior had the magic touch when it came to racking up assists.
Georges fed Alita Blouin with a laser which tore through a pack of Crescent players, before feeding Ryanne Knoblich for back-to-back short jumpers.
Bouncing off of foes all night, Knoblich dodged bruises and made the Loggers pay for their roughhouse defense, pumping in eight of her game-high 12 points in the opening frame.
Add in buckets off of the fingertips of Gwen Gustafson and Carolyn Lhamon, and Coupeville wouldn’t be denied.
The game did get a bit slower and lower scoring after the torrid opening frame, but the Wolves remained in control no matter what the lineup on the floor.
The second quarter was highlighted by Mia Farris launching a perfect setup pass to Lhamon, who rumbled in the paint for a bucket, while the third featured a buzzer beater.
It came courtesy Farris, who snatched a rebound away from a Logger and slapped the ball back up and off the glass a millisecond before Joel Norris punched the buzzer to signal the end of play.
Delivering superb work on the game clock, plus doling out sweet, sweet chocolate chip cookies to bloggers hanging out in the bleachers, the owner of Kapaw’s Iskreme was in mid-season form.
While the game was well in hand as the fourth quarter began, Coupeville’s players combined to keep things hopping.
Blouin creased the nets with a feathery three-ball to kick things off, before Lyla Stuurmans drilled her own trey while on the move.
Jada Heaton (center) joined an exclusive club Wednesday. (Jackie Saia photo)
The emotional high of the game came from sophomore Jada Heaton, making her varsity debut and becoming the 239th Wolf girl to score since the program was launched back in 1974.
After setting up Blouin’s three-ball with an assist, and snatching several rebounds, Heaton earned a nice roar from the crowd when she knocked down a pressure-packed free throw midway through the fourth quarter.
In all, 10 Wolves saw the floor Wednesday, with nine of them scoring.
Knoblich’s 12 is her best performance at the varsity level, while Blouin (9), Gustafson (8), and Georges (5) provided solid backup.
With 283 career varsity points and counting, Georges continues to climb up the all-time scoring chart.
She passed Hailey Hammer (282) Wednesday, and, at #39, is hot on the trail of Bessie Walstad (288), Scout Smith (290), and Amanda Fabrizi (299) as she makes a run at cracking the 300-point club.
Lhamon (4), Stuurmans (3), Katie Marti (2), Farris (2), and Heaton (1) also scored against Crescent, while Skylar Parker brought big energy to her defensive duties.
