Maddie Georges and Coupeville romped to a big win Tuesday in their season finale. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The future is now.
With its two 8th graders playing visiting Darrington almost to a standstill by themselves Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball squad closed its season with a bang.
Running the Loggers off the floor to the tune of 54-18, the Wolves finished 5-7 during a pandemic-shortened campaign.
After back-to-back somewhat unexpected losses to Friday Harbor and Concrete, Tuesday’s romp sends Coupeville into summer break on a positive note.
“We needed this!,” said CHS coach Scott Fox. “It was a great way to end the season on a high note, and I’m so proud of this group of girls.”
Playing without any seniors on their roster, the Wolves can return all 12 players next season.
That includes two young women — Savina Wells and Lyla Stuurmans — who just graduated from middle school and still have four full seasons of high school hoops action ahead of them.
The 8th graders combined for 16 points Tuesday, with the springy Stuurmans, a defensive demon when unleashed, rumbling for a varsity career-high 10.
Everything was working for Coupeville, with junior Audrianna Shaw, who finished as the team’s top scorer this season, slapping home a pair of layups to start the night off.
Darrington dropped in a three-ball from the top of the arc to cut the lead to 4-3, and then any hopes the Loggers might have had promptly went out the door.
Savina Wells went barreling in for a layup, her long legs carrying her well ahead of the pack, and the ball arriving on her fingertips thanks to an extra-crisp pass from Stuurmans.
That kicked off a 17-0 run, with Coupeville carrying a 21-3 lead into the first break.
Six different Wolves scored during the game-busting tear, with Maddie Georges pumping in three straight buckets at one point.
The sophomore floor leader converted a steal into a breakaway layup, then came back around for a pair of pull-up jumpers, tickling the twines as big brother Alex Evans — from his perch on the bench as a CHS assistant coach — pumped both fists into the air.
CHS was rippling the net from outside, and using the glass to knock down buckets in the paint as well.
Ja’Kenya Hoskins, grabbing every rebound within a three-mile radius, capped the first quarter tear with a pretty, pretty bucket on a strong roll to the hoop.
There was plenty more where that came from, with Coupeville using an 11-0 tear in the second quarter to push the halftime margin out to 32-9.
This time around, it was Anya Leavell going off for six points on a variety of moves, while Savina Wells banked in a three-ball, after probably calling “glass.”
The biggest bucket likely came from the ever-scrappy Morgan Stevens, who dropped in a little jumper in the paint to record her first-ever varsity points.
With the basket, Stevens joins an elite group, becoming the 234th Wolf girl to score at the varsity level since the program began in 1974.
Darrington’s misery grew in the third quarter, with Stuurmans and Hoskins fueling a 16-2 run to the delight of Wolf fans.
Give the Loggers credit, as they refused to let Coupeville get all the way out to a 40-point lead and initiate a running clock.
Scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter, Darrington cut a 37-point deficit down to 30, assuring the two teams would get a chance to play out the finale in its full glory.
And Coupeville closed strongly, with Stuurmans, Gwen Gustafson, and Ryanne Knoblich hitting on back-to-back-to-back buckets to cap the season.
Eleven Wolves scored, with the lone exception being Izzy Wells, who spent her time setting up others with crisp passes, hauling down rebounds, and being the ever-serene soul of the squad.
Georges and Hoskins finished with eight points apiece in support of Stuurmans and her 10-point coming-out party, while Leavell, Shaw, and Savina Wells peppered the scoreboard for six each.
Carolyn Lhamon (3), Gustafson (2), Stevens (2), Knoblich (2), and Kylie Van Velkinburgh (1) filled out the attack.
Final season scoring stats:
Audrianna Shaw – 82
Savina Wells – 59
Izzy Wells – 56
Maddie Georges – 38
Carolyn Lhamon – 32
Anya Leavell – 29
Ja’Kenya Hoskins – 27
Lyla Stuurmans – 23
Gwen Gustafson – 17
Ryanne Knoblich – 17
Kylie Van Velkinburgh – 15
Morgan Stevens – 2
