Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

No wins, but tons of heart!!

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Jered Brown knocked down a season-high 11 points Wednesday to lead Coupeville’s scoring attack against Friday Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“The coaching staff is really, really proud of these guys.”

Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball coach Brad Sherman is still looking for his first win of the new season, but, four games in, he can’t, and won’t, fault his players for their heart.

“I’m really proud of the hustle and effort we are showing every game,” he said. “We’re starting to find our shooting rhythm, as well, which is nice to see.”

While a quick glance at the scoreboard after Wednesday’s 60-40 non-conference loss to visiting Friday Harbor might indicate a one-sided game, it was anything but.

Coupeville, now 0-4 on the season, used a hail of three-point bombs to hang with a team which had a huge height advantage, but one bad stretch ultimately doomed them.

The Wolves had fought back from a 10-point first-quarter deficit to knot the game at 18-18, and only trailed by a bucket after Gavin Knoblich slapped home a rebound put-back with a minute to play in the first half.

Down just 24-22 and having at least momentarily muted the inside play of Friday Harbor’s 6-foot-8 and 6’6 post players, CHS was on the move.

And then the rim swore a vendetta against the Wolves, and not a shot would drop for an agonizingly long time.

Friday Harbor took advantage, slipping a pair of free throws through the net, turning a steal into a two-handed jam, and then, worse of all, hitting a desperation three-ball right before the halftime buzzer.

Sean Toomey-Stout gave Coupeville a small sliver of hope when he alertly stripped the ball as Friday Harbor attempted a second dunk on the final play of the half, but the 7-0 surge was a killer, emotionally, mentally and on the scoreboard.

The break didn’t ease the shooting curse, as the Wolves continued to have shots pop out, roll away and take weird bounces through much of the third quarter.

By the time CHS junior Jered Brown hit a one-hander in the paint, after a feed from Jacobi Pilgrim, Friday Harbor had run off 16 straight points and turned a one-basket game into a semi-romp.

Brown banged home a step-back three-ball a moment later, and the Wolves played the visitors almost dead even in the fourth, but the damage in the middle of the game was too much to overcome.

Once the lead ballooned out, Coupeville wasn’t able to get closer than 17 down the stretch.

A big part of that was Friday Harbor’s dominance on the boards, as tree toppers Marshall Clark (29 points) and Kyle Mapstead (14) used their long arms to snatch away many of the caroms and convert them into put-backs from close range.

The Wolves didn’t go down easily, with Ulrik Wells, at 6’4 Coupeville’s only true big man, snatching his fair share of boards.

Meanwhile, the 5’10 (and super springy) Toomey-Stout rejected a couple of shots that caught the Friday Harbor players (and their fans) by surprise.

Coupeville’s best run in the game came when the game was still fairly young.

Down 18-8, with Brown and Mason Grove having hit three-balls, the Wolves dropped three consecutive treys to start a crowd-pleasing comeback.

Freshman Hawthorne Wolfe, whose first bucket of the night came on a play in which he twisted himself into a pretzel in mid-air to get around a defender, nailed the first three-ball.

After that, Grove stepped up, launching a three-point special to end the first quarter, then another to open the second.

A Toomey-Stout free throw capped Coupeville’s 10-0 run and seemed to signal nothing but good times ahead, but the offense is still a work in progress for a young, transitioning Wolf squad.

“We’re improving each game; it’s just little things we need to fix,” Sherman said. “We need to take a little better control of the ball, be a little more patient.

“Our bigs (Wells, Dane Lucero, Pilgrim, Knoblich, Koa Davison) played really tough tonight, which was a big task against a big front line like that,” he added. “They all played pretty dang hard.”

Brown and Grove each netted their season-best scoring performance, with 11 and nine points, respectively, while Wolfe, the team’s leading scorer, added eight.

Wells (4), Toomey-Stout (4), Davison (2) and Knoblich (2) rounded out the scoring attack, with Davison’s bucket, off an offensive rebound, settling through the net with 0:00.1 to play.

Read Full Post »

First win a thriller!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville captains (l to r) Ema Smith, Scout Smith and Lindsey Roberts all came up huge Wednesday as the Wolves won a thriller against Friday Harbor. (Photo by Johnsphotos.net)

Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games.

Luckily for the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team, it was clicking on both sides of the ball Wednesday night.

Powered by a season-high 16 points from Lindsey Roberts, the Wolves exploded on visiting Friday Harbor, then turned to a withering defense (and some pressure-packed free throws from Ema Smith) to nail down a 34-32 win.

The non-conference victory, which came down to the game’s final play, lifts Coupeville to 1-3 on the season.

As exciting as the ending was for the fans, it was heart-stopping for both coaches, as the last 58 seconds were a jumble of nerves, miracle shots, and gut-check plays.

Up 32-27 after Roberts slipped a pair of free throws through the net with just a bit over a minute left on the clock, the Wolves looked in control.

Then Friday Harbor got dramatic.

A pull-up jumper cut the margin to three, before the visitors forced a turnover in the back court on the ensuing in-bounds play.

Taking things from bad to worse for Coupeville, Friday Harbor slid a dagger between the rib cages, knocking down a three-ball from the right side that needed a prayer to hit pay dirt, and got that prayer answered.

With the game knotted at 32 — the first tie since early in the first quarter — it might have been easy for the Wolves to fold. To put up a good fight, fall just short, and accept a moral victory.

To which Coupeville, to a player, said “screw that.”

Ema Smith, who was born with ice water running through her veins, absorbed a foul with 38.6 seconds to go, calmly loped to the line, stared down each Friday Harbor player one after another, then drilled both free throws.

The net barely moved on either shot, the partisan CHS crowd exploded, but Ema Smith didn’t smile. Not yet.

Instead, she and her teammates slapped hands, hunkered down and made not one, but three defensive stands, as the clock spun madly towards 0:00 and the score remained locked at 34-32.

Roberts yanked down a long rebound on the next shot, only to lose her footing and have the ball skid out of bounds.

No problem, as Hannah Davidson, lunging forward/being bulldozed from behind by a Friday Harbor player, pulled in the next rebound.

The fact she ended up on the floor after being pasted sent the Wolf junior to the line with 6.9 ticks left, but the rim turned unforgiving, spitting out both of her charity shots.

Again, no problem, as Ema Smith tipped the rebound to Roberts and … lost in the moment, the Wolves put up a shot instead of holding on to the ball, letting the clock run and getting fouled.

Ball hit rim and kicked way, way out, possibly causing Coupeville coach David King to have an aneurysm as he watched what could have been a game-tying layup at the buzzer by Friday Harbor develop in slow motion.

Except, Lindsey Roberts is fast, and by fast, I mean, faster than anyone in a Friday Harbor uniform could ever hope to be in their entire lifetime.

Roaring past two rivals in a single bound, she flung out her long arms, fingertips made contact with leather as the buzzer roared, and then she was hugging the basketball to her chest like she had saved a baby from a burning building.

Then, and then only, Ema Smith smiled, pummeling her fellow senior captain with glee.

As their teammates crowded around, keeping the celebration going, King sank into his chair, let out his breath with a great whoosh, and smiled, too.

A game that ended with a defensive stand for the ages began as an offensive slug-fest.

Roberts came out firing on all cylinders, dropping eight points in the first quarter.

Toss in a bucket from Nicole Laxton, who scooped up a loose ball and nimbly twirled and banked the ball home, and Coupeville had one of its better offensive frames of the season.

Only problem is, Friday Harbor had an answer for every bucket, then tossed in two more just because, and led 14-10 at the first break.

While the Wolves were trailing, they didn’t look or play as if they were down, though, and promptly took control of the game in the second quarter.

Roberts splatted a three-ball from the left side to cut the lead back to one, then after Friday Harbor’s only bucket of the quarter, Coupeville went to work.

Scout Smith drained a long jumper off of an offensive rebound, then Avalon Renninger pump-faked her defender into the parking lot, spun past her and sank a gorgeous little runner.

That shot proved to be huge, as the Wolves would never trail after Renninger crafted her own personal highlight reel.

Three free throws (two from Chelsea Prescott and one from Scout Smith) sent CHS into the locker room up 20-16, then two jumpers from Scout Smith to kick off the third pushed Coupeville’s lead to eight.

Friday Harbor refused to break, running off six straight points to pull back within 24-22, before Roberts ended the third with a free throw and then a long, crisp outlet pass that perfectly led Prescott to a breakaway layup.

All of which set up the frantic fourth.

King praised his team’s effort from top to bottom, while singling out two players for being a catalyst.

“This was Scout’s best game on the young season. She took care of the ball and defensively stepped up with guarding their #12 post player,” King said. “She did a great job sticking with her and not letting her get to the spots she wanted in their offense. She also deflected many passes, very disruptive.

“I’d also like to throw some praise Tia (Wurzrainer’s) way,” he added. “She is still working on being comfortable with handling the ball. Tonight she helped with getting open on their press. Then, after her steals and rebounds, she dribbled out of trouble.”

Roberts filled up the stat sheet, adding nine rebounds, two steals, two assists and three blocks to go with her game-high 16 points.

The scoring outburst carries her five slots higher on the all-time CHS girls basketball career scoring chart, from #35 to #30.

With 332 points and counting, Roberts passes Mia Littlejohn (317), Marie Grasser (321), Taniel Lamb (330), Misty Sellgren (331) and Amanda Allmer (331).

Scout Smith knocked down seven in support of Roberts, while Prescott (4), Renninger (2), Ema Smith (2), Laxton (2) and Davidson (1) also scored.

Ema Smith ripped down eight boards, with Scout Smith adding four rebounds and three steals.

Read Full Post »

To the final point, to the final buzzer!!

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

Kylie Chernikoff had a team-high seven rebounds and three steals Monday, as the Coupeville JV went toe-to-toe with 2A Sequim. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s all about the lessons.

Do you take them in? Do you build on them? Do they foster growth?

The Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad is young (11 of 14 players are freshmen) and still finding its way.

So, while losses like the 35-20 defeat the Wolves absorbed Monday in Sequim hurt in the moment, they can be the start of something bigger as athletes adjust to the difference between high school ball and what came before.

“Attitude and effort are the only things in life you can control,” said Coupeville coach Amy King, and it’s a stark truth.

While the non-conference loss to a 2A school drops the Wolves to 0-2 on the season, they can look to how they responded in the second half as a positive to build on.

Coupeville could not get a shot to drop for much of the first half Monday, with buckets from Kylie Chernikoff and Anya Leavell the only small solace in a 19-4 deficit.

The Wolves struggled to break Sequim’s half-court man press, which made it hard to even get shots launched.

“We had turnover after turnover,” King said. “Passing the ball into the waiting hands of Sequim, who used that to fast break.”

Things took a turn for the positive after Coupeville coaches delivered a halftime pep talk/come to God moment.

“We challenged the team to get out of their own heads and start playing basketball,” King said. “The energy needed to elevate from everybody, talk on defense and get scrappy.”

And scrappy they got, as Leavell and Kiara Contreras led a defensive stand, going after the ball with ramped-up intensity instead of sitting back and letting the play come to them.

With Chernikoff, Ja’Kenya Hoskins and Abby Mulholland cleaning the boards with authority, CHS pushed the flow of the game, playing Sequim even in the second half (16-16), while winning the battle in the fourth quarter 10-4.

“We were stirring up some energy, started moving the ball better and getting open shots,” King said. “We moved the ball like we knew how, and we changed our press break enough to get a few longer passes down the court, which made their defense scramble a little bit.

“If we had played that way in the first half, the game may have turned out a little different.”

Izzy Wells paced the Wolves with eight points, all coming in the second half, while snagging six rebounds.

Leavell netted six, with Chernikoff, Mollie Bailey and Hoskins adding two points apiece to round out the Wolf scoring.

Coupeville’s leader on the glass was the always hard-charging Chernikoff, who ripped down seven rebounds to go with her team-high three steals.

Hoskins added six boards, with Contreras and Kylie Van Velkinburgh each doling out two assists.

All 11 CHS girls in uniform Monday played, with Alana Mihill, Lily Leedy and Morgan Stevens also seeing floor time.

Read Full Post »

“We have fight, despite the score!!”

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

Ema Smith tallied seven points Monday at Sequim, achieving a personal scoring milestone. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Some nights it’s better to look at the small moments instead of gazing too long at the big picture.

There was likely a fair amount of frustration Monday, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team got pounded on the boards, went scoreless for an entire quarter and fell by a considerable margin to host Sequim.

After absorbing a 50-24 defeat at the hands of their 2A foes, keyed by a 21-0 third quarter, the Wolves sit at 0-3 on the still-young season.

But, there were positives buried in the aftermath.

For one, Coupeville rallied in the fourth quarter, winning pride points by closing the game on a 9-4 surge.

And secondly, two Wolf seniors exited the gym having achieved at least a small triumph, as both made moves on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Lindsey Roberts, back after a college trip, led Coupeville with 10 points, which gives her 316 for her career.

She sits in 35th place in program history (1975-2018), and is just 16 points from sliding into the top 30 all-time.

Her running mate, Ema Smith, added seven Monday, cracking the 100-point barrier, becoming just the 97th Wolf female to achieve triple digits in 44 seasons of hardwood play.

So, some grace notes.

Other than that, it was a fairly rough night, as Coupeville struggled at the free-throw line, hitting just 5-20, was out-muscled on the glass and couldn’t slow their foe down.

Sequim built a 13-5 lead after one quarter, stretched the margin out to 15 points midway through the second, and settled for a 25-15 advantage at the half.

Then, disaster.

“Coming out for the third, we didn’t get it done defensively and they had three quick and easy open looks at the basket for scores,” said Coupeville coach David King. “From then on, it was an all-out blitz for Sequim.

“Defensively, we are struggling and just not playing well on that end.”

The Wolves dug deep in the fourth, something their coach wants to build on.

“Some pride took over; it shows we have fight despite the score,” King said. “We have to keep pushing forward and continue to fight like we did tonight.

“It’s going to be baby steps and it starts tomorrow at practice.”

Roberts snagged a team-high nine rebounds and made off with five steals to go with her 10 points, while Ema Smith had seven points and six boards.

Avalon Renninger (4), Tia Wurzrainer (2) and Chelsea Prescott (1) rounded out the scoring, while Hannah Davidson yanked down seven rebounds, Ja’Kenya Hoskins collected five and Scout Smith hauled in four.

Read Full Post »

A tale of two halves!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Sean Toomey-Stout tossed in seven points Monday at Sequim. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Closer and closer, but just not there yet.

The Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball squad has played three games this season, and cut their deficit in each outing.

Now they just need a win.

Attempt #3 went well for 16 minutes, as the Wolves carried a six-point lead in at the break Monday at Sequim, but a cold-shooting second half ultimately doomed them.

Only down by one after three quarters, Coupeville was outscored 14-7 by their hosts and fell 38-30.

The non-conference loss drops CHS to 0-3 on the season, but opportunity lurks, as the Wolves have two more games this week.

“We’ll get there,” said Coupeville coach Brad Sherman. “Just need to get our offense rolling. Shots will start to fall.”

Defense was the name of the game in the first half, as the Wolves held Sequim to single digits, heading to the locker room up 15-9.

After a 5-5 stalemate in the first, Coupeville rode the sweet shooting touch of Hawthorne Wolfe in the second frame.

A pair of buckets and a pair of free throws gave the fab frosh six in the quarter, letting him outscore his rivals by himself.

Unfortunately, while the Wolves doubled their output, scoring another 15 points after the break, Sequim ripped off 29, winning the quarter battles 15-8 and 14-7.

The hosts nailed five of their seven three-point bombs in the second half, and with Coupeville’s lone trey coming courtesy Wolfe in the fourth quarter, that tipped the scales a bit.

Both teams were fairly even at the free-throw line, as Sequim hit 5-7 and CHS finished 5-9.

Wolfe led Coupeville in scoring for the second time in three games, pouring in 11, while junior Sean Toomey-Stout banked home seven in support.

With 26 points apiece, the duo are tied atop the season scoring chart.

Ulrik Wells and Jered Brown added four points apiece in support, while Gavin Knoblich swished a pair of free throws and senior captain Dane Lucero knocked down his first bucket of the season.

Coupeville, which also gave floor time to Mason Grove, Jacobi Pilgrim, Jean Lund-Olsen and Koa Davison, has played teams from three separate classifications, and will soon make it four.

Oak Harbor is 3A, The Bush School 1A and Sequim 2A, while the next two foes, Friday Harbor and Orcas Island, hail from 2B.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »