Laurel Crowder rolls to the hoop. (Julie Wheat photos)
It was a prime-time showdown in Cow Town.
Playing their final home games of the season Monday, the Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball squads went wire-to-wire with visiting Sultan, producing three royal rumbles, two of which came down to the final seconds.
And while the Skyhawks managed to escape with a pair of wins, the Wolves captured the final bout, sending the locals to their cars riding a wave of good will.
How the day played out:
Level 1:
A second-half rally fell just short for Coupeville, with a potential game-winning three-ball bouncing off the rim at the buzzer in a 28-26 loss.
The defeat drops CHS to 1-5 on the season, but the Wolves win/loss record is deceptive, as they’ve been competitive almost every time out.
Monday’s game was a big step forward for Coupeville after a lopsided loss to Lakewood, the Cascade League’s best team by a country mile.
The Wolves got on the board first this time out, with Aubrey Flowers draining a jumper, and led three times in the opening quarter before Sultan crept ahead 8-6 at the first break.
The defensive effort was strong all across the roster, with Laurel Crowder and Finley Helm cleaning the boards, and Cami Van Dyke popping up in every nook and cranny to make off with multiple steals in the early going.
The offense, however, took a hit, with Coupeville not converting a field goal in the second quarter until Crowder made off with a steal and turned it into a breakaway bucket with just 11 ticks left on the first-half clock.
Trailing 15-8 at the half, the Wolves needed a spark, and almost immediately found one as the third quarter began.
Helm crashed through the paint, banked in a basket and earned a free throw — which she made — before Van Dyke splashed home a three-ball from the right side, and suddenly Sultan was on its heels.
CMS kept the visitors scrambling, with Kaleigha Millison and Zayne Roos tickling the twines to turn the deficit into an advantage.
Millison knocked down two gracefully arcing free throws, with each ball almost scraping the ceiling before dropping through the net, then nailed her own three-ball while flying up court, giving her team its first lead since the opening quarter.
Sultan pulled back ahead 22-21 at the end of the third, though, and never gave the lead back during a tense final frame.
Big defensive moments — Roos rising up to deliver a block, Emma Green forcing turnovers on consecutive plays — kept Coupeville close, and it had the ball with four seconds to play.
Needing to go the length of the floor under extreme pressure, the Wolves did, and the final shot, lofted on the run, had a realistic chance but wouldn’t go down, allowing Sultan’s often-yappy fans to breathe easier.
Coupeville spread out its offensive attack, with eight of 11 players scoring.
Crowder (6), Millison (5), and Helm (5) led the way, with Van Dyke (3), Flowers (2), Roos (2), Green (2), and Anna Powers (1) also notching points.
Bella Sandlin, Sabrina Judnich, and Claire Lachnit also saw floor time, with all three bringing heat on the defensive end of the floor.
“Tonight was a strong team effort from all the teams,” said CMS coach Brooke Crowder.
“Kaleigha set the tone with her energy and aggressive drives to the basket. Zayne gave us great help defense and attacked the rim with confidence.”
Kaleigha Millison makes it rain.
Level 2:
Another strong second-half performance, another narrow loss, as Coupeville fell 28-17 after pulling to within five late in the game.
The Wolves, now 0-6, led twice in the early going, with Annabelle Cundiff opening the game’s scoring and Reagan Green turning an offensive rebound into a bucket to stake her squad to a 4-3 advantage.
Unfortunately for CMS, it went about 12 minutes without a field goal after that put-back and had to play catch-up the rest of the way.
Down just 5-4 after one quarter of action, the Wolves saw the margin widen to 11-4 at the half and 15-4 at the halfway point of the third quarter.
Juniper Dotson finally broke the scoreless streak, lofting in a free throw, and the charity shot seemed to spark something for the hardwood heroes, as they suddenly started hitting just about everything.
Cundiff banked in a pair of runners to close out the third, before Halle Black and Abby Hunt drilled line-drive shots to open the fourth.
With Dotson diving and darting and dishing some very John Stockton-like passes, Coupeville ripped off 13 points in a six-minute-plus run, and what had been a blowout was cut all the way down to 22-17, fueling hopes of a comeback win.
To give Sultan credit, the Skyhawks didn’t panic, and came up big down the stretch, closing things out with a 6-0 mini-run, but Coupeville’s girls displayed big-time grit, selling out on defense and flashing a great deal of promise for the future.
Cundiff rattled the rims for a team-high six, with Dotson (3), Black (2), Emily Rains (2), Green (2), and Hunt (2) also scoring, while Arianna Vinson, Claire Lachnit, and Ava Alford rounded out the rotation.
And a big shout-out to 6th grader Halle Black who unofficially ripped down 12,742 rebounds, give or take one or two, as she thoroughly dominated the glass-cleaning business.
Brooke Crowder also praised the play of a trio of other big-effort players.
“Juniper played with a lot of composure, moved the ball well, and contributed with hustle and smart help defense,” she said.
“Claire took on the tough assignment of guarding their top scorers and did a great job disrupting them. Annabelle was aggressive getting to the rim, communicated well with teammates, and added key scoring for us.”
Nikolette Dunham splits the defense.
Level 3:
With other, larger schools not having the numbers to match Coupeville’s roster, the third Wolf squad has only gotten to play three games this season yet is now 2-1 after rolling to a 21-17 win.
Unlike the first two games Monday, where CMS suffered through scoring droughts, this time around it was the home team that went off on a torrid run.
After giving up the game’s first bucket, the Wolves lit the fuse on an explosion to stake themselves to a solid 14-5 lead at the half.
Daisy Leedy-Bonifas was a wild woman, terrorizing Sultan on defense with steal after steal, before crashing through the paint, hunting buckets even while being repeatedly hit in the face, often sending her glasses off on their own adventure.
She combined with a rampaging Danielle Halsing, who went coast-to-coast for one basket before backing her defender down and banking in another, the 6th grade duo providing a potent one-two combo.
While both team’s offense sputtered a bit in the third, with Sultan outscoring Coupeville by a modest 3-1, things revved back up in the final frame.
Ellie Callahan hit a turnaround jumper, followed by Halsing putting a rebound back up and in, and the Wolves were rockin’ and rollin’ up 19-10.
But Sultan wasn’t done.
The Skyhawks trimmed the deficit back to 19-17 and had multiple shots to tie as the clock crashed down (ever so slowly) to 0:00 but couldn’t force the stalemate.
Instead, it was time for Nikolette Dunham to come up with the biggest play of her young hoops career to ice the win.
With the ball skittering across the floor with under 20 ticks to play, and all 10 girls grabbing at it, it was Dunham who came up with the loose ball.
And Dunham who, instead of trying to milk the clock, immediately turned and rained down a game-busting jumper from the side.
Ice cold, and the perfect dagger.
That final bucket gave Dunham four points, while Halsing and Leedy-Bonifas each went for six to top the Wolves.
Abby Hunt (2), Callahan (2), and Amira Anunciado (1) also scored, with Ruby Folkestad, Millie Somes, Leah Hernandez, and Arianna Vinson joining the victory celebration.
The Wolf coaches praised their entire roster, while giving a little extra spotlight to three who made key contributions.
“Amira worked hard defensively with strong body positioning and disciplined closeouts,” Brooke Crowder said.
“Dani created momentum with steals, knocked down some big shots, and found open space in the offense. Nikolette showed great tenacity going after the ball and stepping up to take good shots.”
What’s next:
Coupeville finishes the season on the road this week, with trips Tuesday to South Whidbey and Thursday to Granite Falls.
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