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Posts Tagged ‘Friday Harbor’

Barn burner, heart breaker

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Daniel Olson and company waged a war Saturday, coming up just short at the end. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

All you can ask for is a chance to win it at the end.

Some shots go in, some pop back out – it’s the story of basketball since the first time someone heaved a ball at a peach basket.

But after fighting back from an 11-point deficit on the road Saturday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys hoops squad got the look it wanted, which is a moral victory at least.

Unfortunately, what could have been a buzzer-beater rimmed out, as they sometimes do, letting host Friday Harbor escape with a gut-clenching 52-51 win.

The loss drops Coupeville to 1-2 on the season, though with a few small things going in the opposite direction, the Wolves are 3-0 at this point.

As he endured an endless wait for a ferry home, Wolf coach Brad Sherman retained his inner calmness.

“I’m not too worried about the record after the first week,” he said.

“If we can put together four quarters with the heart and tenacity we just saw from our guys in that second half, and clean up the boards a little, we are in a really good place down the stretch.”

Playing at Friday Harbor against a team which also entered the day at 1-1, the Wolves stayed close for a quarter, then hit a roadblock in the second eight-minute span.

Down just 11-10 entering the second quarter, Coupeville was outscored 18-8 in the frame, falling behind 29-18 at the break.

The third quarter was a completely different story, however, thanks to Hawthorne Wolfe’s hot hand, as he rained down 10 points to spark a 17-7 surge.

Sophomore Alex Murdy came off the bench to play big-time defense, helping shut down Friday Harbor’s main weapons, and the rally was on.

The fourth quarter was a war, Hagler and Hearns peppering each other with body blows, only this time it was Hawk and Xavier Murdy going toe-to-toe with Dylan Roberson and Kyson Jackson.

The Coupeville main men outscored their Friday Harbor counterparts 16-8 in the final stage, but the Wolverines managed to find just enough scoring from other folks to hold on to their one-point lead through the final buzzer.

Wolfe finished with a game-high 24, and has rung up 82 through the first three games of the season.

With Coupeville’s next two games at home — May 25 against Concrete and May 27 against La Conner — the CHS junior, with 492 career points, is on target to crack the 500-point club in front of his fans.

Xavier Murdy knocked down 12 points Saturday to back Wolfe, while Alex Murdy (5), Daniel Olson (4), Logan Downes (3), and Grady Rickner (3) also scored.

Logan Martin, Sage Downes, and TJ Rickner all saw floor time, as well.

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Strong effort, no win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Cole White hit for a team-high 16 Saturday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A bounce here, a bounce there.

The Coupeville High School JV boys basketball team played strongly Saturday at Friday Harbor, but couldn’t seem to quite get over the hump against their undefeated foes.

A buzzer-beating three-ball at the end of the first half hurt, and, though they crawled back to within six points in the waning moments, the Wolves fell 57-46.

The loss drops Coupeville’s JV to 0-3 on the season, while their Friday Harbor counterparts improve to 3-0.

The host Wolverines jumped out to an early advantage, leading 13-8 at the first break, before stretching the margin to 31-22 by the half.

It should have been closer, but Friday Harbor caught a favorable rim, with a last-second heave running around the oval, hitting nearly every angle, before somehow flopping through the hoop as the halftime horn sounded.

Coupeville kept at it, playing the Wolverines nearly even in the second half, and getting the deficit down to 50-44 in the late going.

But despite the hot shooting touch of swing players Cole White and Jonathan Valenzuela, time ran out for the Wolves as Friday Harbor closed the game on a 7-2 run.

White paced CHS with 16, including netting a pair of three-balls, while Valenzuela backed him up with a solid 13-point effort.

Nick Guay (7), Zane Oldenstadt (4), Dominic Coffman (2), Quentin Simpson-Pilgrim (2), and Mikey Robinett (2) also scored, while Andrew Williams, Ryan Blouin, and Nathan Ginnings saw floor time.

Coupeville’s next opponent, Concrete, doesn’t have an active JV program, so the young Wolves next take the court Thursday, May 27 when La Conner visits Whidbey Island.

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Stuurmans is a savage

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville 8th grader Lyla Stuurmans scored 16 points in two quarters Saturday, lifting the high school JV to a road win, capping a busy day in which she also scored her first varsity points. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Lyla Stuurmans played a lot like her coach did back in the day.

Limited to just two quarters Saturday, after also playing in the varsity game, the 8th grader pumped in 16 points to spark the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad to a big win on Friday Harbor.

With the 34-20 victory, the Wolves even their season record at 1-1.

Coupeville JV coach Megan Smith filled up the basket as a player, and she sits as the #4 varsity scorer in Wolf girls history.

Stuurmans may still have a ways to go to get to Smith’s level, but the silky-smooth shooter has already shown she can drop buckets with the best of them.

After scoring her first varsity points earlier in the day, Stuurmans went off for 12 points in the first quarter of the JV contest, including nailing a three-ball from behind the arc.

With fellow 8th grader Madison McMillan adding six points to the cause, the Wolves jumped all over Friday Harbor, pounding out to an 18-2 advantage by the first break.

From there it was all easy street, with Coupeville pushing the lead out to 24-4 at the half and 30-10 by the end of the third quarter.

Friday Harbor finally found a fighting chance in the fourth, scoring half of its points and trimming the margin just a bit before the buzzer ended things.

McMillan finished with 10 points to back Stuurmans and her 16, while Skylar Parker netted a pair of buckets to nab her first four points of the season.

Jessenia Camarena and Katie Marti rounded out the scorers, with two points apiece, while Bryley Gilbert, Pam Morrell, Kassidy Upchurch, Morgan Stevens, Reese Wilkinson, and Desi Ramirez also saw floor time.

With most of the Northwest 2B/1B League schools not fielding girls JV teams this season, the Wolves only have a four-game schedule, instead of the 12 their varsity counterparts are set to play.

That means the Coupeville second crew doesn’t play again until June 5, when they travel to Orcas Island, and June 8, when they host Friday Harbor in a rematch of Saturday’s bout.

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Second-half surge seals sweet success

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Sophomore sharpshooter Ryanne Knoblich scored her first varsity points Saturday, helping Coupeville storm to a big road win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Savina Wells rifles a pass to Maddie Georges, who cracked an exclusive scoring club.

“They finally busted out as a team.”

Roaring out of the halftime locker room, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball squad obliterated host Friday Harbor in the second half Saturday.

Turning a one-point halftime deficit into a double-digits victory, the Wolves captured a 38-25 win, and put a smile on coach Scott Fox’s face.

“After coming out flat from an early morning reveille and long ferry ride, we turned it up and came out firing on all cylinders in the second half,” he said.

“They all contributed. This was a great road win for a young team.”

Coming hot on the heels of a narrow loss at home less than 48 hours before, the victory lifts Coupeville to 1-2 at the quarter mark of this pandemic-altered 12-game season.

The Wolves now head home for back-to-back home games, with Concrete coming to Whidbey Tuesday, May 25, before Northwest 2B/1B League powerhouse La Conner arrives two days later.

Those are challenges for other days, however. For the moment, let Coupeville bask in the glow of victory.

Saturday’s game tipped at 11:30 AM, which meant the Wolves left their own gym at 7:45.

Once on the floor, they stayed close, leading 7-5 after one quarter, before slipping behind 12-11 at the half.

The third quarter was all Coupeville, however, with junior guard Audrianna Shaw throwing down seven of her game-high 12 points to spur an 18-8 Wolf run.

She got plenty of help, with Kylie Van Velkinburgh adding five in the quarter, while Maddie Georges banked in three, Izzy Wells popped for two, and Carolyn Lhamon tickled the twines for a free throw.

The Wolves kept the defensive pressure on through the fourth quarter, coasting in for the win.

Georges, Coupeville’s sophomore point guard, made a little history in the final frame, swishing a three-ball to officially move into the 100-point club.

With six points Saturday, she sits with 102 points, and is the 101st Wolf girl to hit triple-digits since the CHS girls program began in 1974.

Passing Monica Vidoni (97), Lupine Wutzke (98), and Sue Wyatt (100), Georges is now #100 on the career scoring chart, a small burst away from shooting even higher.

It wasn’t the only history, as sophomore Ryanne Knoblich and 8th grader Lyla Stuurmans both knocked down buckets in the fourth, scoring their first varsity points, joining an exclusive club which now numbers 233 girls.

Stuurmans is in an even-more exclusive club, as she and Savina Wells are the only 8th grade girls to score in a CHS varsity hoops game.

On the day, Shaw led the books with 12 points, including a pair of long-range three-balls.

The always-efficient Izzy Wells (6), Georges (6), Van Velkinburgh (5), Lhamon (3), Stuurmans (2), Knoblich (2), and Savina Wells (2) also scored.

Anya Leavell, making her season debut, and Morgan Stevens both saw solid floor time for the Wolves.

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Friday Harbor athletes return to action

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on April 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

With Friday Harbor athletes returning to action, Coupeville hoops players like Logan Martin can look forward (hopefully) to playing a 12-game season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Everyone in the Northwest 2B/1B League is playing basketball.

At least that’s the plan as of April 27.

Here in the Age of Coronavirus, everything could be changed by April 28, of course.

But, for now, the news is good, as Friday Harbor High School, which completely opted out of playing fall sports after a surge in positive Covid cases, announced Tuesday it intends to return to competition as its students go back to in-person education.

“With the return of students to school on Monday, May 3rd, sports season three (winter) has also been approved to begin,” said Friday Harbor Athletic Director Brock Hauck.

“Girls and boys basketball practices will start on Monday, May 3rd,” he added. “A decision on the wrestling season is still to be determined.”

Since Coupeville doesn’t have a wrestling program, the last part of that statement has little impact on the Wolves.

But the first half is a bonus, as it suggests (for the moment, at least) that CHS will have a full (by pandemic season standards) 12-game basketball schedule.

Current plans call for the final season of the 2020-2021 school year to start May 3, with basketball games running May 18-June 17.

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