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Posts Tagged ‘girls basketball’

Cold shooting freezes Wolves on icy night

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 12, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Jada Heaton heads off to rough up some folks. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The offense went back into the deep freeze.

A season-long struggle to mount a consistent offensive attack resurfaced Friday night for the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad, sending it to a narrow league loss on icy Orcas Island.

Poor shooting in the second half, and a subpar performance at the free throw line, doomed the Wolves, who squandered a nine-point halftime lead before falling 31-26.

The defeat, coming to an Orcas team it beat earlier this season in a “non-conference” game, drops Coupeville to 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-7 overall.

Failing to sweep the Vikings also stings for the Wolves as next week may be their biggest challenge of the season.

Always tough La Conner, league leader Mount Vernon Christian, and state juggernaut Neah Bay are all slated to visit Cow Town over a five-day period between Jan. 16-20.

If the Wolves want to survive, and thrive, against a murderer’s row of hardcourt assassins, they will need to generate some offense.

Or at least more than they did on Orcas.

Up 19-10 at the break, CHS was outscored 21-7 over the game’s final 16 minutes.

Not helping things was a disparity at the charity stripe.

While the Wolves got to the line more than the Vikings, they slid most of their shots off the rim, finishing 2-10 while Orcas was a perfect 4-4 on free shots.

Three of those misses came as the game slipped away in the fourth quarter.

Coupeville was still hanging on, by a thread, up 23-22 after three frames, but was outscored 9-3 in the fourth.

That was a change from earlier in the night, when the Wolves were popping their shots.

Snipers (l to r) Mia Farris, Katie Marti, and Lyla Stuurmans combined to score 22 of Coupeville’s 26 points Friday night. (Jackie Saia photo)

Up 6-4 after a defensive-minded opening quarter, Coupeville used a 13-6 run in the second to build a solid lead.

Lyla Stuurmans and Katie Marti were a superb wham-bam duo in the frame, combining for nine points to outscore Orcas by themselves.

Both Stuurmans and Mia Farris netted a three-ball apiece, as they tallied 10 and seven points in the game to lead the Wolves.

Marti knocked down five, while Teagan Calkins and Madison McMillan each chipped in with a bucket to round out the attack.

 

No JV game:

Orcas started the season with a partial JV squad, but time has whittled its numbers down, and the Vikings called off the remainder of the second squad’s season.

That left Coupeville’s young guns without a game Friday, but they’ll get back at it next week with a pair of home games.

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WIAA still in love with fake teams

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“We’re #1! We don’t have a team, but we’re #1!!!”

Psst, someone tell the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association its basketball rankings system is still broken.

It was just days ago that the WIAA finally corrected — after three weeks — the fact it had a boys’ hoops squad ranked #1 despite that team not actually existing this season.

You can read about it here:

WIAA ranks seemingly non-existent boys’ hoops team #1

And now the cucumber sandwich eatin’ scalawags are back at it.

A scan of the WIAA’s RPI rankings Tuesday reveals the sudden emergence of something called Firm Foundation Christian as the new #1 among 1B girls.

Not Neah Bay, not Crosspoint, not Mount Vernon Christian — the triple threat trio of the division.

Firm Foundation Christian.

The Eagles boast a 1-0 record, with a win Jan. 9 over the Washington School for the Deaf, which is 2-2, and … oh, here we go again.

When you click through from the WIAA, you find Firm Foundation Christian doesn’t even list a girls’ basketball team on its site, just a boys’ team.

Look over at the Washington School for the Deaf, and its girls’ team shows a 2-1 record, not 2-2, with no record of any contest against Firm Foundation Christian.

So off I went to the actual school website for Firm Foundation Christian … and, yep, no active girls’ hoops program.

The Eagles currently offer volleyball and boys’ basketball and plan to offer girls’ basketball in the future.

And when that first team arrives at some later date, it’ll be nice to know the program has already been ranked #1 in the state.

So, they got that going for them, which is nice.

The WIAA, which uses those RPI rankings when it goes to seed teams for the state playoffs?

Them folks still need to put down the cucumber sandwiches and keep a closer eye on their computers, which appear to be going haywire worse than SkyNet.

Otherwise, we all might start thinking the organization isn’t very good at this whole ranking thing.

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Teagan’s gonna terrorize you!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School sophomore Teagan Calkins delivered a breakout performance Monday, fueling a big varsity win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Some people eat chicken soup when they’re sick.

For Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball coach Megan Richter, the best (temporary) cure for her illness is seeing her sophomore sensation play like a wild woman.

Sparked by a breakout performance by Teagan Calkins, the Wolves rallied twice Monday, before burying visiting Auburn Adventist Academy 38-24.

The non-conference victory lifts CHS to 5-6 on the season, with a road trip to Orcas Island Friday up next on the schedule.

Coupeville has already beaten the Vikings once this year, but that game didn’t count in the league standings. Second time around, it most certainly does.

The Wolves will roll into that conference showdown carrying a two-game winning streak and with Calkins and Madison McMillan, who had 12 points Monday, coming off of season-best scoring performances.

Richter only went six players deep against Auburn and got strong work from everyone on the floor.

The Eagles were combative, however, jumping out to a 7-1 lead, before holding on to carry a 10-7 lead into the first break.

The wham-bam duo of Mia Farris and Jada Heaton hit the boards hard for Coupeville in the opening frame, helping keep the hometown squad in the game.

Farris put one of her boards right back up for a bucket, while yanking down another, spinning, and feeding Heaton for a quick two points off of another carom.

Auburn nailed a jumper to open the second quarter, then Coupeville claimed its first lead of the night thanks to an 11-0 tear.

McMillan drilled the bottom out of the net on a three-ball, while also making off with a steal she turned into a breakaway bucket, while Calkins shot up the gut, splitting defenders for another key score during the run.

Madison McMillan eyeballs the net before sending it a gift.

A late three-ball, coming on a pullup jumper from an Eagle gunner, cut Coupeville’s lead back to 18-15 at the half, but the Wolves never flinched.

They did give up seven straight points to open the third, falling behind 22-18, but then promptly went into lock-down mode on defense.

Coupeville closed the third on a 9-0 surge, and the game itself on a 20-2 explosion.

Key to the game-clinching rally was a play on which Farris ripped a ball free from a rival, then flicked a pass to McMillan, who rose to the skies and drained her second three-ball of the game.

CHS converted several offensive rebounds into buckets in the game’s waning minutes, with Calkins hitting a jaw-dropping turnaround jumper off of one.

Not content to stop there, the rising star smashed her way through the lane on back-to-back scoring runs, with McMillan setting up both on superb passes.

It was a night to remember for Calkins, who entered play having scored 16 career varsity points, then almost doubled that in one game.

With her and McMillan combining for 25 points, they outscored Auburn by themselves.

But just to make things safe, Marti banked in five, while Farris and Heaton slapped home four points each.

While Lyla Stuurmans didn’t score on this night, “The Franchise” was her usual nimble self on defense, springing around and putting the fear of God into any Eagle even slightly thinking about firing off a shot.

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Balanced scoring, beautiful win

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Ari Cunningham is a lock-down defender. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Now that’s some depth.

With 10 players scoring Monday night, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball team blitzed visiting Auburn Adventist Academy from every angle.

Leading from start to finish, the Wolves grounded the Eagles, rolling to a 37-18 non-conference victory in their first game in almost a month.

Now 3-4 on the season, CHS has nabbed back-to-back wins — with the first of those coming way back on Dec. 19.

After that win over Forks, the JV sat, with only Coupeville’s varsity making trips to Eastern Washington for holiday tournament play and then to Darrington.

And now, basking in another win, the young guns will sit again for eight days, as the next foe on the schedule, Orcas Island, only has a varsity squad this season.

Kassie O’Neil’s squad is slated to return to action Jan. 16 with a home rumble against La Conner, and hopefully their coach will be able to join them.

She was out sick Monday, but fellow Wolf coach Lark Gustafson stepped in and led the team to the win.

What he got was extremely well-balanced scoring, with four different players tying for top honors with six points apiece.

“Good team game,” Gustafson said. “Lots of good hustle and able to get everyone some playing time.”

He praised his roster of rock ’em, sock ’em warriors, with a special shoutout to one of Coupeville’s key scrappers.

“Ari (Cunningham) might not have had a lot of points,” Gustafson said. “But she had great steals and rebounds and hustle.”

Coupeville edged out to a 6-2 lead after a defensive-orientated first quarter, before stretching the margin to 12-6 by the half.

The third quarter was where the Wolves really brought the heat, however, going on a 14-4 rampage to blow things wide open.

Five different CHS players scored in the frame, with 8th grader Adie Maynes leading the way, as she torched the nets for all six of her points.

Haylee Armstrong, Brynn Parker, and Lexis Drake matched her total on the night, with Tenley Stuurmans banking in four points.

Bryley Gilbert (2), Capri Anter (2), Taylor Marrs (2), Chelsi Stevens (2), and Cunningham (1) rounded out the attack, with Ava Lucero clamping down on the defensive end of the floor.

Ava Lucero looks for an open teammate.

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Offense clicks, Wolves thrash Loggers

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Lyla Stuurmans and her crew put together a strong offensive performance Friday in Darrington. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The offense was en fuego.

Kicking off 2024 in grand fashion, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team poured in a season-high Friday, thrashing host Darrington 57-14.

The victory lifts the Wolves to 1-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-6 overall, and could be a huge confidence builder going into the second half of the season.

Coupeville has been inspired on defense at times, but struggled to generate consistent offense, scoring 25 or fewer points in six of its first nine games.

Something changed Friday, and in a big way, as the Wolves opened the game on a 25-0 tear, then closed it on another 25-0 run.

Everyone was dialed in, with nine different players scoring, including Reese Wilkinson and Kayla Arnold notching their first varsity points.

In the early going it was Lyla Stuurmans with the hot hand, burying a pair of silky jumpers before scampering back on defense to harass and terrorize anyone foolish enough to wander into her part of the court.

A steal and breakaway bucket for Katie Marti stretched the first quarter lead out to 9-0, then it was time for Mia the Magnificent to take center stage.

Mixing in free throws with jumpers, steals with rebounds, Mia Farris poured in nine points in the final three minutes of the opening frame, powering CHS to a 23-0 lead at the first break.

Megan Richter discusses strategy. “The ball … put it in the basket.”

Now, the Wolves did calm down for a bit after that, but just for a bit.

Stuurmans went coast to coast to open the second quarter, before Darrington finally netted its first bucket 10.5 minutes into the game.

Once they finally unlocked the riddle of the rim, the Loggers hung tough, trailing 30-7 at the half, before getting the lead down to 32-14 after a run to open the third quarter.

Super sophomore Teagan Calkins, who spent the night crashing hard to the hoop, brought an end to Darrington’s brief comeback hopes however, swishing a free throw and kicking off the game’s second 25-0 tear.

Katie Marti closed the third with a three-ball from the side, followed by an out of control run up the middle where the ball bounced high off the rim, looked around at the crowd for a moment or two, then somehow caught just the right angle and slid through the net as the Wolves went bonkers.

The fourth quarter was all Wolves, with Calkins, Farris, and Marti taking turns dropping daggers.

Wilkinson, a hard-working defensive dynamo, got her reward late, popping in her first varsity basket off of a rebound and dish from Farris, before team sparkplug Jada Heaton closed things with her own putback.

Marti led all scorers, raining down 17 as she broke a tie with mom Christi Messner on the CHS girls career scoring chart.

The fiery one got plenty of help, with Farris slipping 15 points through the net, while Calkins hit a varsity career-high eight.

That burst of offense carried Mia the Magnificent to entrance into the 100-point club for her high school varsity preps career.

Stuurmans (6), Haylee Armstrong (3), Wilkinson (2), Arnold (2), Madison McMillan (2), and Heaton (2) rounded out the season-best explosion at the points factory.

Skylar Parker, Bryley Gilbert, and Brynn Parker also saw floor times for the Wolves, who return home Monday to face non-conference foe Auburn Adventist Academy.

 

No JV game:

Darrington is not fielding a second team this season, so Kassie O’Neil’s squad had the night off.

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