Sophomore slugger Katie Marti tore up the hardwood on both ends of the floor Friday night. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
No time to think about what might have been.
Minutes away from clinching a playoff berth Friday night, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad couldn’t quite seal the deal, but the Wolves will get a second chance Saturday at high noon.
Squandering a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, CHS fell 49-47 in overtime at Friday Harbor.
Having split their season series, with both teams winning at home, the Wolves and Wolverines spar on a neutral court in La Conner a mere 18 hours after their most-recent rumble ended.
Since it’s a tiebreaker and not a playoff game, regular season admission prices will be charged.
The stakes are simple.
Whichever team wins Saturday is the #2 playoff seed from District 1 and joins top-seeded La Conner and District 2’s Auburn Adventist Academy and Northwest Christian (Lacey) at the bi-district tourney Monday, Feb. 13 at Coupeville’s gym.
The loser packs up and heads off to think about spring sports.
Coupeville seniors (l to r) Carolyn Lhamon, Maddie Georges, Ryanne Knoblich, Alita Blouin, and Gwen Gustafson have unfinished business. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Friday’s bout was one-sided for much of the night, with Coupeville, now 8-10 after the loss, leading almost start to finish.
The game had three ties — at 4-4 very early, then 42-42 with six seconds left in regulation, and finally 46-46 late in overtime.
Gwen Gustafson drilled the bottom out of the net to kick off the fourth quarter, taking an Alita Blouin pass and rising up to give CHS its biggest lead of the night at 40-26.
The Wolves still led 42-30 minutes later, after Maddie Georges came flying round the corner to bury a runner over outstretched hands.
And then, everything that could go wrong went wrong for Coupeville, as their hosts ended regulation on a 12-0 tear with the clock madly ticking down.
A late three-ball from McKenna Clark, who led Friday Harbor with 17 points, was a knife in the ribs, but so was a questionable travel call on the Wolves in the waning seconds.
Give the Wolverines credit, though.
After clanking numerous shots all night — Friday Harbor was just 14-27 on free throws while Coupeville was 9-15 — the host team seemingly couldn’t miss at crunch time.
Or in overtime, as Wolverine gunner Mia Blackmon scored her only points of the night on a three-ball to open the extra four-minute frame.
From there, the teams exchanged free throws, with Georges sinking four straight before fouling out, but Coupeville ran out of time as the locals went bonkers.
The wild finish capped a game which began with the Wolves jumping out to a 10-5 lead after one quarter of play.
Georges popped the net on a long three-ball, before Blouin nailed the first of her three treys to key a run in the second quarter.
Rampaging sophomore Katie Marti came up huge in the first half, whistling perfect set-up passes to Blouin and Gustafson, while also outwrestling multiple foes for rebounds.
Up 27-19 at the break after Carolyn Lhamon sank a jumper to send the teams to the locker room, the Wolves rode a nine-point third quarter from Blouin to stake themselves to a 38-26 lead heading into the fourth.
Blouin paced the Wolves, rippling the nets for 17 points, while Georges (13), Lhamon (6), Gustafson (6), Ryanne Knoblich (3), and Marti (2) also scored.
Mia Farris and Lyla Stuurmans both shone brightly on the defensive end of the floor for Coupeville.
Coupeville Sports 