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“They’re as good as advertised”

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on June 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Wolf point guard Maddie Georges returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing two games with an injury. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Not much changed.

Six days ago, the young, scrappy Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team clashed with high-flying La Conner, most likely the best 2B hoops squad in the land.

The Wolves lost that game 74-15, and the rematch Wednesday went almost note for note, with CHS falling 79-13 on the road this time out.

The loss drops Coupeville to 3-4 on the season, while La Conner rolls to 8-0 overall, 7-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play.

And things don’t get a whole lot easier for the Wolves, who return home Thursday to face Mount Vernon Christian (6-1) in the backend of a brutal twin-bill.

One positive note out of Wednesday’s scuffle was the return of starting point guard Maddie Georges, back after missing two games with an ankle injury.

Having their floor leader back on the hardwood helped, at least a bit, but La Conner’s defense was suffocating and unforgiving.

Every loose ball turned into a breakaway, every tentative pass was deflected back the other way, and the Braves rarely missed when they had the ball in the open court.

Tuesday night La Conner faced off with MVC in a battle of unbeatens, and pasted the Hurricanes by 25 points.

Wednesday was more of the same, but by a much-bigger margin.

The Braves scored the first 12 points of the game, before Ja’Kenya Hoskins got CHS on the board with a free throw at the 4:31 mark of the first quarter.

From there, La Conner stretched the margin out to 29-3 at the first break, and 47-10 at the half.

The first of back-to-back three-balls to open the third quarter pushed the game into mercy-rule territory, and a running clock was in use for the game’s final 14+ minutes.

Even so, La Conner closed out its Senior Night with a 32-3 advantage in the second half, with Coupeville’s lone basket being a three-ball off of George’s fingertips.

Afterwards, Wolf coach Scott Fox was philosophical about the clash with a team which would be a heavy favorite if there was a traditional state tourney this school year.

“It wasn’t our best performance and they’re as good as advertised,” he said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively, and had a hard time stopping them defensively.

“Bottom line is a home game against another powerhouse tomorrow night, and see if we can improve on today’s performance.”

Seven Wolves scored in the game, led by Georges and her three-ball.

Audrianna Shaw (2), Kylie Van Velkinburgh (2), Izzy Wells (2), Anya Leavell (2), Ryanne Knoblich (1), and Hoskins (1) all tallied points, with Lyla Stuurmans, Morgan Stevens, Savina Wells, and Gwen Gustafson seeing floor time.

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Braves flip script, upend Wolf JV girls

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on June 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Morgan Stevens and the Coupeville High School JV girls played strong defense Wednesday, but lost at La Conner. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Wolf coach Megan Smith ponders the universe.

Well, that was unexpected.

Playing for the first time in a week-and-a-half, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball team faced two different La Conner teams Wednesday afternoon.

It was the same players, but the Braves, who couldn’t buy a bucket for 22 minutes, suddenly became a five-pack of sharpshooters in the game’s final 10 minutes, rallying to bounce the visiting Wolves 25-19.

La Conner trailed 14-6 with a hair over two minutes left in the third quarter, before closing on a 19-5 tear which seemed to come virtually out of nowhere.

The loss drops Coupeville to 1-2 on the season.

It was an oddly-paced game from start to finish, as both teams failed to generate much offense in the first half.

La Conner actually got on the board first, when a Hail Mary three-ball somehow found the bottom of the net after 145 scoreless seconds to open play.

Coupeville responded, slowly but surely, using free throws from Madison McMillan and Lyla Stuurmans, packaged around Stuurmans going coast-to-coast on a breakaway, to ease out to a 4-3 lead at the first break.

Stuurmans bucket was set up by a steal and dish by Reese Wilkinson, and she, Katie Marti, and Skylar Parker brought the defensive heat all game.

If the first quarter didn’t make the scoreboard operator have to do a whole lot of work, the second frame was largely the same.

La Conner hit another three-ball which was more about luck than skill, while Coupeville managed just a pair of Marti free-throws, one coming early in the quarter, the other late.

Things took a quick turn for the better in the third quarter — or so it seemed — as the Wolves burst out of the locker room with an 8-0 run.

Jessenia Camarena drilled the bottom out of the net on a jumper to kickstart things, followed by Stuurmans snatching a defensive rebound, then hitting turbo on an end-to-end run for a layup.

McMillan notched Coupeville’s next two buckets, the first off a steal, the second courtesy a rebound, and up 14-6, the Wolves seemed golden.

Spoiler alert — they were not.

The rims at the Landy James Activity Center suddenly refused to accept any CHS shots, no matter whether they came from in the paint or out beyond the arc.

At the same exact moment in time, La Conner’s JV girls morphed before our very eyes from a wildly-inconsistent squad into one which somewhat resembled their school’s high-flying varsity.

The Braves closed the third quarter on a 5-0 run, and this time a three-ball which tumbled through the sky looked crisp and intended.

Things got worse from there — for Coupeville at least — as La Conner scored the first 10 points of the final frame, capping a 15-0 run which left at least one person watching the video stream flabbergasted.

Me, it was me.

Coupeville finally stopped the bleeding when McMillan slapped home a layup off of a long outlet pass from Stuurmans, but time ran away from the Wolves.

“Unfortunately for us, their shots started to fall and ours stopped falling,” said CHS coach Megan Smith. “Definitely a learning game for us, and we will go back to practice and fix a few things to get ready for Orcas on Saturday.

“We played hard and left it all on the court,” she added. “No coach can be mad about that though.”

McMillan and Stuurmans paced CHS, both finishing with seven points, while Marti banked in three, and Camarena rounded out the scorers with two.

Desi Ramirez, Kassidy Upchurch, Pam Morrell, Parker, Wilkinson, Morgan Stevens, and Bryley Gilbert all saw floor time for the Wolves.

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Short memories, sweet shots

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on May 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“My name is Izzy Wells, and I’m here to torch the joint.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Right back where they want to be.

A night after losing to likely the best 2B team in the state, the Coupeville High School girls basketball team rediscovered that winning feeling.

With nine players dropping in buckets, the Wolves ran circles around host Darrington Friday, coming away with a highly-satisfying 45-11 win.

The victory, the third in the last four games for Coupeville, lifts it to 3-3 at the halfway point of a pandemic-altered season.

“A nice bounce back win,” said CHS coach Scott Fox. “Everyone saw minutes tonight and it was a great way to end the first half of the season.”

Thursday, the very-young Wolves, who play two 8th graders and are missing injured point guard Maddie Georges, had few answers for undefeated La Conner.

Jump forward a night, and Coupeville, after riding a bus to the wilds of Darrington, came out hyper-focused and ready to rumble.

Five players scored in the first quarter, with Izzy Wells leading the way, and the Wolves carried a 13-4 advantage to the first break.

Coupeville never relented, posting 11-2, 10-2, and 11-3 runs across the next three quarters, while clamping down on defense.

Ten Wolves hit the floor Friday, with Izzy Wells singing the nets for a game and season high 10 points.

She was backed by Gwen Gustafson, who banked in seven points, and the three-pack of Lyla Stuurmans, Audrianna Shaw, and Ja’Kenya Hoskins, who each hit for five.

Ryanne Knoblich (4), Carolyn Lhamon (4), Savina Wells (3), and Kylie Van Velkinburgh (2) also scored, while Morgan Stevens brought considerable defensive heat to the floor.

Stuurmans and Shaw both netted a three-ball.

 

No JV action:

Darrington only has one team, so Coupeville’s second squad had the night off.

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Wolves scrappy, but Braves brutally good

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

Lyla Stuurmans and a young Coupeville High School girls hoops squad fought valiantly Thursday, but fell to a state powerhouse. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

There was a state championship-caliber girls basketball team on the floor Thursday night in Coupeville.

Unfortunately for local fans, it was not the Wolves.

Coupeville is a very-young, often very-scrappy team with a bright future, but the Braves are very much in their prime.

La Conner, which played in the 2B state title game a year ago, has already beaten 1A royalty King’s this season, and is currently obliterating competition in the Northwest 2B/1B League.

Thursday, playing without three players, including injured point guard Maddie Georges, the Wolves had few answers for the wrecking ball, falling 74-15.

The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for Coupeville and drops them to 2-3 heading into a Friday road trip to Darrington.

La Conner, whose lineup was like five pistons firing in perfect unison on most plays, is bigger, stronger, faster, more confident, and crisper in its execution than the Wolves.

Or just about any other team for that matter.

The Braves jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, Coupeville responded with an Izzy Wells bucket, set up by a nice dish and drive from Audrianna Shaw, and then the tsunami hit.

Trailing 33-2 at the first break, the Wolves stayed on their toes, however, putting together their most-solid quarter in the second frame.

While it was outscored 12-6 across those eight minutes, CHS dug in and fought for every rebound and loose ball.

Scrappers like Ryanne Knoblich and Gwen Gustafson swung their elbows with conviction, even while being bombarded by double teams, while Carolyn Lhamon and Ja’Kenya Hoskins crashed the boards.

Wolf 8th grader Savina Wells nailed a long jumper to open the second quarter, then added two free throws, and showed little fear as she frequently pushed the ball hard at the hoop.

Down 45-8 at the half, Coupeville fought both the Braves and, eventually, a running clock in the second half.

While the final score was lopsided, there were moral victories to be found, as the Wolves were only the third team in six games to hold La Conner under 80+ points.

The Braves have outscored their six opponents 438-106, or 394-67 if you take out their 44-39 victory over King’s.

Savina Wells paced Coupeville Thursday with four points, while Hoskins and Gustafson finished with three apiece.

Shaw (2), Izzy Wells (2), and Lhamon (1) also scored, with Lyla Stuurmans, Morgan Stevens, and Knoblich all playing scrappy defense.

 

No JV game:

La Conner is limiting its public beat-downs to the varsity level this season, so Coupeville’s JV squad, which was spoiling for a fight, had the night off.

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Slow start, hot finish

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on May 25, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville 8th grader Savina Wells scored 10 points Tuesday, including hitting a pair of three-balls. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Not great, but good enough.

Overcoming a rough start Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball squad turned on the heat in the second half and romped past Concrete late, pulling out a 39-19 win.

The Wolves closed with a 17-2 run, busting open a close game and lifting their record to 2-2 on the season.

“This seems to be our theme this year — to start off sluggish and then play much better in the second half,” said CHS coach Scott Fox.

The Wolves, playing in front of their home fans for the first time this season, struck first, with sophomore gunner Maddie Georges rippling the nets on a jumper after a feed from 8th grader Savina Wells.

But then the offense flat-out disappeared, as Coupeville couldn’t get a bucket to fall for much of the first quarter.

Concrete slowly built a 7-2 lead, but it always seemed like just a matter of time before things would change, and they did.

Audrianna Shaw flipped the nets high on a jumper with a tick over a minute left on the clock, then Wells dropped in a three-ball off an inbounds play, and the score was back to 7-7 at the end of the quarter.

The Wolves couldn’t seem to pull away, however.

Georges nailed a three-ball of her own in the second quarter, but a 12-7 lead sputtered into just a 15-13 edge at the half.

Worse, Coupeville lost its point guard when Georges turned her ankle midway through the quarter, and she never returned to the game.

Missing their sparkplug, the Wolves gave more floor time to youngsters like Ryanne Knoblich, Gwen Gustafson, and Lyla Stuurmans, and the bench injected a bit of get-up-and-go.

Wells opened the second half with her second trey, but Concrete continued to hang around, cutting the deficit back to 22-17 midway through the third on a long outlet pass and layup.

That seemed to trigger something deep inside the Wolves, as they promptly went into lockdown mode from that point, starting a 17-0 run which stretched into the final seconds of the game.

Shaw swished a jumper and Carolyn Lhamon put back an offensive rebound to end the third, then CHS went to work in the fourth.

Junior post Ja’Kenya Hoskins picked up her first points of the season, and liked it so much, she finished with five in the fourth, while Lhamon, Shaw, and Knoblich also scored.

Concrete finally broke through in the final minute, hitting a pair of free throws to stop the bleeding right before the final buzzer blared.

Wells and Shaw tied for game-high honors, netting 10 points apiece, while Lhamon (6), Hoskins (5), Georges (5), and Knoblich (3) rounded out the offensive attack.

Everyone on the roster played, and everyone contributed, with Morgan Stevens, Izzy Wells, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, Anya Leavell, Gustafson, and Stuurmans all getting quality floor time.

Things get tougher next, as Coupeville welcomes Northwest 2B/1B League ruler La Conner to town Thursday.

The Braves, who have a win over 1A power King’s this season, bopped Orcas Island 83-21 Tuesday to raise their record to 5-0.

 

NO JV:

Concrete doesn’t have a second squad, so Coupeville’s young guns sat this one out.

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