Halle Black hits turbo drive. (Julie Wheat photos)
What a difference a month makes.
When Coupeville and South Whidbey kicked off the middle school girls’ basketball season back in early February, the Cougars won both games between the Island rivals.
Jump forward to Tuesday, and it was advantage Wolves, as CMS hit the road and claimed two victories in three contests against their neighbors.
Now, all that’s left for Brooke Crowder and Kassie O’Neil’s rampaging hardwood assassins is a road trip Thursday to Granite Falls for the season finale.
And probably some birthday well-wishes to O’Neil Wednesday, when the former Wolf gunslinger turned ol’ ball coach hits her cake day.
How Tuesday played out:
Level 1:
Coupeville hung tough with a talented South Whidbey squad, but a third-quarter shooting slump ultimately doomed the Wolves in a 32-14 loss.
Now 1-6 on the season, CMS trailed 9-6 after one quarter and found itself down 19-10 at the half.
The Cougars were deadly in the third frame, however, using an 11-0 run to ice things, before the Wolves rebounded to claim a defensive-minded final quarter by a slim 4-2 advantage.
Laurel Crowder paced Coupeville with five points, with Emma Green (2), Anna Powers (2), Zayne Roos (2), Bella Sandlin (2), and Aubrey Flowers (1) also etching their names in the scorebook.
Kaleigha Millison, Sabrina Judnich, Finley Helm, and Claire Lachnit also saw floor time for the Wolves.
While CMS lost the rematch, it made huge inroads in slowing down South Whidbey’s Jayda Coleman, who torched the nets for 28 in the opener.
“Laurel and Bella made a major impact by focusing on shutting down the opposing team’s top scorer,” Brooke Crowder said.
“They held her to just 12 this time around through disciplined defense and constant pressure,” she added. “Bella also added several steals and showed strong shot selection on the offensive end.”
Brooke Crowder praised Emma Green, who “stepped up to take on point guard responsibilities, bringing steady energy to the floor and confidently getting shots up over the defense.
“Her willingness to lead the offense helped keep the team attacking throughout the game.”
Coupeville pushed the play on offense, but the rim was unforgiving at times.
“Despite consistently attacking the basket and getting looks at the hoop, the shots simply didn’t fall our way tonight,” Brooke Crowder said.
“The effort and willingness to keep driving the lane never wavered, however.”
Ruby Folkestad plays big in the paint.
Level 2:
The game of the day, with Coupeville rallying late to force overtime, before claiming its first win of the campaign.
Juniper Dotson, Halle Black, and Addison Jacobson all banked in buckets in the extra period, sparking the Wolves (1-6) to an electrifying 30-28 victory.
The game was a vintage back-and-forth affair, with the hosts up 5-2 at the first break, before Coupeville rode six second-quarter points from Black to reclaim the lead at 10-9 heading into halftime.
South Whidbey had an answer, surging ahead 19-16 through three quarters, before the Wolves responded in kind, knotting things up 24-24 with Annabelle Cundiff pouring in six points in the fourth.
Six CMS players scored in the win, led by Black, who pumped in a season-high 11 points.
Cundiff (7), Jacobson (4), Dotson (4), Ava Alford (2), and Emily Rains (2) also made the scoreboard bounce, while Ruby Folkestad, Claire Lachnit, Abby Hunt, Reagan Green, and Arianna Vinson rounded out the rotation.
Despite playing for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Wolves brought big effort to the floor, something the coaching staff appreciated.
“Ruby stood out defensively by stepping into passing lanes and creating disruption for the opposing offense,” Brooke Crowder said.
“Addison contributed key box-outs that helped secure rebounds, while Halle showed strong effort on the boards and increased her offensive involvement by putting up more shots.
“Arianna brought relentless defensive pressure with active hands and strong positioning, stopping drives and shutting down players underneath the basket.”
Level 3:
After not playing the first time around, the school’s third squads clashed in a half-game this time around, with Coupeville holding on for a 10-8 nailbiter.
The victory, and it’s official because this blog you’re reading says so, lifts the Wolves to a crisp 3-1 on the season coming on the heels of a win against Sultan Monday night.
CMS jumped out to a 4-2 lead through the game’s first seven minutes, before the squads slugged it out through a back-and-forth second frame.
Daisy Leedy-Bonifas, a 6th grader who is second among all Wolves in scoring this season, continued her torrid shooting, rattling the rims for a game-high six points, while Ellie Callahan and Millie Somes each chipped in with a bucket.
Amira Anunciado, Leah Hernandez, Nikolette Dunham, Arianna Vinson, Abby Hunt, and Danielle Halsing also saw floor time for Coupeville’s winningest team.
“Daisy set the tone with aggressive play on both ends of the floor,” Brooke Crowder said. “She actively hunted the ball, created steals, and pushed the pace whenever she had the opportunity.
“Ellie contributed strong defensive play along with solid rebounding and several put-back attempts around the basket and Millie rounded out the effort with nonstop hustle and smart shot selection.”
Across all three games, the Wolves demonstrated they are more confident and accomplished than they were a month ago.
“Overall, the teams showed strong defensive growth, aggressive play, and continued effort attacking the rim, exactly the habits that lead to improvement as the season progresses,” Brooke Crowder said.
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