Bryley Gilbert scored her first varsity points Thursday in Ellensburg. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
It’s a mixed bag.
On the one hand, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad got scoring from seven players Thursday, including a first timer.
On the other hand, the Wolves missed a lot of shots, continuing a season-long trend, during a 58-24 loss to Kittitas in a game played at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
The non-conference defeat sends Megan Richter’s squad into the holiday break at 3-6, with questions to be answered.
A Wolf team trying to find a consistent flow on offense gets two weeks to sharpen its collective shot-making skills before a return to action.
That will come Jan. 5, when Coupeville travels to Darrington to kick off the 2024 portion of the schedule.
While the Wolves were swept in back-to-back games during their Eastern Washington journey, there were bright spots.
Freshman Haylee Armstrong made her varsity debut Wednesday, scored her first bucket the same night, then came back around to lead CHS in scoring a night later.
With nine points across two games, she’s already proving she deserves to play at this level.
The Wolves also welcomed a new player to the sisterhood Thursday, as junior Bryley Gilbert became the 244th girl to score in a varsity game in the 50 years the program has been active.
While the newcomers got their moment in the spotlight, the veterans also had stretches where they played superb ball on the trip.
Katie Marti, for one, reached a personal milestone of her own Thursday, tying mom Christi Messner on the career scoring chart.
If the fiery heartbeat of the Wolves were to suddenly retire — not something anyone wants to see, mind you — she’d finish with 125 points, equal to her mom.
Though, technically, since Marti comes before Messner alphabetically, Katie is actually ahead of her Madre.
Still, it would be better for the feisty point guard to keep on pulling on the Wolf uniform for another season-and-a-half and leave mamacita firmly in the rearview mirror.
Reese Wilkinson, always scrappy on the defensive end of the floor.
And there was one more personal milestone reached on the trip, as Lyla Stuurmans cracked the 150-point club by dropping a three-ball in the first quarter against Kittitas.
When Jada Heaton followed the trey up by converting a bucket off of an offensive rebound moments later, the Wolves were looking good, trailing just 9-5.
Kittitas swished its own three-point bomb to close out the opening quarter, then stretched the lead to 20-6 in the second frame, before the Wolves made their best sustained run of the game.
Madison McMillan drilled a three-ball through the bottom of the net, followed by two Stuurmans free throws to get the margin down under ten, and hopes of a comeback soared.
But it wasn’t to be, as Coupeville failed to hit back-to-back scores during the remainder of the game, allowing the Coyotes to steadily pull away.
Armstrong came up big in the second half, racking up all of her team-high seven points after the break.
A three-ball wedged between a pair of rebound put-backs showcased the varied talents of the young gun, while Marti chipped in with a pair of buckets — one on a slash inside, the other on a long jumper.
With the clock winding down, Gilbert rose up and let fly, rippling the net to become a made woman.
Stuurmans finished with five points to back up Armstrong’s seven, while Marti (4), McMillan (3), Heaton (2), Gilbert (2), and Mia Farris (1) rounded out the attack.
Reese Wilkinson, Kayla Arnold, and Teagan Calkins also saw floor time for the Wolves, bringing hustle and defensive grit.
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