Haylee Armstrong leads the CHS girls in scoring this season. (Julie Wheat photo)
The rematch was a nailbiter.
Squaring off with next-door neighbor South Whidbey Tuesday, in a game played in Bellingham, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad pushed their rivals to the final shot before falling 44-43.
The loss, coming on day two of the three-day, 16-team Trojan Storm Classic hosted by Meridian, drops the Wolves to 1-6 on the season.
But, for Scout Smith’s squad, who close 2025 with a final tourney game Wednesday before opening 2026 on the road Saturday against Morton-White Pass, the razor-thin defeat was a huge improvement on the first time the two Whidbey schools clashed.
Back in the season opener, Coupeville hosted South Whidbey and suffered through a brutal shooting performance en route to a 45-28 loss.
This time around, the early going was an eerie bit of déjà vu for the Wolves, but then they found their groove.
“We had a hard time with shots not falling in the first half,” Smith said. “But we showed a lot of grit and determination to come back in the second half.”
South Whidbey jumped out to a 16-4 advantage by the first break, with four different Falcons splashing a three-ball, but then CHS clamped down.
“We played a really good game and showed a lot of good improvements from the last time,” Smith said. “Loved the defensive tenacity we had, and we turned it into a lot of transition buckets.”
Coupeville held their rivals in check from long distance after the first quarter and rattled the rims for a trio of their own treys after halftime.
Down 27-13 at the half, the Wolves cut the lead back to 36-28 through three and outscored the Falcons 30-17 across the game’s final 16 minutes.
CHS also had a huge advantage in getting to the free throw line but missed too many charity shots along the way.
While South Whidbey was just 2-6 at the free throw stripe, Coupeville was 14-30, ultimately having too many freebies rim out to claim the victory.
Still, Smith came away pleased with her team’s defensive stand and praised the glass-cleaning ability of junior Ari Cunningham.
“Shoutout to Ari for getting after it rebounding,” Smith said. “We gave her a goal of 10 rebounds and she met that.
“Super excited to continue to watch her develop.”
South Whidbey’s Ali Young led all scorers with 14 points, while Haylee Armstrong (11) and Tenley Stuurmans (10) paced the Wolves.
All seven Coupeville players to see game time scored, with Teagan Calkins banking in nine, while Cunningham (5), Adeline Maynes (4), Danica Strong (2), and Kennedy O’Neill (2) all joined the offensive effort.
The game marked personal milestones for several Wolves, as well.
Calkins, a senior who now has 293 career points, moved from #41 to #39 on the all-time CHS girls’ scoring chart Tuesday, passing Bessie Walstad (288) and the aforementioned CHS coach, one Scout Smith (290).
Meanwhile, Stuurmans, a sophomore, cracked the top 100, jumping up to #95 where she sits with 128 points.
There are three active Wolves in the top 100, with Armstrong, a junior, in a tie with Sherry Bonacci and Marie Hesselgrave at #78 with 165 points.
And something to keep on eye on in the near future — Strong is just a three-ball shy of becoming the 116th Wolf girl to join the 100-point club for a program launched in 1974.
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