Haylee Armstrong, who normally wears #33 in honor of her late cousin, Adam Garcia, was #12 Saturday. (Photos courtesy Michelle Armstrong and Bettie Sifuentes-Hart)
She held her own on the big stage.
Playing in the 29th annual Washington/N. Idaho All-State girls’ basketball games Saturday in Spokane, Coupeville hoops star Haylee Armstrong did all the important little things.
She scrambled back on defense, poking balls away from rivals.
Set up brand-new teammates with passes.
Always — and I mean always — made a point to slap hands with girls from far-flung schools, offer encouragement or congratulations as her undermanned West squad fell 97-50 to a high-powered East team in the 2B/1B game.
Though both sides had 12 players selected to the game, four of the West players were MIA, including Armstrong’s Northwest League mate, Vera Schoultz of Friday Harbor, who was out with an injury.
That allowed the East to swap out five players at a time, while the West bench was much emptier.
Not everyone on this West roster was in uniform.
Armstrong hit the floor two minutes into the 40-minute contest, and saw plenty of floor time, part of a roster which included players from schools such as Taholah, Ocosta, Lopez Island, Naselle, and Toledo.
The East, which had a pronounced advantage on the boards, slipped out to a 17-8 lead through one quarter, then turned up the heat progressively.
The team in the red uniforms stretched its advantage to 41-20 at the half and 66-42 through three quarters, before raining down 31 fourth-quarter points in a bid to crack triple digits.
Armstrong stayed busy at halftime as well, taking part in a three-point shooting contest.
While she didn’t score in Saturday’s game, the senior-to-be has been a bucket-getter in her CHS career.
After rattling the rim for 207 points as a junior, Armstrong has 305 career points and counting heading into her final campaign.
That puts her #39 all-time on the CHS girls’ scoring chart, which covers 1974-2026.
The Haylee Armstrong Fan Club snags a photo op with their hoops hero.
Coupeville Sports 