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Posts Tagged ‘Izzy Wells’

“Very proud that we came out on top”

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Kylie Van Velkinburgh and the Coupeville JV captured a win Friday at Sultan. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a wild and woolly kind of night.

Missing players, then taking the court after the varsity, though before the tail pipe on their bus got busted, the Coupeville High School JV girls basketball squad just went about their business Friday in Sultan.

Competing in a foul-heavy affair CHS coach Amy King called a “fast-paced, rugby type of game,” the Wolves eventually headed home with a 33-22 win to their credit.

Well, after their battered bus finally made it out of the parking lot later than expected.

The victory lifts the Wolf young guns to 3-1 in North Sound Conference play, 6-5 overall.

It also ties them with the JV boys for the most wins this season by a CHS squad.

Missing the injured Kylie Chernikoff and Abby Mulholland, the Wolves also found themselves facing a Turk who didn’t play the first time these schools met.

“They put in a player who wasn’t on the court our first time around – a six-foot girl who hung out around the free throw line,” King said. “Ja’Kenya (Hoskins) and Kylie (Van Velkinburgh) did a great job moving up on her, but she still had her moments with shooting, feeding her teammates and then hitting free throws when we fouled her.”

Trailing 10-9 after one quarter of action, the Wolves started pulling away, bit by bit, thanks in large part to their defense.

“The whole team worked hard. We pressed, we got steals – nobody let down,” King said. “Ja’Kenya and Mollie (Bailey) worked to defend down low on our zone, Anya (Leavell) and Audrianna (Shaw) up top.

“Alana (Mihill) and Lily (Leedy) did a nice job up top on offense and Morgan (Stevens) came down with some key rebounds.”

Bailey netted a huge three-ball to spark Coupeville, and the Wolves turned a 15-12 lead at the half into 22-14 heading into the fourth.

Down the stretch, CHS put the ball into the hands of freshman Izzy Wells, and she carried her team home, banging home nine of her team-high 11 points in the final frame.

“The game was definitely closer than the first time against them,” King said. “Both teams shot a lot of free throws because it was that kind of a battle.

“Very proud that we came out on top.”

The two teams combined to put up 46 free throws, including 19 during a fourth quarter which went on for some time.

Hoskins banked in eight points and snatched seven rebounds (“the other coach says she just loves watching her rebound”), while Wells had five boards, five steals and two blocks to go with her 11 points.

Shaw (6), Leavell (4), Bailey (3), and Van Velkinburgh (1) also scored, and Kiara Contreras chipped in with two rebounds and three steals.

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Izzy Wells can’t be stopped!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , , on October 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Izzy Wells reeled off 16 straight points on her serve Thursday as the Wolf JV volleyball squad crushed Port Townsend. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Torched. Burnt to a crisp. Annihilated.

Choose any of the above, because they all apply to the Port Townsend High School JV volleyball team after the whuppin’ applied Thursday by Coupeville.

Using 13 different players, and getting big performances from all of them, the Wolves cruised in with a 25-6, 25-11, 25-5 win in front of their home fans.

The non-league victory snaps a three-game losing skid for the CHS young guns — two of those losses came in three-set nail-biters — and lifts them to 3-4 on the season.

In a match where pretty much everything went right for the Wolves, the spiker with the hottest hand was Izzy Wells.

Making her second trip of the night to the service line, the freshman turned a 2-1 third-set deficit into a 17-2 advantage, running off 16 straight points, with few of her serves even put back into play.

Wells ripped an ace off of a Port Townsend player’s chest, then promptly mixed things up by dropping her next serve right at the feet of the same gobsmacked RedHawk.

That second serve skipped merrily away for another ace, while fellow frosh Kylie Van Velkinburgh buried a winner from mid-court on one of the relatively few times PT got the ball back over the net during the streak.

By the time she was done, Wells had put together Coupeville’s longest run on serve since Lauren Rose rolled off 20 straight points in a varsity win over Chimacum in 2016.

In stark contrast to the note-perfect run of serves, Port Townsend’s defining moment of the night came when a RedHawk picked up a ball after a play, whirled to throw it back to Coupeville’s side of the net and instead buried it right into the stomach of a wide-eyed teammate.

It was that kind of night for the visitors, as the Wolves pounced early, stayed hot and coasted home, while mixing and matching players as fast as coach Chris Smith could sub them in and out.

In the early stages, it was all about Coupeville’s power, as Zoe Trujillo, Maddie Vondrak and the rampaging Vick sisters, Willow and Raven, crushed the ball anytime it was in the air.

Port Townsend failed to score a single point on its serve in the opening set, while Wolves Lucy Sandahl, Jaimee Masters and Co. peppered the RedHawks with superb serves when they were towing the line.

Willow Vick, in a stirring set-up to Wells later exploits, put together a seven-point run on her serve which featured a bit of everything.

She tore apart the defense with one ace that scorched the middle of the court, then artfully slipped another winner barely over the net.

It was a low, dangerous hummer which caught the top of the net and flopped over, hitting Port Townsend’s side of the floor before promptly dying.

Her twin sister chipped in, with Raven hammering a spike which ended a brief rally on one of Willow’s serves.

The response from one frustrated (and now highly-nervous) RedHawk?

A low, strained whimper of “OH … MY … GOD!!!”

Moments later, Trujillo went airborne and lashed a laser shot which cracked off a Port Townsend player’s arm, sending her staggering off in search of somewhere, anywhere to hide.

She never found that safe haven.

The second set was more of the same, just with a handful of Coupeville errors scattered among the big plays.

Vondrak, dancing above the net, used the very end of her fingertips to twice stuff RedHawk shots, while the Wolves dominated on serve yet again.

Masters scorched aces, Raven Vick zinged aces, Trujillo fired aces and Vondrak mashed aces in the middle set. Sense a trend, do you?

While Wells one-woman ballet of death and destruction grabbed the biggest chunk of the spotlight in the final frame, Noelle Daigneault also dropped in a gorgeous ace and Masters closed the night firing BB’s at the line.

Along the way, Abby Meyers, Ivy Leedy, Abby Mulholland and Eryn Wood all saw quality floor time, with Mulholland skying high to slam home an especially impressive spike.

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Unleash the Wolves of war!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on March 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson and her Coupeville Middle School teammates swept three games Monday from Blue Heron. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a beat-down, in three beautifully-played acts.

Dropping the hammer with a vengeance Monday, the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball squads drilled visiting Blue Heron, sweeping three games by a combined score of 112-20.

Now, it could have been much, much worse, but Wolf coaches Dustin Van Velkinburgh and Alex Evans did their best to balance rolling to a win with not unnecessarily embarrassing their foes.

Both varsity teams cruised to wins, with the CMS 8th graders winning 43-6 and the 7th graders coming within a single shot of a shutout, romping to a 48-2 rout.

The victories lifted both squads to 3-1 on the season headed into a huge showdown Wednesday in Port Angeles against ginormous Stevens Middle School.

In the one semi-close game, the Wolf 7th grade JV prevailed 21-12, while there was no 8th grade JV action as Blue Heron didn’t have the bodies.

8th grade varsity:

One play. It was over in one play.

Busting through a pair of Blue Heron players, Audrianna Shaw knocked the ball free, plucked it from mid-air, then beat nine other players down the floor, slapping home a game-ending layup with emphasis.

And yes, there were still 31 minutes and 40 seconds to play, but the game was over.

It was all gravy after Shaw’s opening play, as the Wolves bolted out to a 19-0 lead and only surrendered a single basket in the first two-and-a-half quarters.

Many of Coupeville’s scores came off of steals or outlet passes after rebounds, with CMS attacking relentlessly, no matter which combo of players Van Velkinburgh had on the floor.

The Wolves also showed a flair for the set-up pass, each player taking turns feeding whatever teammate broke free, then often getting the favor returned.

Ja’Kenya Hoskins dropped a long pass right onto Shaw’s fingertips, hitting her running mate in full stride, then immediately got the ball back on the next play, with Kylie Van Velkinburgh feeding Hoskins on a silky dish.

Shaw had the two plays which probably earned the biggest roar from the crowd.

On one, she went right, then spun left, shed her defender as she crashed into the paint, then spun the ball up and in for a bucket.

Not content to stop there, Shaw drained the game’s lone three-ball, and, to put a twist in it, she opted to bank the ball high off the backboard while going to her right.

Did she call “glass?”

Maybe, maybe not, but the shot earned much hootin’ and hollerin’ from the three-ball-loving CMS boys basketball players camped out in the bleachers.

Everyone in a Wolf uniform was on point, with Kiara Contreras jumping from a sweet roller in the paint to knocking down a mid-range jumper, Ella Colwell dominating on the boards and Izzy Wells being her normal calm, yet ruthless self.

Wells didn’t do anything fancy, just casually banked home bucket after bucket, including one layup off a great pass from Abby Mulholland, drained her free throws and finished with a game-high 18 points.

So, just another day at the office for the low-key scoring ace.

Shaw knocked down 13 to back Wells, while Contreras and Hoskins each went for six.

Anya Leavell, Lily Leedy, Angelina Gebhard, Katelin McCormick and Alana Mihill also saw floor time, with Leavell launching a one-woman crime spree with a series of steals.

7th grade varsity:

Ponder this.

Middle school basketball games are 32 minutes long, and the Wolves held Blue Heron scoreless for 30:36.

Up 48-0, with eight different players having scored, the Wolves let one lonely bucket slip through in the dying moments of the fourth quarter, and that was it.

There was no part of the game Coupeville’s starters didn’t dominate, from pesky, persistent guards Alita Blouin, Gwen Gustafson and Maddie Georges repeatedly forcing turnovers to inside bangers Carolyn Lhamon and Nezi Keiper grabbing every single rebound.

And things didn’t change with the second unit, as Trinity McGee, Jordyn Rogers, Hayley Fiedler and the battlin’ Lucero twins, Allie and Maya, scorched Blue Heron every moment they were on the floor.

The game’s most picture-perfect play came early.

Up just 4-0, Gustafson drove inside, then waited until the last possible moment and threaded a truly magnificent wraparound pass.

The ball slid behind the Blue Heron defender, caught hardwood perfectly and snapped onto the waiting fingertips of Lhamon, who caught the ball and went right up for the lay-in, prompting Gustafson to nod, smile slightly and immediately sprint back to play defense.

So, probably exactly the way their coach, former Wolf bombardier Alex Evans, drew it up. Or, at least that’s his story.

Gustafson, evoking memories of big sis Amanda Fabrizi, had an especially strong game, driving the baseline on one play, then weaving between defenders to drain a soft jumper.

Later she ripped a rebound free from a girl she gave up several inches to, and converted the freebie into a put-back for two, then dropped a tear drop jumper from the left corner on yet another play.

Her running mates were just as effective, especially Lhamon, who went off for a game-high 14.

A beast on defense, she got out and ran the floor aggressively on almost every play, and many of her buckets came off winning a foot race and hauling in outlet passes from her ball-handlers.

Coupeville spread out the rest of its offense, with Blouin, Gustafson and Georges scoring eight apiece in perfect symmetry.

Keiper added four, and picked up a great assist with a hook pass in the paint to Lhamon, while Maya Lucero, McGee and the rampaging Rogers — who forced a string of turnovers — each picked up a basket.

7th grade JV:

Up 10-5 at the break, Coupeville busted the game open with an 8-2 run in the third quarter and never looked back.

Cristina McGrath knocked down a team-high five points, while McGee, Jessenia Camarena and Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson chipped in with four apiece.

Claire Mayne and Karyme Castro added two points each, with Mayne tickling the twines on a pair of free throws, with Adrian Burrows, Hannah Mayne and Abigail Ramirez also seeing floor time for the Wolves.

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It’s called a beat-down!!

Posted in Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , , on March 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Carolyn Lhamon knocked down 14 points Thursday as the CMS 7th grade varsity shredded Forks, one of three wins for the Wolves on the day. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Wins for everyone.

Showcasing their defensive intensity, all three Coupeville Middle School girls basketball teams to play Thursday came away with comfortable wins.

Shredding visiting Forks, the Wolves sauntered to wins in both 7th and 8th grade varsity contests as well as an 8th grade JV bout.

The road-weary Spartans didn’t field a 7th grade JV team, which was the only thing keeping CMS from going 4-for-4 on the day.

8th grade varsity:

One play in and this thing was done. Pretty much.

Audrianna Shaw slapped home a layup on the game’s opening play, sparking a 19-2 run, and Coupeville coasted home with a 43-15 win.

The Wolves dominated on the defensive end of the floor, shutting down the Spartans in virtually every way.

If it wasn’t Ja’Kenya Hoskins ripping down rebounds, and yanking a few arms out of their sockets along the way, it was Kiara Contreras attacking the ball-handler like a rabid dog, glee in her eye and a smile on her face as she wreaked havoc.

This band of Wolves is aggressive, seasoned and  hungry for wins, and Forks found itself playing Wile E. Coyote to Coupeville’s anvil-droppin’ Road Runner.

The early 19-2 run, which went from the opening tip until right before the final 90 seconds of the first half, featured points from five different Wolves.

Izzy Wells was front and center, dropping in six of her game-high 16, while Anya Leavell, Contreras, Shaw and Hoskins all chipped in.

Forks finally stopped the bleeding, for a quick second, with a 5-0 mini-surge to end the half, but Coupeville went right back to work in the third quarter.

Once again ramping up the defense, the Wolves turned frequent Spartans turnovers into breakaway basket after breakaway basket.

Wells banked home another eight points on a variety of net-tickling jumpers, while Contreras pulled off the best play of the night.

Sprinting full force, the crafty Wolf guard pulled in a long outlet pass from Shaw, went airborne, then dipped under a flailing defender at the last possible second and popped the ball off the glass.

All of this while being pummeled around the head and shoulders and ending up face-first into the wall at the end of the court.

Coupeville took its foot off the gas pedal in the late going, but got a nice closing bucket from Ella Colwell, who took a pass from Contreras and rolled past her defender for a layup.

Wells outscored Forks herself (16-15), but got plenty of help, as Contreras, Shaw and Leavell each dropped in six.

Hoskins (5), Samantha Streitler (2) and Colwell (2) also scored, while Kylie Van Velkinburgh spent the afternoon setting up her teammates with hard-earned rebounds and sweet set-up passes.

8th grade JV:

A tale of two halves, and one player.

The game was a 4-3 defensive stalemate at the half, in favor of Coupeville, then Streitler hit the floor and the Wolves put the game away.

Playing just two quarters, so she’d also be eligible for the varsity contest, Streitler tossed in 11 points in the second half, keying an eventual 20-10 CMS victory.

The difference was the third quarter, when the Wolves used a 9-2 run, with Streitler dropping in every point, to put the game on ice.

Quicksilver Lily Leedy added four points, including an electrifying steal and breakaway bucket to put an exclamation point on things, while Abby Mulholland (3) and Jessenia Camerena (2) also scored.

Mulholland’s output came on a sweet three-ball late in the game, where she stopped ‘n popped over the outstretched arms of the defense.

Katelin McCormick, Angelina Gebhard, Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson and Alana Mihill also saw floor time for the Wolves.

7th grade varsity:

It’s not often you can go scoreless for the first nine minutes-plus of a game and still win in a romp, but that’s just what Coupeville’s young guns accomplished.

The Wolves didn’t score until Gwen Gustafson swished a jumper a minute into the second quarter, and yet the Wolves still pulled away to win 36-9.

CMS had plenty of opportunities in the first quarter, as an opportunistic defense headed up by Alita Blouin drove Forks batty. Unfortunately, the rim was utterly unforgiving.

Jump forward to the second quarter, and things took a marked turn for the better.

Carolyn Lhamon followed Gustafson’s jumper with a rebound and put-back to stake Coupeville to a 4-3 lead, and the Wolves would never trail again.

Blouin, living up to her nickname of “The Assassin,” was ruthless, ripping balls away, pilfering steals, crossing up Forks ball-handlers, then crashing hard to the hoop for three straight buckets to bust things wide open.

An epic bank shot off the fingertips of Hayley Fiedler capped a 12-2 run and sent CMS in to the halftime break up 12-5.

After that it was the Carolyn Lhamon Experience in full bloom, as the ace rebounder crushed the Spartans in the paint, then jumped out for a series of quick, super-soft jumpers as she scored 12 of her game-high 14 in the second half.

Two came off solid lead passes from Blouin, a third off a drive and dish from Maddie Georges.

Not content to let Fiedler have the longest shot of the afternoon, Trinity McGee stepped half an inch inside the three-point arc and banked home a gorgeous shot to cap a fourth quarter full of Wolf joy.

CMS spread its scoring around, with seven of the 10 players in uniform putting their name in the scoring column.

Lhamon’s 14 was followed by Blouin (8), Fiedler (4), Georges (4), Gustafson (2), Nezi Keiper (2) and McGee (2).

Jordyn Rogers and the battlin’ Lucero sisters, Allie and Maya, teamed up with Keiper and Lhamon to thoroughly dominate Forks on the boards.

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Three games, one win, countless lessons!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on February 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Despite early-morning snow and sleet Monday, Jessenia Camerena and her Wolf teammates were able to make it to Sequim for a basketball rumble. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The obstacles were many – snow, sleet, and a much-bigger foe.

But the Coupeville Middle School girls basketball teams survived Monday, and even thrived a bit, returning from Sequim with pride, if not record, still intact.

Playing for the first time in 11 days, thanks to a snow-out last week, the Wolves won a JV thriller, while falling in both 7th and 8th grade varsity contests.

Both CMS varsity squads slip to 1-1 on the season, while the JV is a spotless 1-0.

Coupeville plays its next two at home, facing Forks Mar. 1 and Blue Heron Mar. 5.

8th grade varsity:

With no June Mazdra or Mikayla Elfrank to keep stats, the CMS books suffered the indignity of being done by a road crew, leaving Wolf coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh baffled as to what the final score might have been.

Which was fine by him, as dwelling on being on the wrong end of a rout wasn’t on his list of things to do.

“We didn’t show up and didn’t play well,” Van Velkinburgh said, and then everyone involved agreed to move on to the next game on the schedule.

7th grade varsity:

Coupeville had the lead heading into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold on and was nipped 30-21.

Maddie Georges and Carolyn Lhamon paced the Wolves, both banking home six points, while Alita Blouin knocked down five.

Gwen Gustafson and Nezi Keiper rounded out the scoring with a bucket apiece.

JV:

Using a mix of 7th and 8th grade hoops stars, Coupeville pulled out a 21-20 thriller.

“The JV game was a lot of fun,” Van Velkinburgh said. “Girls played hard, and learned a lot.”

Lily Leedy and Angelina Gebhard topped the scoring column with six apiece, while Adrian Burrows (2), Katelin McCormick (2), Abigail Ramirez (2) and Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson (1) also scored.

And, if you’re saying, “wait, that adds up to 19,” it does.

In an extreme rarity, both Coupeville and Sequim managed to beat the odds and accidentally score a bucket for the other team.

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