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Posts Tagged ‘Kaitlyn Meek’

Her name, not her game, is Meek!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville freshman Chelsea Prescott played strongly Friday, but Port Townsend’s Kaitlyn Meek carried the RedHawks past the Wolves. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Meek shoots over the defense of Coupeville’s Lindsey Roberts.

Kaitlyn Meek has waited for this moment.

For the last four years, the Port Townsend gunner has been one of the best girls basketball players in the 1A Olympic League, but Coupeville has always been the best team.

But the Wolves of 2017-2018, weighed down by graduation losses, injuries and defections, are not flying quite as high as they did during three straight unbeaten league campaigns.

Friday night Meek took advantage, tossing in 14 of her game-high 19 in the second half, spurring the RedHawks to a huge 39-26 come-from-behind win on Coupeville’s floor.

Sparked by its senior star, Port Townsend jumps to 5-2 in league play, and goes a game up on Coupeville (4-3) and Chimacum (4-3) with two to play.

All three are guaranteed playoff spots, since Klahowya (1-6) has already been eliminated, but a league title gives a team direct entry into the double-elimination portion of districts.

If three-time defending league champ Coupeville finishes second or third, it will host its first postseason game, but will also have to survive either one or two loser-out games.

With two conference games left, Feb. 1 at Klahowya and Feb. 3 at home against Chimacum, the Wolves still have a shot at a fourth-straight title, or at least a share of one.

But, to win the title outright and be a #1 playoff seed, Coupeville has to sweep its final two league games, while hoping for back-to-back RedHawk losses.

If CHS and PTHS were to finish with the same record, the tiebreaker for seeding would go Port Townsend’s way, as it took the season series 2-1.

Friday’s royal rumble was a tale of two halves with two very different styles.

In the first 16 minutes, Coupeville’s crushing defense did its job extremely well, limiting the RedHawks to just seven points, five from Meek.

And, while the Wolves weren’t exactly burning up the nets themselves, clinging to a 12-7 lead at the half, they looked like they were largely in control.

Exchanging buckets to open the third, Coupeville got a beauty when Lindsey Roberts slapped home a layup in traffic off of a nifty entry pass from Sarah Wright.

At which point Meek, after three years of chasing Wolf stars like Makana Stone, Kailey Kellner and Co., only to see her teams fall short, unleashed payback.

Slashing to the hoop at will, exploiting her quickness and ability to score inside and outside, the veteran RedHawk kicked off a game-busting 10-0 run that turned a five-point deficit into a five-point advantage.

CHS, which struggled mightily to get anything to drop all night, finally stopped the hemorrhaging when Hannah Davidson snared a ball out of mid-air and beat the shot clock by half a tick.

That pulled the Wolves within 19-16 and a Coupeville win still seemed very possible.

Cue Meek, who plunged into the heart of the defense, nailed a short turn-around jumper while being pummeled, then added a free throw to stretch the lead back to six exiting the third.

After a game that featured a second quarter where both teams scored just two points apiece, the fourth quarter was an offensive fireworks show.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, 17 of the 27 points to drop through the net in the final eight minutes came from the visitors, who stretched the lead out to double digits and coasted home for the win.

Roberts nailed a gorgeous three-ball from the right corner late in the game, while Wright got three the old-fashioned way with a put-back and free-throw.

The charity shot marked a milestone, as it was the 100th point of Wright’s career.

Playing without three starters, and with reserve Avalon Renninger out with a concussion, Coupeville had a thin bench and tired legs hurt the Wolves in the end.

“It was just a tough game,” said Coupeville coach David King. “I was happy with the effort put forth by those who played, though.

“Lindsey was one who kept fighting until the end, even though she was dead tired.”

Roberts and freshman Chelsea Prescott led the offensive attack, each hitting for seven, while Scout Smith knocked down her four points in the first quarter.

The sophomore spark-plug swished a pair of free throws, and also snagged a long outlet pass and threw down a runner after Coupeville beat the RedHawk press.

Ema Smith (3), Wright (3) and Davidson (2) also scored.

Wright was a beast on the boards, hauling down 12 rebounds, with Roberts (eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists) and Allison Wenzel (three rebounds) backing her up.

Swing player Ashlie Shank, getting her most varsity minutes of the season, snagged a rebound, helped run the offense while on the floor and drew praise from her coach for “giving us a lot of hustle.”

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You can’t touch this!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on January 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Mia Littlejohn piled up eight points, three rebounds and three assists as Coupeville won its 21st straight league game Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

   Mia Littlejohn piled up eight points, three rebounds and three assists as Coupeville won its 21st straight league game Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

In the relatively short two-and-a-half year history of the 1A Olympic League, no program has been as successful in conference play as the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad.

The Wolves are one of four varsity teams to have never lost in league competition, and, with a come-from-behind 39-29 drubbing of host Port Townsend Tuesday, they now have the longest winning streak of any of those teams.

With the win, its third straight, Coupeville rises to 7-3 on the season, 3-0 in Olympic League play.

From 2014 to today, CHS is 21-0 against its conference foes, topping Klahowya girls soccer (20-0), Klahowya boys soccer (12-0) and Coupeville girls tennis (11-0) in the race to the top of perfection hill.

To get there, the Wolves had to overcome a bit of a slow start Tuesday.

With Port Townsend having cancelled the JV game due to low numbers caused by a toxic mix of injuries and illness, the varsity teams, who entered the game tied for first place, were the only show on the night.

And, in the early going, it was the RedHawks who seemed in control of the plot, forcing the Wolves to once again dig themselves out of a hole.

If there was a positive, it was only a small hole this time around, with CHS trailing 10-9 after one and 17-15 at the half.

“I sound like a broken record with how we start our games,” said Coupeville coach David King. “Tonight seemed to follow that same pattern, however it was a little better than the last couple of games.”

Coupeville’s stellar defense made up for some early shooting issues, but Port Townsend seized the advantage at the free throw line, knocking down five of eight freebies in the second quarter.

Whatever was said during the break seemed to light a fire under the Wolves, as they hit the floor a different team in the second half.

Seizing the lead for good three minutes in, Coupeville then methodically stretched it out to double digits.

Part of the turnaround came from completely neutralizing RedHawk star Kaitlyn Meek, who was held to a single, solitary free throw in the game’s final 16 minutes.

As she fell quiet, Wolf sophomore Kalia Littlejohn “started heating up and percolating,” going on a third-quarter rampage in which she threw down all six of her points.

Coupeville turned the game completely around in the third, rolling to a 15-6 advantage while spreading the scoring between Littlejohn, Lindsey Roberts (4), Kailey Kellner (a long three-ball) and Sarah Wright (2).

“Everything seemed to be working well for us,” King said.

The Wolves kept up the pressure on Meek, a two-time All-Conference player, using a mix of Lauren Grove, Mikayla Elfrank, Littlejohn and Kellner to stifle her.

“We are athletic and deep enough that we were able to rotate players on her all game,” King said. “The rest of the team brought their defensive game as well, minimizing the scoring opportunities with the rest of their roster.”

Once they had the lead, the Wolves put the hammer down hard, impressing their coach.

“In the fourth, Mikayla made a very good move to split a double team to score the basket,” King said. “Kailey scored her basket on a great post-up in the middle of the key, didn’t rush and took it up hard. Made the basket and got fouled.

“This is progress and something we have been talking about all season,” he added. “Don’t shy away from contact. More often than not, good things will come your way if you go strong.”

Kellner dropped in a game-high 11 to pace her squad, while Lindsey Roberts banged down 10 in support.

Mia Littlejohn (8), Kalia Littlejohn (6), Elfrank (2) and Wright (2) also scratched their names in the scoring column.

The “twins,” Roberts and Grove, each hauled down six boards, while Mia Littlejohn and Kellner dealt out three assists apiece.

“This was one of our most consistent games,” King said. “We are still a work in progress, but it’s exciting because we are seeing more consistent play from each player.”

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Where there’s a will, there’s a win!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Only a fool gets between Hailey Hammer and the basket. (John Fisken photo)

Only a fool gets between Hailey Hammer (34) and the basket. (John Fisken photo)

It wasn’t a pretty game, but style points aren’t everything.

When the scoreboard clicked over to all zeroes Friday night, all that mattered was the final score. And that was beautiful.

Overcoming a rough first half, the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball team ended up blasting host Port Townsend 58-35 to maintain its hold on first place in the Olympic League.

Now 10-5 overall, 4-0 in conference play, the Wolves are a game up on Klahowya (3-1), while Chimacum (1-3) and Port Townsend (0-4) round out the standings.

The victory, while not always a smooth one, marked the fifth time this season CHS has won back-to-back games.

Though, for a bit, that seemed to be in a bit of danger.

Facing an 0-13 Redhawk squad desperate for a breakthrough and much improved from earlier in the season, the depleted Wolves (spark-plug Wynter Thorne was home with tonsillitis) got a tougher fight than maybe was expected.

Though some of that might have been self-inflicted.

“It was a battle from the opening tip until late in the fourth,” said Wolf coach David King. “We weren’t playing our brand of defense like we had shown the three quarters against Mount Vernon Christian and the whole game vs. Chimacum.

“We wanted to play aggressive man, but stay away from the stupid fouls,” he added. “We just couldn’t get into a good rhythm in the first on the defensive end.”

With its top two scorers, Makana Stone and Julia Myers, hampered by early foul trouble, the Wolves had to drop out of man coverage and go to a zone. Once they did that, Redhawk freshman Kaitlyn Meek, who hit for 20, picked them apart a bit.

“Port Townsend came ready to play and showed no fear,” King said.

The Redhawks actually took the lead at 13-11 early in the second quarter, before Coupeville countered with a show of pure power from post Monica Vidoni.

The senior sprang off the bench and dominated in the paint, pumping home all eight of her points in the quarter.

Twice Vidoni rolled hard to the hoop, threw down the field goal, forced Port Townsend to foul her and went to the line where she calmly completed the three-point play.

On a 14-point run, the Wolves looked like they were breaking the game wide open.

Only the pesky Redhawks wouldn’t go away, scoring the final six points in the half to narrow the lead back to 25-19 at the break.

Having won by 33 the first time the schools clashed, Coupeville needed a spark to get back to that style of play. They found it in the locker room.

“The players took to heart what we needed to fix coming out for the third,” King said. “They upped their defensive effort and returned to the man defense that gets us steals and fast breaks.

“Players were flying around, anticipating passes and tipping or stealing them.”

Back on the court, Myers dominated the third (pumping in eight points) and Stone shredded Townsend’s last bit of resistance in the fourth (dropping nine in the quarter before fouling out).

Coupeville pulled off two coach-pleasing plays in the fourth, both involving Stone.

On the first Hailey Hammer made “a sweeeeeeeeet pass” around a defender that perfectly hit Stone in stride for an easy bucket, while the second was a moment where practice paid off.

Having snagged a board, Stone was pinned under the basket. Instead of kicking it out, she followed King’s lessons and “took one power dribble, backed up and powered the ball up over two defenders for the basket.”

“Julia and Hailey went crazy on the bench,” King said. “I’m pretty sure I turned to anyone who would listen to me and I said, did you see that, we have been working on that exact move!”

Up and down the roster, Wolves made plays that pleased their coach.

McKenzie Bailey had “a great feed” that set Vidoni up for one of her baskets, while Mia Littlejohn, who “has been working hard on her shot,” stepped up and knocked down a sweet 15-foot jumper from the wing.

While Coupeville couldn’t completely slow down Meek, King did move noted ball-hawk Kacie Kiel over to cover her in the second half and the feisty senior “did a good job defensively.”

While the Redhawks were scrappier than expected, and the refs questionable at best (at one point issuing a what-the-heck unsportsmanlike warning to Coupeville because a defender dared to put up a hand in front of her rival’s face while playing her straight up), the Wolves persevered.

“Port Townsend gave us a fight, but at the end of the day, we fought back and kept fighting and working as a team,” King said. “There isn’t any quit with this team and even though we struggled at times, I’m very happy with the effort we are getting every day.”

Stone, even limited by fouls, threw down 20 points, snatched seven boards, doled out three assists and made off with three steals to pace the Wolves.

Myers (12 points), Vidoni (eight points), Hammer (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks), Madeline Strasburg (five points, four assists), Kiel (two points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals), Littlejohn (two points) and Kailey Kellner (one point) all chipped in, as well.

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