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Posts Tagged ‘Kierra Thayer’

Scrappy Wolves fall to hustlin’ Bulldogs

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Bryley Gilbert slashes to the hoop. (Jackie Saia photo)

Sometimes effort beats skill.

That seems to be the case Thursday, as the Mount Vernon High School C-Team pulled away with a strong third quarter, bouncing Coupeville’s JV 38-23.

The non-conference road loss drops the young Wolves to 6-7, but they get an immediate chance to return to the hardwood with a home game Friday against Northwest 2B/1B League rival Friday Harbor.

While Mount Vernon is a 3A school and CHS a 2B institution, Wolf coach Kassie O’Neil felt her team more than matched up with the Bulldogs.

But the host team just wanted the game more.

“It was a hard game to lose, because we really should have won,” O’Neil said. “We had more talent, but we got outhustled.”

Coupeville stayed close through the first half, trailing just 10-6 at the first break, and 15-12 at halftime.

The third quarter proved to be the difference, however, as the Bulldogs used a 15-5 tear to bust things open.

Madison McMillan paced Coupeville with a team-high 11 points, giving her 101 for the season.

The sophomore swing player, who has also scored at the varsity level for the Wolves, is the first JV player, male or female, to top triple-digits this season.

Bryley Gilbert knocked down six points to back McMillan, with Kierra Thayer, Liza Zustiak, and Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo each chipping in with a bucket to round out the offensive attack.

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No quit, forever scrappy

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins, ready to rumble. (Jackie Saia photo)

They got stronger as the night progressed.

Facing off with visiting Mount Vernon Christian Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad played the Hurricanes virtually even in the second half.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, a slow start doomed them in a 31-16 loss.

The defeat, which snaps a two-game win streak for Kassie O’Neil’s squad, drops them to 4-4 on the season.

Coupeville only converted one field goal in the first half and that stung, as it fell behind 9-1 after one quarter of play, and 19-5 at the half.

Things got better after the break however, with Kierra Thayer tossing in five points in the third frame and the Wolves only being edged 12-11 across the game’s final 16 minutes.

Thayer finished with a team-high seven points, while Liza Zustiak (2), Skylar Parker (2), Reese Wilkinson (2), Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo (1), Madison McMillan (1), and Kayla Arnold (1) also scored.

Brynn Parker, Teagan Calkins, Jada Heaton, Bryley Gilbert, Kassidy Upchurch, and Desi Ramirez-Vasquez also saw floor time for the Wolves, as O’Neil juggled a 13-woman roster.

Coupeville’s JV girls go their own way in their next outing, heading up to Oak Harbor High School Friday night.

The Wolves will be the “home” team and face off with the C-Team from 3A Mount Vernon in a game scheduled to tip-off at 5:40 PM.

Coupeville’s varsity hosts Darrington Friday and travels to Neah Bay Saturday, but neither of those schools has a JV girls’ team.

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Road warriors maul Cubs

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Madison McMillan rumbles in the paint. (Jackie Saia photo)

The fourth quarter belongs to them.

Ending the game on an electric 18-2 surge Thursday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad turned a nailbiter into a blowout win.

With five different players scoring across the final eight minutes, Kassie O’Neil’s band of road warriors exited Sedro-Woolley with a rousing 50-30 non-conference victory to even their record at 2-2.

The Wolf JV gets right back at it Saturday, with an epic trek to Forks, before heading into winter break.

Apparently, the young guns love hearing the wheels on the bus go round and round, as they are a flawless 2-0 away from their home gym this season.

While Coupeville trailed 8-5 after one quarter of play, it rallied behind the sweet shooting of Desi Ramirez-Vasquez and Madison McMillan in frame two.

With the dynamic duo combining for nine points, the Wolves used a 12-8 surge to claim a razor-thin 17-16 lead at the half.

The third quarter was all about Jada Heaton gettin’ hers, as the super sophomore exploded for all eight of her points in the frame.

That gave Coupeville a bit of breathing room at 32-28, but it wasn’t enough as the fourth quarter barrage proved.

Kierra Thayer prepares to get awesome. (Jackie Saia photo)

Kierra Thayer had the hot hand in the final frame, banking in six points, with McMillan, Bryley Gilbert, Reese Wilkinson, and Kayla Arnold joining in on the offensive eruption.

Eight of 12 Wolves scored, led by McMillan (11), Thayer (10), Ramirez-Vasquez (9), and Heaton (8).

Gilbert (4), Arnold (4), Wilkinson (2), and Tegan Calkins (2) also scored, with Liza Zustiak, Brynn Parker, Kassidy Upchurch, and Skylar Parker seeing floor time.

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Kierra Thayer ready to rumble

Posted in Girls Basketball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on August 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Kierra Thayer strolls to the hoop during a middle school game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

She lights up the gym.

Kierra Thayer, an incoming freshman at Coupeville High School, had an immediate impact when she stepped on the basketball court last winter.

Making her debut in a Wolf uniform as an 8th grader, she threw down a game-high eight points against Langley in a tense middle school hoops rumble.

There was plenty more where that came from, with Thayer leading all CMS players in the season scoring stats, while also providing often-explosive defense while denying rivals access to the paint.

Now, as she rumbles into high school, she plans to add volleyball to her to-do list, before returning to the hardwood.

While Thayer is a promising talent in multiple sports, basketball owns her heart at the moment.

“My favorite sport would have to be basketball,” she said. “Because I love the competitive side of it; but I also love team bonding.”

Her goal for high school “would have to be to make varsity,” but Thayer is willing to put in the work to get there.

“If I don’t (make varsity) then (my goal) would have to be to just do my best,” she said.

“This is my court!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Thayer embraces the athletic life and carries a positive attitude into everything she does.

“What I enjoy about being an athlete is the competitiveness, the team dynamic, and the traveling that goes along with it,” she said.

“I always love getting to meet new people and seeing what the competition is like.”

Away from sports Thayer enjoys baking and music, with science and math topping her classroom interests.

As she transitions from middle school to high school, she is already planning for the increased workload, both on the playing field and in the classroom.

“My strength that I have as an athlete would have to be that I pick up drills pretty easily,” Thayer said.

“But my weakness would have to be juggling schoolwork, along with the dedication requirement of being an athlete.”

Thayer is not alone, however, and is quick to praise those who are actively helping her reach her potential.

“There are two people that have impacted me,” Thayer said. “My mom and my science teacher, Ms. Berg.

“My mom always encourages me and taught me how to play the game of basketball correctly and how to take the game seriously while still having fun,” she added.

“Ms. Berg always pushed me to do better on my schoolwork, and she always saw potential in me and knew I could do better.”

Keeping both eyes on a bright future. (Photo courtesy Will Thayer)

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Road warriors stay scrappy

Posted in Girls Basketball, Middle School, tagged , , , , on March 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Kierra Thayer powers to the hoop. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Step by step, they’re building a bright future.

Coupeville Middle School girls basketball players — many making their hardwood debut — continue to flash signs of brilliance, drawing approval from their coaches.

Thursday was the middle match-up in a three-game road trip, sending the Wolves to the wilds of Sultan to face off with one of the best programs in the Cascade League.

And while CMS absorbed a pair of losses, hoops gurus Kristina Forbes and Kassie Lawson exited content in the knowledge that their teams are trending in the right direction.

How the day played out:

 

Varsity:

Sultan’s middle school teams have been dominant in recent years, and the young Turks proved up to the challenge in a 43-7 win.

The loss drops Coupeville’s top squad to 0-3 on the season.

The hosts barreled out to a 15-0 lead after one quarter of play, then put the game on ice with a 12-5 run in the second frame.

Brynn Parker netted her first points of the season, pacing the Wolves with a team-high four, while Haylee Armstrong rattled the rims for a bucket, and Kierra Thayer swished a free throw.

Capri Anter caught some love from her coaches for her defensive play, including a tooth-rattling rejection of a Turk shot.

Liza Zustiak, Rhylin Price, Lexis Drake, Avery Williams-Buchanan, Tenley Stuurmans, and Valeria de Jesus Merino also saw floor time for Coupeville.

 

JV:

The Wolves fell in a game in which the Sultan scorebooks uphold a longstanding middle school tradition of not adding up.

Maybe it was 26-5. Maybe 25-5. Maybe 20-5.

We’ll never know for sure.

What we can attest to is Lexis Drake (4) and Melanie Wolfe (1) breaking into the scoring column for the first time during the 2022 campaign.

And a whole lot of hustle from the Wolves (0-2) on both ends of the floor.

“Willow Leedy-Bonifas was fierce for going for steals,” Kristina Forbes said. “They played great defense.

“Chelsi Stevens stepped up as a guard on offense and handled it well,” she added. “Adeline Maynes — a shorty — stepped up to help our posts with rebounds; she didn’t let the tall girls scare her away.”

Ava Carpenter, Price, Laken Simpson, Taylor Marrs, and de Jesus Merino also saw floor time for Coupeville, which wraps up its road trip with a journey to Granite Falls Mar. 15.

After that, the Wolves get three-straight home games.

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