Ryanne Knoblich (front) and Mia Farris put up a good fight Wednesday at La Conner. (Karen Carlson photo)
Look, it wasn’t the best of nights.
Playing the middle game in a run of three straight road bouts against state title contenders, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad got roughed up a bit Wednesday at La Conner.
The score, which came out in favor of the host Braves to a 72-16 tune, stings.
The loss drops Coupeville to 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-7 overall, heading into a Friday trip to Mount Vernon Christian to face the defending 1B state champs.
Tack on a lopsided loss to Neah Bay in their most-recent appearance on the hardwood, and the Wolves are in endurance mode, pushing through with an eye on the schedule getting a little more balanced after they get through this week.
And yet, while CHS, playing without its best rebounder in injured Carolyn Lhamon, struggled to mute La Conner’s advantage in the paint, there were bright spots.
None bigger than a play late in the game from Lyla Stuurmans.
Back on the floor after missing the Neah Bay game, the springy sophomore pulled off a move which captured the Wolves gritty spirit even in the face of adversity.
Coupeville trailed by 55, there were less than three minutes to play, and La Conner had yet another breakaway rolling.
Instead, Stuurmans, still fighting, just like the other four Wolves on the floor, sprinted the length of the floor, slid in front of an oncoming Brave at the last moment, planted herself, and absorbed a bruising blow.
Selling it to the refs while bouncing off the floor with a grimace, the defensive dynamo got the call, the ref emphatically signaling an offensive charge on La Conner.
It wasn’t a play to win a game.
It wasn’t a play that could change much of anything by itself.
But it’s the kind of play every coach worth their salt wants to see a young player make.
Ignore the clock, ignore the score, and execute selflessly.
Do it down 55 with under three to play, and you’re likely to make the same play in the heat of a much-closer game at crunch time.
It’s a building block, and one Stuurmans, her teammates, and her coaches, can look at and say, with pride, “This is how we play, every play.”
La Conner’s top players are seniors, the Coupeville varsity is giving plenty of floor time to a strong group of sophomores, and the Wolf JV beat the Braves JV Wednesday night.
Things can change, life comes at you fast, and sometimes stepping in front of an oncoming semi-truck on the hardwood is the key to starting a renaissance.
Stuurmans’ fellow sophomores also had their moments against the Braves.
Mia Farris led Coupeville in scoring, knocking down three buckets under duress to account for six points, while Katie Marti scrapped in the paint, relentlessly chasing rebounds and rolling through the paint for a bucket of her own.
Madison McMillan and Jada Heaton, along with junior Skylar Parker, all saw floor time late in the game, as well, showing no fear — always a good sign.
Coupeville’s seniors didn’t back down, either, with Alita Blouin splashing in five points in support of Farris, while Ryanne Knoblich (2) and Gwen Gustafson (1) also scored.
Wolf seniors Alita Blouin (left) and Maddie Georges contemplate roughing up the refs. (Karen Carlson photo)
Point guard Maddie Georges, playing on the birthday of older brother Alex Evans, put up a spirited fight, zipping passes left and right and knocking down the best shot of the game.
Unfortunately, the refs, being sticklers for upholding the rules, declined to count the bucket.
Racing up court in a bid to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter Georges drilled the bottom of the net out on a shot released from just inside the halfcourt line.
The ball arced high, kissed the glass, and flipped through the net.
But the shot clearly left Georges fingers after the buzzer sounded, so there wasn’t much point in arguing about the ref waving the three points off the scoreboard.
Still, it was a pretty, pretty shot, something even the officials seemed to acknowledge.
