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Freshman Madison McMillan led the Wolf JV in scoring this season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Playing from behind is tough.

The Coupeville High School JV girls basketball team got stronger as the game went on Thursday but couldn’t catch host La Conner.

Despite outscoring the Braves in the second half, the young Wolves ultimately fell 32-22 in their season finale.

The loss leaves Coupeville’s final record at 3-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-8 overall.

The Wolves hit the floor ready to rumble, fighting for rebounds and loose balls, but an ice-cold shooting touch in the early going made things tough.

The ball skipped off the rim, rolled around and popped back out, and thoroughly failed to cooperate with Coupeville’s shooters as they slipped behind 7-0.

Kayla Arnold put a rebound back up and in to finally crack the scoreless run, but by then nearly six minutes had been erased from the clock.

Trailing 9-2 at the first break, the Wolves got buckets from Brooklyn Thayer and Madison McMillan in the second quarter, but the deficit widened to 19-6 by halftime.

The break seemed to help, however, as Coupeville battled La Conner even through a 9-9 third quarter, before claiming dominance in a game-closing 7-4 surge in the fourth.

Desi Ramirez-Vasquez had the hot hand in the second half, draining a pair of three-balls.

The first one was set up by a nice kick-out pass from Skylar Parker, while the second one was all Desi, all day.

The sophomore sparkplug stole the ball, beat a mad path down court, then suddenly slammed on the brakes and banked home a three-ball from somewhere deep in the parking lot, earning some oohs and ahs.

Desi Ramirez-Vasquez played strongly on both ends of the floor in Thursday’s finale.

Coupeville’s defense was key in the late game run, with Mia Farris and Jada Heaton both coming up with big plays to thwart the La Conner offense.

Ramirez-Vasquez led the Wolves with six points, while Thayer and McMillan backed her up with four apiece.

Katie Marti, Farris, Arnold, and Heaton all chipped in with a bucket, while Bryley Gilbert, Parker, and Reese Wilkinson also saw floor time.

 

Final season scoring stats:

Madison McMillan – 66
Katie Marti – 52
Brooklyn Thayer – 38
Gwen Gustafson – 32
Desi Ramirez-Vasquez – 32
Mia Farris – 19
Skylar Parker – 19
Kayla Arnold – 18
Reese Wilkinson – 13
Lyla Stuurmans – 12
Bryley Gilbert – 7
Jada Heaton – 7
Nezi Keiper – 3
Edie Bittner – 2
Yodnum Nakakul – 2

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The La Conner School District has adopted a new mascot.

They’re still the Braves, but with a war eagle replacing a Native American in a headdress.

One of Coupeville’s primary athletic rivals has a new mascot.

Honoring the wishes of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the La Conner School District has replaced a Plains Indian wearing a feather headdress with a war eagle designed by a member of its alumni.

Jeanette Quintasket, a tribal member who graduated as part of the Class of 2018, crafted the image which topped 38 submissions.

When House Bill 1356 was implemented, it banned the use of Native American names, symbols, or images by public schools.

An exception could be made for school districts whose enrollment boundaries include what the law terms “Indian Country.”

The Swinomish approved La Conner retaining use of the Braves name for its sports teams, but requested the outdated logo be replaced.

The submissions were voted on by students, staff, alumni and community members.

Quintasket crafted her design with an eye on her heritage, she told the Skagit Valley Herald.

“I am Swinomish, so in our culture, the eagle is our guardian,” she was quoted as saying. “It represents our spiritual connection to our ancestors.”

The new mascot was officially approved at Monday’s school board meeting, with Quintasket honored for her creativity.

The La Conner school district and the Swinomish have a long history together, dating to the early 1900’s, when tribal children began attending La Conner schools.

Current numbers from the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction list 34% of La Conner students as Native American.

Two of five school board members are Swinomish tribal members, while Superintendent Will Nelson is also Native American.

While using the Braves name for its sports teams, La Conner also incorporates the moniker in other ways, with the district motto being “Be brave.”

District schools have worked to keep Swinomish tribal heritage as a vital part of their curriculum, with drumming, carving, and Lushootseed language classes offered to both tribal and non-tribal students.

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Caleb Meyer rolls to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

CHS girls basketball coaches survey the action.

It was an undefeated week.

Not a perfect week, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team had to postpone two of its four games.

But when the Wolves did take the floor, whether it was the boys or girls, both varsity squads KO’d every contender.

The CHS boys picked up four wins to stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games, while the Wolf girls rebounded to drill Concrete and South Whidbey after waving off Darrington and Friday Harbor.

The week ahead is a little slower, with the boys set to travel to Mount Vernon Christian Thursday, Jan. 27, then trek to Granite Falls two days later.

The girls have just one game, and it’s a recent addition to the schedule — a journey up Island to play Oak Harbor next Saturday.

Where things stand through games of Jan. 22:

 

Northwest League boys basketball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 8-0 11-0
MV Christian 5-1 9-3
La Conner 2-2 4-8
Orcas Island 2-2 4-4
Friday Harbor 2-4 4-6
Darrington 1-4 3-6
Concrete 0-7 1-11

 

Northwest League girls basketball:

School League Overall
La Conner 7-0 13-1
MV Christian 6-1 11-2
Coupeville 4-3 6-4
Orcas Island 2-2 3-5
Friday Harbor 2-4 3-7
Darrington 1-4 3-6
Concrete 0-8 2-11

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Alex Murdy and Co. are outjumping all opponents. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was the perfect storm, if you wanted very few games played.

The aftereffects of snow and ice mixed with the never-ending pandemic shuffle to keep most Northwest 2B/1B League basketball teams off the court this past week.

On the boys side of things, only one of nine scheduled games was actually played, with Coupeville running La Conner off the floor.

Things were slightly more active for girls hoops squads, with an emphasis on the word slightly.

La Conner KO’d Coupeville’s girls, while Mount Vernon Christian blasted Concrete a few days later.

Then, Saturday night, La Conner broke triple-digits, shellacking Concrete in a savage 104-14 win.

Other than that, six of nine scheduled games failed to have a tip-off.

The week ahead is pretty barren, as well, at least for Coupeville, which currently only has one set of games on the schedule.

The Wolves host MVC Tuesday, Jan. 11, with the boys game a showdown for sole possession of first-place in the NWL.

After that, barring pesky Covid positives, or frogs raining down from the skies, CHS goes full-tilt, with four games in five days between Jan. 18-22.

Maybe.

Until then, here are where things stand through games of Jan. 8:

 

Northwest League boys basketball:

School League Overall
Coupeville 4-0 6-0
MV Christian 3-0 6-2
Darrington 1-1 3-3
Friday Harbor 1-2 2-4
La Conner 1-2 3-5
Orcas Island 1-2 3-4
Concrete 0-4 1-7

 

Northwest League girls basketball:

School League Overall
La Conner 6-0 10-0
MV Christian 4-1 8-2
Coupeville 3-2 4-3
Darrington 1-2 3-4
Orcas Island 1-2 2-5
Friday Harbor 1-3 1-6
Concrete 0-6 2-7

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Caleb Meyer and Co. are 6-0 on the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was weird, it was wild, it was a win.

Playing for the first time in three weeks, the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball team scored its fewest points of the season Tuesday, yet still whomped on visiting La Conner to remain undefeated.

Blowing out to a 25-0 lead, then falling back on a blistering defensive attack once the net turned inhospitable, the Wolves routed the Braves 54-29.

The win lifts Coupeville to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-0 overall headed into a big clash at home Thursday against Friday Harbor.

The Wolves, who sit alone atop the conference standings, a half-game up on Mount Vernon Christian (3-0, 6-2), were coming off a long layoff when they took the court Tuesday night.

Two games were postponed right before the holiday break, thanks to Covid protocols, then Christmas, New Year’s, and a lot of snow and ice dominated the calendar.

If there were any winter remnants hanging around the gym parking lot, they likely melted under the heat of the game’s opening minutes.

Playing stifling defense, Coupeville frazzled La Conner’s ballhandlers into a string of turnovers, which the speedy Wolves converted into bucket after bucket.

Alex Murdy threw down the game’s first score, alertly picking off an inbounds pass, before whirling to the hoop for a layup.

Then the bombs started dropping from long range, with Hawthorne Wolfe snapping the net on a three-ball, followed by Xavier Murdy netting back-to-back treys.

Not only were the Wolves hitting everything they were tossing skyward, but they were moving the ball with a furious precision.

Hawk’s three-ball was set up by X-Man, then the senior duo flipped the script, with Wolfe feeding the elder Murdy on the very next play.

With La Conner unable to get back quickly enough on defense, Coupeville pushed the pace, and it worked superbly.

A steal by Alex Murdy set up a bucket for his big bro, while Logan Martin converted a steal into an assist on a Wolfe layup, before Hawk returned the favor almost immediately on a Martin jumper.

Xavier Murdy finished the opening eight-minute stretch with 13 points, including a trio of three-balls, and Coupeville, up 27-2 at the first break, looked like it would make a serious run at 100 points.

But then the offensive fireworks started to seriously drain away.

Despite X-Man raining down 10 more points — and three more treys — in the second quarter, Coupeville would net just 27 points total over the game’s final 24 minutes.

After the torrid start, shot after shot started to take weird bounces for the Wolves, and a team which had scored 70+ points in each of its first five games never got close to that number.

Not that it ultimately mattered, however.

With their shooting mojo suddenly in freefall, the Wolves ramped up their defense and played La Conner even across those final three quarters, not allowing the lead to ever get below 22 points.

Caleb Meyer was one of the few Wolves able to convert anything on the offensive end of the floor after halftime, and his six points in the third quarter kept things under control.

His biggest play — three points the hard way on a bucket in the paint, followed by a free throw — was set up by a sensational save on the endline by young teammate Cole White.

Every Coupeville player sold out hard on the defensive end, but the Murdy boys led the way, with Xavier dominating on the glass and Alex relentlessly disrupting passes.

X-Man finished with a game-high 24 points, the best single-game performance by a Wolf player this season, boy or girl, varsity or JV.

With six three-balls on the night, the CHS marksman made a major move up the career scoring chart, cracking the top 100 for a program now in its 105th season.

Passing 13 former Wolves — including Risen Johnson, Alex Evans, and Tyler KingXavier Murdy moves into a tie with John Beasley for 97th place all-time with 293 points.

That also leaves X-Man breathing down the neck of his uncle, mad bomber Allen Black (305), for family bragging rights.

Meyer tallied nine points Tuesday, while Wolfe and Logan Downes chipped in with five apiece.

Alex Murdy (4), Dominic Coffman (3), Martin (2), and White (2) also scored, with Jonathan Valenzuela standing tall on defense.

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