Kailey Kellner (red shorts) scorched the nets Sunday. (Amy King photos)
Wolves (l to r) Brittany Powers, Lauren Grove, Maddy Hilkey, Tiffany Briscoe, Kellner, Kyla Briscoe, Sarah Wright, Mia Littlejohn and Lindsey Roberts.
Kailey Kellner was hotter than the surface of the sun.
Torching the nets for 18 points in a cut-down game Sunday, the Coupeville High School senior-to-be had a love affair going with the basketball net.
By the time she was done, hitting the game-winner in sudden-death double overtime, Kellner had carried the Wolf girls’ basketball squad to a 23-21 upset of 2A Lakewood.
The win gave Coupeville a split in their first action of the summer — the tired Wolves fell to perennial power La Conner in the nightcap — and officially opened the post-Makana Stone era.
Coming off a trip to the regional round of the state tourney last winter, the Wolves can return every player on their roster, with the exception of the two-time 1A Olympic League MVP.
Nine of those players (six varsity vets and three former JV players looking to break into the big time) showed up Sunday to run and gun for David and Amy King.
The opening game was a back-and-forth affair, with Lauren Grove and Kyla Briscoe running the point and Kellner pulling off her best Steph Curry impression from beyond the arc.
Raining down three-balls as fast as her teammates could set her up, Kellner kept Coupeville within a point at the half.
Around her, the Wolves were getting hustle and scrappiness from everyone on the roster.
“Lots of energy from the whole team, good passing and working hard on getting rebounds,” Amy King said.
Brittany Powers, Maddy Hilkey and Sarah Wright, the three players looking to move up, all chipped in while Briscoe drew a crucial foul late in regulation.
Scrambling for a loose ball, she was run over by a Lakewood player, but bounced back to hit a crucial free throw.
Knotted up at 17-17, the teams went to overtime, which, like the game itself, was shorter than normal.
With just two minutes to play with (instead of the normal five) and no shot clock, Lakewood ran the clock down before hitting a potential game-winner.
At which point Kellner (symbolically) ripped off her jersey to reveal the Superman costume underneath.
First she beat the buzzer with a runner to force a second overtime, then she won the game in the extra period.
With the clock turned off, the second OT was simple — score, win. Don’t score, don’t.
Bringing the ball up for the first time, Coupeville made crisp passes, with Grove hitting Kellner down on the low block.
Ball in the air, ball in the basket, winner winner, chicken dinner.
Worn down a bit after an emotional opener, the Wolves, who, admittedly, are not in game shape, wilted a bit under substantial pressure in game two.
Having watched Kellner’s performance in the opener, La Conner clamped down on her in the nightcap.
Coupeville rallied from a slow start, using a new defense, but couldn’t get all the way back.
Still, their coaches were happy with a lot of what they saw Sunday.
“We had players on the floor going after loose balls, crashing the boards for rebounds,” Amy King said. “All in all, it was fun to see the girls back out on the court; we were really happy with all of their efforts and proud of their fight.”
Along with Kellner and Grove, fellow returning varsity starters Tiffany Briscoe and Mia Littlejohn and sixth-man spark-plug Lindsey Roberts, who had 10 rebounds in the win, joined Kyla Briscoe, Hilkey, Powers and Wright for the doubleheader.
“We did some good things in both games and can be proud of how we played,” David King said. “There are areas that need some work, but that’s what the off-season is for.
“Put in the work now and it pays off big-time once the high school season starts up in November.”
Coupeville Sports 