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Posts Tagged ‘Mount Vernon Christian’

Easton Green pushes the ball up court. (Julie Wheat photo)

The first quarter was brutal.

The Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball team was not in sync for the first eight minutes Tuesday, and that proved fatal against a strong Mount Vernon Christian squad.

Despite playing strongly across the game’s final three quarters, the Wolves could never get back over the hump after falling behind 15-3 at the first break and eventually absorbed a 51-32 loss to the visiting Hurricanes.

The defeat drops Brad Sherman’s hardwood aces to 0-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-5 overall.

Up next, weather permitting, is a trip to Eastern Washington, with non-conference rumbles Friday at Manson and Saturday at Entiat.

Then, there’s a two-week gap between games, with the Wolves returning Jan. 3, 2026, to travel to Morton White-Pass, and not playing at home again for 21 days, when Friday Harbor arrives in Cow Town Jan. 6.

When they do take the floor, the Wolves will want to be the aggressive, opportunistic team of the last 24 minutes Tuesday, and not the one which failed to hit a shot for nearly seven minutes to open things.

Coupeville didn’t get on the board until Malachi Somes roared through the paint for a bucket-and-free-throw combo at the 1:15 mark of the first quarter.

By that point, MVC was up 13-0 and grabbing seemingly every rebound in sight.

Somes three-point play seemed to light a spark in the Wolves, however, and they finally caught full fire in the second frame.

Trailing 16-3 after a Hurricane free throw, CHS launched an 11-4 surge, started by Camden Glover splashing home a three-ball, while Davin Houston got dramatic.

The high-energy rampager snagged the ball, lowered his head, and knocked his defender to the ground — while making it look like the ‘Cane was the aggressor — drilling a fall-away jumper and the ensuing free throw.

A pair of Chase Anderson free throws cut the deficit to 20-14, and it seemed like we were set for a nailbiter.

It wasn’t to be, though.

MVC immediately packaged a pair of three-balls around a steal and breakaway bucket in the next few seconds, and Coupeville would never get the lead back down to single digits for the remainder of the evening.

The Wolves cut the deficit to 10 points twice in the second half, at 28-18 after a swooping bucket from Aiden O’Neill, and at 40-30 after Anderson turned a crisp Glover pass into a careening layup.

But the Hurricanes had a swift answer both times, immediately drilling another three-ball on the very next possession to blunt any comeback hopes.

The visitors finished with seven treys to three from CHS, and it felt like each and every one of those seven came at the absolute worst time for Coupeville.

Anderson finished with a team-high 13 points, with Glover (7), O’Neill (5), Somes (3), Houston (3), and Easton Green (1) also scoring, while Liam Blas, Riley Lawless, and Carson Grove saw floor time as well.

With his performance, Anderson continues his climb up the CHS boys’ basketball career scoring chart, jumping from #24 to #22 all-time on a list started in 1917.

The Wolf senior sits with 689 points, having passed old-school scoring legends Gavin Keohane (677) and Chris Good (688) Tuesday night.

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Adeline Maynes fires off a free throw. (Julie Wheat photos)

The Hurricanes made it rain.

Hitting 11 three-balls Tuesday, including five in the first quarter alone, the Mount Vernon Christian varsity girls’ basketball team rolled past host Coupeville 69-28 in a show of dominance.

The loss drops the Wolves to 0-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 1-4 overall, with a three-game trip to the Trojan Storm Classic in Bellingham next up for Scout Smith’s squad.

Coupeville is slated to play Dec. 29-31, opening against Blaine before squaring off with two as-yet-to-be-named rivals the following days.

The Wolves won’t play another league game until Jan. 6, 2026, when they host Friday Harbor, and won’t see MVC again until a Jan. 27 road trip to the mainland.

That should give Coupeville some time to wash away the bad taste of Tuesday’s first quarter.

Things did not go well for the Wolves across the game’s first seven minutes-plus, with the ‘Canes hitting four consecutive treys as part of a game-opening 21-0 tear.

CHS finally broke through when freshman Kennedy O’Neill crashed hard through the paint with just 43 seconds left in the frame, earning a three-point play the hard way, thanks to a bucket and free throw.

Then the pain resurfaced.

Mount Vernon Christian scored five more points in the first quarter, capping a 26-3 frame by netting a three-ball with a single second remaining on the clock, before scoring three straight buckets to open the second.

Down 32-3, the Wolves hung tough, however, closing the half on a mini run of their own to cut the lead back to 36-10.

A three-ball from Teagan Calkins, set up by a Danica Strong offensive rebound, brought an emotional response from the pro-Wolf crowd, while Strong also played beat the buzzer, banking in a shot with two ticks left to play.

Long-range assassin Danica Strong is locked and loaded.

But while MVC didn’t hit any long-range shots in the second quarter, it got right back down to business in the third, splashing home four more treys to push the margin to 55-16.

There were bright spots for the Wolves, though.

Strong hit paydirt on a pair of three-balls while also coming up big cleaning the glass, while Haylee Armstrong showcased her never-say-die attitude, scoring nine of her 12 points in the fourth.

That gives the junior guard a team-best 50 points through the first five games and leaves her just a bucket shy of reaching 150 for her varsity career.

Armstrong’s 12 points was backed up by Strong (8), Calkins (5), and O’Neill (3), with Tenley Stuurmans, Lexis Drake, Sydney Van Dyke, Capri Anter, Adeline Maynes, and Ari Cunningham all seeing floor time.

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Josh Stockdale rumbles. (Julie Wheat photo)

The second half was better than the first.

Bringing the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 hoops season to a close Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball team fell 52-28 to visiting Mount Vernon Christian.

The loss, which drops the Wolves to 1-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 2-4 overall, got away from CHS early.

The Hurricanes sprinted out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter, before stretching the advantage to 32-12 by halftime.

After that, however, Coupeville’s young guns held their own, virtually playing the visitors even across the game’s final 16 minutes.

Jayden McManus finished with a team-high 11 points to pace the Wolves, while Carson Grove netted six of seven free throw attempts while tickling the twines for 10 points.

Liam Lawson (2), Ayden Warren (2), Nathan Coxsey (2), and Khanor Jump (1) also scored, with Trent Thule, Josh Stockdale, Brian Thompson, Chris Zenz, and Jaden Flores Garcia rounding out the roster.

While the varsity boys have two games in Eastern Washington this weekend, the JV doesn’t return to action until Jan. 3, 2026, when CHS hits the road to face non-league rival Morton-White Pass.

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Olivia Hall fires off a jumper. (Julie Wheat photo)

On to the new year!

Playing their final game of 2025 Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball team ran into a buzzsaw in blue, falling 55-14 to visiting Mount Vernon Christian.

The loss drops the young Wolves to 0-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-4 overall.

And for Alita Blouin’s squad, it’ll be a bit before they get back into action against a rival, not playing again until a road trip Jan. 3, 2026, to face Morton-White Pass in a non-conference rumble.

By the time that game comes around, the Wolves will have had plenty of opportunities to move on from Tuesday’s tussle, while mixing some practices with the holidays.

MVC, the premier girls’ hoops team in the NWL, is strong at both the varsity and JV levels, and it showed.

The Hurricanes jumped out to a 16-4 lead by the first break, before steadily pulling away, turning a 27-6 halftime advantage into a 49-12 margin after three frames.

Cami Van Dyke and Ava Lucero led Coupeville’s scoring effort, each knocking down four points, while Olivia Hall and Willow Leedy-Bonifas rattled the rim for three apiece.

Emma Cushman, Zayne Roos, Finley Helm, Anna Powers, Taylor Marrs, and Allie Powers also saw floor time for the Wolves.

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Sage Arends and Co. are learning under fire. (Jackie Saia photos)

Gotta stare down the big dogs.

Mount Vernon Christian has a rich tradition on the soccer pitch and is annually one of the best in the region.

But that doesn’t mean a young, scrappy Coupeville High School boys’ squad has to give in easily to the Hurricanes.

So, while CHS fell 8-1 at MVC Wednesday, the game was much more hotly contested than the score might have indicated.

“In the first half we held them off,” said Wolf coach Jim Kunz. “MVC let us and the refs know that they were annoyed.

“It seemed like they thought it would be an easy win. We made them work for it.”

The Hurricanes “pumped up their physicality and scoring efforts” in the second half, pulling away a bit, which caused “a frustrated CHS (to) start reverting to old tactics of double teaming and booting the ball.”

But even in a loss, Jim Kunz saw positives.

“Despite the score I’m happy with the progression I’m seeing out of this young team,” he said. “They had a change in coaching, a number of seniors graduated, and no seniors this year.

“Considering that we’re playing much better than I assumed.”

Now sitting at 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-6 overall, Coupeville got its lone goal off the foot of Edmund Wilson, with an assist going to Edmund Kunz.

It was Wilson’s team-leading fourth score of the campaign, and the 30th scored by his family, as older bothers Aidan and Cael tallied 13 goals apiece during their days in red and black.

The Wolves return to action this Friday, playing under the lights at Coupeville’s Mickey Clark Field.

Grace Academy is the foe, kickoff is set for 6:00 PM, and admission is free.

Sam Richards will defend his home goal Friday night.

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