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Posts Tagged ‘Mount Vernon Christian’

Wolves weather Hurricanes rainin’ down pain

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Maddie Georges fights for a loose ball. (Karen Carlson photo)

First, some good news.

The Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team was back at nearly full-strength Friday, with senior Carolyn Lhamon back in the lineup after missing a chunk of games while tending to a foot injury.

The Wolves most-imposing presence in the paint, she could be a big help down the stretch, as CHS chases a playoff berth.

Now, the bad news.

While Lhamon played strongly in limited minutes, there’s not much she, or any of her teammates could do to slow down host Mount Vernon Christian.

Playing on Senior Night and unveiling their state title banner from last season, the Hurricanes buried eight three-balls en route to a 62-17 win over the visiting Wolves.

The loss drops Coupeville to 1-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-8 overall.

The game caps a brutal stretch of three-straight road games against championship contenders, coming on the heels of contests against MVC’s fellow state powers, Neah Bay and La Conner.

While Coupeville hits the bus one more time to kick off next week, that trip will to be to Concrete Tuesday, to face a 1-12 Lion team.

Not the same thing, you would assume.

Facing off with MVC, the Wolves did stay scrappy in the first quarter, just like the first time these two squads played.

Lyla Stuurmans hit a driving layup, off a feed from Maddie Georges, to knot the game at 2-2, and the Wolves were still within 8-3 in the final moments of the first quarter.

Unfortunately for Megan Richter’s team, that was where the Hurricanes began to assert their dominance, both in the paint and from behind the arc.

MVC closed the opening frame with a three-ball, then broke the game open with a 15-0 surge in the second quarter, a run which featured one layup after another.

Georges popped a three-ball to stop the bleeding for a moment, with Lhamon rolling through the paint shortly after for a layup of her own, but the game slipped away fast.

The Hurricanes closed the half with a 12-2 tear, raining down four three-balls in a row, the final one beating the buzzer by .00001 of a second.

MVC kept its magic alive in the third, again nailing a buzzer-beating trey, this one pushing the lead out to 40 points and setting off a running clock across the final eight minutes.

Coupeville played aggressively on defense to the end, with Stuurmans collecting a block, but was only able to score on back-to-back possessions once in the game.

Ryanne Knoblich paced the Wolves with a team-high six points, with Georges (5), Stuurmans (3), Lhamon (2), and Gwen Gustafson (1) also scoring.

Alita Blouin, Mia Farris, Katie Marti, Jada Heaton, and Skylar Parker also saw floor time for CHS, with Marti bouncing off said floor 9,271 times while doing her best to slow down Mount Vernon’s imposing post players.

Katie Marti eyeballs the defense. (Delanie Lewis photo)

In a side note, Georges, a senior point guard, passed one of Coupeville’s coaches on the all-time scoring chart Friday night.

Now sitting with 321 points, she nudges past Wolf assistant Mia Littlejohn (317), and is tied with Marie Grasser at #34 all-time for a program launched in 1974.

For you youngsters out there, Marie Grasser — the first true CHS girls’ basketball star — is known as Mrs. Bagby these days, the same Mrs. Bagby who you used to see every day in the school office.

The more you know.

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Balanced attack, big road win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Landon Roberts (with ball), Aiden O’Neill, and Coupeville’s JV have won six straight games. (Delanie Lewis photo)

They’re still the hottest team in the land.

Holding off a dangerous Mount Vernon Christian squad Friday, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball team ran away with its sixth-straight win.

Closing the game on a 15-6 tear after surrendering the lead for a hot second midway through the fourth quarter, the Wolves held on for a 58-50 victory to sweep the season series with the Hurricanes.

Hunter Smith’s team of two-way hoops stars are now a crisp 3-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-3 overall.

The only thing that can stop them right now is a school simply declining to play them, which is the case next week, as Concrete shut down its JV team after iffy grades and lingering injuries gutted its roster.

So, while Coupeville’s varsity will play twice in a four-day span, the JV won’t be back in action until Friday Harbor visits Whidbey Island next Friday, Jan. 27.

Until then, the young guns will keep fine-tuning an offense which can kill you from every angle.

Eight Wolves tallied a bucket or more Friday, and they did it in multiple ways.

Down low in the paint, from behind the arc, and even, once in a while, from the free throw line.

Hunter Bronec got things kicked off, burying a three-ball in the game’s first minute, and the two teams battled to an 11-11 stalemate at the first break.

MVC bolted back in front, for a half second, opening the second frame with a three-ball, but there was no bend, and no break, in the Wolves spirit.

An 8-0 run featuring buckets from Hurlee Bronec, Jack Porter, and Chase Anderson broke things open, while Hunter Bronec came back around to splash home another trey late in the half.

Hurlee Bronec crashes to the hoop. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

The Hurricanes are a scrappy bunch, however, and they never let Coupeville fully pull away.

Up 28-23 at the half, the Wolves saw their lead shrink to 38-36 exiting the third quarter, though still felt good about it, since they ended the frame with Johnny Porter snagging a loose ball and bolting to the bucket for a score.

Exchanging buckets back and forth, the two teams circled each other warily in the fourth quarter, with MVC slipping ahead at 44-43.

That was the moment when the Wolves, to a man, stepped up and drilled their rivals.

Camden Glover knocked down back-to-back buckets — one off of a board, the other on a long outlet pass from Aiden O’Neill — before Jack Porter sank a gorgeous jumper from the side.

The final dagger was a three-ball from the just-mentioned Jack Porter, the ball settling through the net with a happy sigh as the Hurricanes could do nothing but wail.

While Coupeville struggled at the line, hitting just 12 of 32 charity shots (MVC was an equally sickly 9-24), the Wolves hit them when it mattered most.

Landon Roberts netted a pair of free throws, with Hunter Bronec and Glover sinking one apiece as CHS scored the game’s final four points at the line.

Glover led an extremely well-balanced scoring attack with 13 points, while Hunter Bronec and Jack Porter each tossed in nine.

Roberts (8), Johnny Porter (8), O’Neill (7), Anderson (2), and Hurlee Bronec (2) also scored, while Malachi Somes brought defensive heat while on the floor.

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Scoreless stretch stings

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo brings the ball up court. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The middle section was a killer.

After dropping some buckets early Friday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad hit a 13-minute scoreless stretch from the start of the second quarter deep into the third frame.

That hurt the young Wolves, allowing host Mount Vernon Christian to pull away, with the Hurricanes eventually claiming a 42-17 win.

The loss drops Coupeville to 2-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-6 overall.

Kassie O’Neil’s squad will get a chance to bounce right back, however, with three games on next week’s schedule.

The Wolf JV travels with the varsity to Concrete Tuesday, then makes a solo jaunt back to Mount Vernon Thursday, when they’ll play the town’s 3A public school.

A home game next Friday night against Friday Harbor wraps a busy week of hardwood action.

Facing off with MVC, the Wolves got scoring from four different players in the opening quarter, though their hosts were red-hot and rolling, claiming a 19-7 lead.

Things got much more defense orientated after that, with the Hurricanes putting up the only six points scored in the second quarter.

By the time Coupeville got the rim to accept a gift, it was down 33-7 with a hair under three minutes to play in the third period.

Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo rolled inside hard for a bucket to break the team’s scoring drought, with a set-up pass from Reese Wilkinson, who snagged an offensive rebound.

The Wolves closed strongly, getting buckets from Skylar Parker and Marcos-Cabrillo down the stretch, while Kierra Thayer bounded into the air to pick off a Hurricane pass.

The Wolf bench watches the action in a recent game.

Marcos-Cabrillo paced the Wolves with a team-high eight points, while Wilkinson knocked down four, and Skylar Parker rattled the rims for three.

Teagan Calkins and Jada Heaton each slipped a free throw through the net to round out the scoring, while Bryley Gilbert, Brynn Parker, Kassidy Upchurch, Liza Zustiak, and Desi Ramirez-Vasquez also saw floor time.

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“A lot of guys played really tough tonight”

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Nick Guay slashes hard to the hoop. (Bailey Thule photo)

These are the nights which bring a warm glow to a coach’s heart.

Facing off with the tallest team in the Northwest 2B/1B League Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad proved big hearts can beat big bodies.

Doing all the important things sometimes overlooked in the buzz over scoring records — hitting the glass, closing out on defense, making the extra pass — the Wolves held on for a 44-39 win over visiting Mount Vernon Christian in an old-fashioned bar room brawl.

The win, Coupeville’s fourth in its last five games, lifts Brad Sherman’s squad to 6-5, while the Hurricanes slip to 9-5.

While the game featured two league rivals squaring off, the result doesn’t count in the conference standings.

Thanks to a quirk in the schedule, the rematch, which is Jan. 20 in Mount Vernon, is the rumble which matters most as Coupeville seeks to defend its league crown.

But whether it was a “league” or “non-league” game, Tuesday’s tilt was a biggie, and one the Wolves really wanted.

From William Davidson drawing two offensive charging fouls on MVC players in the first quarter, to fellow Wolf bruisers Zane Oldenstadt and Dominic Coffman yanking down rebounds, this was a true team effort.

Add in ferocious defensive play from Alex Murdy and Cole White, doing their best to thoroughly frustrate Hurricane ballhandlers, and Sherman came away pleased.

“That was a good team win,” he said.

“A lot of guys played really tough tonight and got their jobs done, especially our guys battling in the paint and out pressuring the ball.”

MVC actually jumped in front early, claiming a 6-0 lead, before Coupeville stormed back.

Logan Downes popped back-to-back three-balls, kicking off a run of 13 straight points from the Wolf junior, busting things open a bit.

After teaming up with Oldenstadt on a scorching give-and-go play, Downes also picked up a bucket on a slash through the heart of the Hurricane defense, before capping things with a third trey.

Frazzled, MVC lost the ball in the back court, or rather, it was ripped away by Coffman, who immediately turned it into a bucket of his own, and the Wolves were romping, up 15-6.

The visitors were a resilient bunch, though, getting a three-point play the hard way to end the first quarter, then holding Coupeville to just five points in the second frame.

While slowed down a bit, the Wolves never lost control of the game, or relinquished the lead after claiming it for the first time.

White drew a charge on an MVC player, before Downes ran down the clock, cutting hard to the basket for a layup with a single, solitary second left before the halftime break.

His bucket staked Coupeville to a 20-17 lead, and the Wolves jumped hard on the Hurricanes to open both the third and fourth quarters.

The first time around, a 12-2 surge, with Ryan Blouin and Downes nailing back-to-back three-balls and White netting his 100th career point on a short jumper, pushed the lead out to 13 points.

MVC hung tough, closing the third quarter on its own 8-0 run to get back within 32-27, but the Wolves put together a 10-4 tear to open the fourth, all but sealing the win.

Coupeville’s buckets down the stretch were fueled by big plays on the defensive end of the floor.

Murdy yanked away a rebound, and White made off with a steal, with both Wolves feeding Downes on breakaway baskets.

Then there was Davidson, standing tall in the paint, turning a rebound into a kickout to White, who beat the defense down the floor.

While MVC narrowed the final margin from 11 to five during a frantic final 45 seconds, time ran out on the Hurricanes, with a layup under pressure from Nick Guay capping Coupeville’s offensive effort.

Downes had a hot hand, pumping in a game-high 28 points, and moves within four of cracking the 500-point club, while Guay (5), White (4), Coffman (4), and Blouin (3) provided support.

Jonathan Valenzuela, Oldenstadt, Davidson, and Murdy may not have scored on this night, but all four provided key contributions for a team which earned the victory by continuing to showcase its ability to survive a string of rough-and-tumble foes.

Up next is a home game against Darrington (3-7) Friday, with this one counting in the league standings, and a long trip Saturday to play non-conference rival Neah Bay (4-3).

That second contest kicks off a run of road games for the Wolves, who play six of their final eight regular-season bouts away from Whidbey Island.

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Wolves feisty to the final buzzer

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

Katie Marti brings the heat on both ends of the floor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

There’s nothing to fear here.

Staring down the best team in the Northwest 2B/1B League Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team held its own for two-and-a-half quarters.

And while visiting Mount Vernon Christian eventually pulled away for a 44-21 win, the Wolves can look ahead to a rematch in 10 days knowing they can make life difficult for the Hurricanes.

With the win, MVC, the defending 1B state champs, gets to 12-2 on the season, while Coupeville slips to 4-5.

But, while the game was between NWL rivals, it is considered a non-conference game and doesn’t count in the league standings.

The rematch, set to go down Jan. 20 in Mount Vernon?

That one counts in the chase for a conference crown.

The Hurricanes, who already beat 2B power La Conner earlier this season — also in a “non-conference” game between league foes — are a rock-solid team, full of fairly unflappable players with high basketball IQ’s.

But, for a bit Tuesday, those players were clanking most of their shots, thanks to some scrappy Wolf defense and a couple of rims which refused to play fair with the visitors.

Coupeville scored first, on a Gwen Gustafson jumper from the side, and closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to claim an 8-7 advantage at the first break.

Rampaging sophomore Katie Marti, crackin’ heads and takin’ names, tallied four points for the Wolves in the opening frame, including slapping home a layup off of a nice feed from Lyla Stuurmans.

Netting a pair of free throws to cap the opening frame, Christie Messner’s wild child sent a tremor through the Mount Vernon fans, a huge smile gracing her face as she and her Wolf teammates exited the floor.

Toss in a slashing runner off the fingertips of Stuurmans to open the second quarter, and Megan Richter’s CHS squad was looking good.

That early bucket would be Coupeville’s only points in the frame, however, as the two teams got down ‘n dirty in a defensive-minded struggle.

MVC pulled ahead 13-10 at the half, with the Wolves still within 16-13 three minutes into the third period.

Marti hauled in a long pass from Stuurmans, turning it into a breakaway bucket, Ryanne Knoblich tickled the twines on a free throw, and Mia Farris rejected a Hurricane shot to keep things hopping.

But while the Hurricanes were out of sorts, they weren’t out of weapons, and eventually they wore down a Wolf team playing without a key starter in the injured Carolyn Lhamon.

Bucket by bucket, MVC started to pull away, putting together a 21-2 surge which stretched from the mid-point of the third quarter until late in the final frame.

Stuurmans, converting a steal into a mad dash down court for a layup, was the only Wolf to make the net pop during the downturn.

Coupeville, which never stopped fighting on defense, finally hit the bottom of the net late in the game, with Alita Blouin splashing home a three-ball and Maddie Georges sinking a runner, but it was too late to turn the tide.

Marti paced the Wolves with six points, while Stuurmans rattled the rims for five.

Her first bucket of the night sent the Wolf sophomore to a personal milestone, as she cracked the 100-point club.

Now sitting with 104 career points and counting, Stuurmans is the 106th Wolf girl to reach triple digits for a program which began back in 1974.

Blouin (3), Knoblich (3), Georges (2), and Gustafson (2) also scored for the Wolves, with Blouin, who has 98 career points, right on the cusp of joining Stuurmans and Co.

Farris and Madison McMillan also saw floor time for Coupeville, which returns to action Friday, when it hosts Darrington in a league clash.

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