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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Cunningham sparkles in tough loss

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Arianna Cunningham scored a team-high 10 points Friday night in the regular season home finale. (Jackie Saia photo)

They don’t quit.

That was shown once again Friday night, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team rebounded to play its best ball in the fourth quarter during an otherwise rough game against visiting La Conner.

Facing off with a hot-shooting Braves squad which also dominated on the boards, the Wolves scored nearly half their points in the final frame before falling 57-29.

The loss leaves Coupeville at 1-8 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-13 overall, with just a Feb. 6 road trip to Friday Harbor left on the regular season schedule.

After that, the Wolves will take part in the double-elimination District 1/2 tourney, one of six teams chasing three tickets to state.

CHS will learn its opening opponent, and whether that game is on the road or at home, the day after the regular season ends.

Squaring off with La Conner, which is solidly the number #2 squad in the NWL behind powerhouse Mount Vernon Christian, the Wolves started strongly.

At least for the first three minutes.

Coupeville forced a shot clock violation on the game’s opening possession, before Wolf senior Danica Strong later rippled the nets on a three-ball to give her team its only lead of the night at 3-2.

Then things went off the road and down a deep, dark ravine.

Owning the boards and getting big buckets from senior gunner Maeve McCormick, La Conner ripped off a 17-2 run to end the opening quarter, carrying a 19-5 lead into the first break.

Things got bleaker from there, as the Wolves could only manage a single basket in the second quarter, courtesy a rebound put back up and in by Arianna Cunningham.

Down 37-7 at the half, with shots finding every possible way to roll off the rim or pop back out of the net, Coupeville eventually fell behind 51-10 late in the third quarter.

That triggered a running clock, but it also seemed to trigger Scout Smith’s squad, which hunkered down and made a solid stand over the game’s final 10 minutes.

CHS closed the third on a 6-0 spurt, with Cunningham draining three free throws, before finally finding a consistent shooting groove in the final quarter.

Haylee Armstrong and Tenley Stuurmans both knocked down six points in the fourth, while the Wolf defense ramped up in intensity, led by Cunningham, who was a beast on the boards as usual.

While defense has been her primary calling card this season, Cunningham also showcased some solid offensive mojo Friday, pacing CHS with a season-high 10 points.

Stuurmans (6), Armstrong (6), Strong (4), Teagan Calkins (2), and Adeline Maynes (1) also wrote their name in the scorebook, with Kennedy O’Neill, Lexis Drake, Sydney Van Dyke, and Capri Anter rounding out the roster.

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Three-ball barrage sinks CHS girls

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Senior Teagan Calkins has been a steadying force for a young Wolf hoops team this season. (Jackie Saia photo)

Some nights you can’t escape the storm.

Tuesday was one of those moments for the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team, as host Mount Vernon Christian buried an astonishing 15 three-balls en route to a 78-19 win.

The road loss, coming to a team with realistic dreams of competing for a state title, drops the Wolves to 1-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-12 overall.

Scout Smith’s squad returns to action Friday, when it hosts La Conner, which at 7-1 in conference action, is a half-game back of MVC, which sits at 7-0.

After that Senior Night showdown, the Wolves close the regular season Feb. 6 with a road trip to Friday Harbor.

Tuesday’s clash got off to a brutal start for Coupeville, as the ‘Canes netted seven shots from behind the arc to nab a 33-8 lead heading into the first break.

From there MVC pushed the margin out to 52-15 at the half, then 68-15 after holding CHS scoreless in the third quarter.

Six of 10 Wolves did score on the night, with sophomore Tenley Stuurmans knocking down six points to pace the attack.

Arianna Cunningham (4), Adeline Maynes (3), Teagan Calkins (3), Haylee Armstrong (2), and Lexis Drake also tallied points, with Danica Strong, Capri Anter, Sydney Van Dyke, and Kennedy O’Neill rounding out the rotation.

Maynes, Cunningham, and Calkins each netted a three-ball for the Wolves.

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Milestones notched, upset bid denied

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Camden Glover is the 100th Wolf boy to score 300 or more career points. (Jackie Saia photo)

The offense ran hot and cold.

The Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad came out on fire Tuesday, jumping on host Mount Vernon Christian for 20 points across the game’s first eight minutes.

But after that, things slowed down considerably for the Wolves, as they watched an upset bid slip away during a 67-43 loss.

The defeat drops Coupeville to 3-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-10 overall, while MVC remains atop the conference at 7-0, a half-game up on Orcas Island (7-1).

The Wolves get a chance to bounce right back Friday, when they host winless La Conner (0-8, 0-17) on Senior Night, before they close the regular season Feb. 6 at Friday Harbor.

With the playoffs coming up fast, Coupeville once again demonstrated they can often outplay their win/loss record.

With Davin Houston and Camden Glover combining for 15 points, Brad Sherman’s squad jumped on MVC for a 20-15 lead heading into the first break.

But from there the Hurricanes used their size advantage, and some well-timed three-balls, to pull away from the scrappy Wolves.

Up 31-27 at the half, MVC pushed the lead out to 48-34 through three frames, before padding the final margin with a strong fourth quarter.

Coupeville almost matched the ‘Canes from long-range, with the hosts holding a narrow 7-6 lead on made treys, while Mount Vernon was a strong 8-9 at the free throw line.

CHS went 5-8 at the charity stripe.

The Wolves did put three players into double-digits, with Houston (13), Chase Anderson (12), and Glover (11) leading the way.

Aiden O’Neill banked in five points, while Malachi Somes knocked down a bucket to round out the scoring, with Riley Lawless, Liam Blas, Carson Grove, and Easton Green all seeing floor time.

Two Wolves reached personal milestones in the loss, as well.

With his 12 points, Anderson pushes his career scoring total to 883, passing his coach, Brad Sherman (874) to move into 9th place all-time for a CHS hoops program launched in 1917.

Meanwhile, Glover, a fellow senior, finishes the night with exactly 300 points, becoming the 100th Wolf boy to reach that mark across 109 seasons.

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Playoff push hits top gear

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Wolves (l to r) Sydney Van Dyke, Capri Anter, and Lexis Drake stay entertained on the bench. (Jackie Saia photo)

We’re headed to the finish line, and everything is at stake.

There are just under two weeks left in the regular season for Northwest 2B/1B League basketball teams, and the battle for playoff positioning is at full tilt.

The week ahead is a busy one for Coupeville, with the Wolves heading over to Mount Vernon Christian Tuesday, before hosting La Conner Friday on Senior Night.

After that, there’s just a matchup Feb. 6 at Friday Harbor before any potential postseason rumbles.

To make those playoffs?

Ignore 1B schools Darrington and Concrete in this equation, and Coupeville needs a top four finish among the five 2B schools.

Which means if the playoffs started today, the Wolf boys would be in, and the CHS girls out.

But, as noted before, there’s still two weeks of games left, so hope burns eternal for Scout Smith’s squad.

Where things sit through Jan. 25:

 

Northwest League boys’ basketball:

School League Overall
MV Christian 6-0 12-4
Orcas Island 6-1 11-5
Darrington 4-3 10-6
Friday Harbor 3-3 3-13
Coupeville 3-4 6-9
Concrete 1-5 4-13
La Conner 0-7 0-16

 

Northwest League girls’ basketball:

School League Overall
MV Christian 6-0 13-2
La Conner 6-1 11-5
Concrete 4-2 12-4
Orcas Island 4-3 9-7
Friday Harbor 2-4 6-10
Coupeville 1-6 4-11
Darrington 0-7 4-10

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Wolves, Vikings battle to final shot

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Haylee Armstrong comes bearing gifts. (Jackie Saia photo)

Tantalizingly close.

A missed free throw here, a miracle buzzer-beating three-ball there, and the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team narrowly missed out on what would have been a crowd-pleasing upset victory Friday night.

Instead, it was visiting Orcas Island which got to celebrate, as the Vikings found just enough magic at the right moments to claim a 37-35 victory.

The loss, which came despite some inspired play from the Wolves, drops CHS to 1-6 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-11 overall.

Coupeville slips a game-and-a-half behind Friday Harbor (2-4) in the hunt for the final playoff berth for 2B schools in the NWL, but there is still time to change things.

Friday Harbor has four games remaining on its schedule, while the Wolves have three — with the regular-season finale Feb. 6 a showdown between the teams.

Scout Smith’s squad fought back from an early deficit Friday and seemed to have the Vikings on the ropes several times.

Down 7-0 barely a minute into the game, the Wolves pulled back to within 11-6 by the end of the first quarter, with the biggest bucket a Haylee Armstrong three-ball coming off of a steal.

That seemed to spark Coupeville, which held Orcas scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second frame, pulling out to a 14-11 advantage.

Tenley Stuurmans keyed the surge, dishing the ball to Kennedy O’Neill for a layup, before circling around outside to net a silky three-ball set up by a pass from Adeline Maynes.

Orcas proved to be tough to put down for good, however, as the visitors converted back-to-back offensive rebound putbacks to force a 15-15 tie at the half.

The third quarter was a tense affair, with both teams holding the lead, and neither squad able to land a true knockout punch.

Teagan Calkins opened the frame by burying a three-ball from deep on the right side of the floor, but Orcas stung late by banking in a nearly impossible trey literally at the buzzer to pull ahead 26-24.

With the gym getting progressively louder, every play in the fourth quarter seemed to carry considerable weight, and the Wolves rose to the moment.

Down 30-24, Coupeville put together a 10-0 surge that saw four different hometown heroes score.

A free throw from Calkins started things off, with Danica Strong hitting a dagger of a jumper on a play kept alive by Arianna Cunningham outwrestling a foe for an offensive rebound.

From there, a Calkins jumper, a Cunningham layup under great duress, and a high, arcing three-ball off the fingertips of Armstrong helped build a 34-30 lead and potentially set the stage for a celebration.

Which came, but at the wrong end of the floor.

With its back to the wall, Orcas came up big time, closing the game on a 7-1 run, while Coupeville’s final offensive chance came up just short, the ball squirting away during a final-second melee.

While the loss stings, the closeness of the battle once again demonstrates that the win/loss record is a bit deceptive for a feisty Wolf squad which fears no opponent.

Armstrong led Coupeville with 11 points, while Calkins banked in 10 and Stuurmans rattled the rim for six. Maynes, Cunningham, Strong, and O’Neill all chipped in with a bucket as all seven Wolves who played Friday scored.

With her performance, Armstrong, a junior, cracks the 250-point club, becoming the 48th CHS girl to do so between 1974-2026.

With 258 points and counting, she sits #46 all-time and second among active players, with Calkins, a senior, currently at #28 with 370 points.

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