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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Cry me a river, Friday Harbor

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Losers yap. Winners smile. Zane Oldenstadt is a winner. (Michelle Glass photo)

He who celebrates last, celebrates loudest.

Yappy Friday Harbor varsity boys’ hoops players acted like they won a state title when they claimed an early lead Friday night in Coupeville.

By the time they exited Cow Town? Those same Wolverines had a lot less to say, after being eliminated from playoff contention.

Celebrating Senior Night in style, a Coupeville squad which features nine 12th graders held firm while being poked, prodded, and verbally harassed, claiming a 56-52 win and keeping alive its own dream of winning a league title.

Now 6-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 14-5 overall, the Wolves are a half-game off of La Conner (6-0, 13-5) heading into a road trip to square off with those Braves on the mainland Feb. 6.

Friday’s win clinches a district playoff berth for CHS, but a win over La Conner, which it lost to by a single point the first time around, will give Coupeville at least a share of the NWL title.

Seeding for the four-team, double-elimination, two-teams-advance-to-state district tourney is still in flux, with La Conner also playing Friday Harbor in the regular-season finale Feb. 9.

If the Wolves and Braves finish with the same record, the latter of those teams gets the #1 seed thanks to a pre-season tiebreaker draw by league athletic directors.

But if La Conner loses its final two games, Coupeville snatches the #1 seed and hosts its district opener.

All other tourney games will be at CHS regardless, with the Wolves playing host.

Having clinched a trip to the playoffs, the Coupeville seniors are guaranteed of playing on their home floor again. Still, they made sure Senior Night counted.

It began with the program’s all-time leading scorer, Logan Downes, who was injured just moments into his team’s last game and sat out the majority of that non-conference clash at Chief Leschi.

Logan Downes catches a photo op with the future of the Wolf hoops program. (Angie Downes photo)

Beginning, and ending, Friday night with a walking boot on his left leg, the senior gunner played through the pain, and had the hot hand in the first quarter.

Pulling off his own tribute to Willis Reed (look it up on Wikipedia, teenagers), Downes knocked down a trio of three-balls, then slashed to the hoop for a bucket on a feed from Cole White to cap an 11-point performance in the game’s first seven minutes.

While Friday Harbor jumped out to an 11-6 lead, then prematurely celebrated, Coupeville chipped away at the lead.

White and William Davidson, whose fan club rocked personalized t-shirts, joined Downes in scoring in the opening frame, with the Wolves pulling back within 17-16 at the break.

Showcasing its depth, Brad Sherman’s squad turned to Nick Guay and Chase Anderson in the second quarter, with the lanky duo combining for 15 points as Coupeville used an 18-8 run to claim the lead for good.

Guay pushed the Wolves ahead, rippling the net on a silky sideline jumper, while Anderson, flying pell-mell end-to-end, slapped home a breakaway bucket to stake CHS to a 34-25 lead at the half.

Coupeville pushed its advantage out as far as 14 points in the second half, with Downes getting hot again and Anderson continuing to rampage like a wild beast, gloriously annoying Friday Harbor on seemingly every play.

The lead was at 48-36 heading into the fourth, with the Wolves still up 53-40 midway through the final frame.

But give Friday Harbor some credit — it is a resilient team and one always capable of making a run.

Which the Wolverines demonstrated one final time, carving the lead down to 55-51 late, with a little help from the refs.

The guys in the striped shirts ignored a blatant travel in the middle of the court on a play in which the visitors drained a three-ball, while allowing the yapping to progressively grow.

Anderson drilled a late jumper over the Friday Harbor defense, and Downes hit a key free throw in the final seconds, but the Wolverines got plenty of extra chances.

Despite Friday Harbor’s players endlessly bitching from opening tip to postgame discussion over whether losers get to stop at McDonald’s, it was the Wolves who had the game’s only technical foul called on them.

With five seconds to play and Coupeville up by five.

That set up a potential game-tying finish, but Friday Harbor choked, missing one of two free throws and failing to hit a three-ball at the buzzer.

Coupeville is going to the playoffs. Friday Harbor is not. (Michelle Glass photo)

Basking in the afterglow of the win, and punching their playoff ticket, any Wolf looking at the book would have seen the kind of balanced scoring which delights a coach.

Downes scraped out 19 while playing on one normal leg, and now sits at 1,213 for his career, while Anderson banked in 14.

White (8), Guay (7), Hunter Bronec (3), Ryan Blouin (3) — thanks to a killer fourth-quarter three-ball — and Davidson (2) also scored, with Zane Oldenstadt, Hurlee Bronec, and Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim hitting the boards with authority.

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Late loss kills playoff dreams

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Skylar Parker works her way through the defense. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was there, then it was gone.

Playing without a key starter Friday night, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team got a career-best performance from Madison McMillan, but lost the lead late, falling 36-30 to visiting Friday Harbor.

The loss, coming in the third straight game the Wolves have played without injured #2 scorer Mia Farris, drops the Wolves to 2-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-12 overall.

It also eliminates CHS from playoff contention, as Friday Harbor (4-3, 6-12) clinches the second and final 2B postseason berth from the NWL, joining La Conner (5-1, 12-6) in heading to the postseason.

Coupeville wraps its season with a non-conference clash with Orting Saturday, followed by a road trip to La Conner Feb. 6.

That will mark the end of the run for Wolf 12th graders Reese Wilkinson, Skylar Parker, and Kayla Arnold, who were honored Friday on Senior Night.

Kayla Arnold was one of three Wolf seniors honored Friday night.

With Farris back in uniform (but not playing) after two games in street clothes, the Wolves fell behind 5-0 early, then kicked things into gear.

Katie Marti banked in a runner to get Coupeville on the board, and she and her squad threw down 14 straight points to claim control of the game.

McMillan’s second bucket of the opening quarter staked CHS to an 11-5 lead at the first break, before Parker buried a three-ball off the glass to open the second frame.

The Wolf offense dried up for a bit after that, allowing Friday Harbor to pull back to within 16-13 at the half, but the Wolves maintained the lead into the final moments of the third quarter.

McMillan was a force all game, knocking down a jumper and turning a rebound into a putback in the third quarter to keep the visitors at bay, but then things broke bad.

Friday Harbor scored the final five points of the frame to force a 22-22 tie heading into the fourth, before the teams traded buckets to open the closing stretch.

Coupeville held its final lead at 28-26 after Lyla Stuurmans fed McMillan, who rolled strong to the hoop for her last basket of the night.

But the Wolves lost their most fearsome scoring weapon with a little under four minutes to play, with Marti fouling out and joining Farris on the bench.

CHS 9th grader Haylee Armstrong kept her squad within 32-30, draining a beauty of a jumper from the side, but in the end, it was the other team’s fab frosh who iced things.

Friday Harbor got Vera Schoultz the ball down low, and the five-foot-eleven tower of power responded, banking in the game-icing bucket and propelling her team to the playoffs.

McMillan didn’t go down without a fight, however, as the Wolf junior made the nets jump for a career-high 14 points in the loss.

Marti (8), Parker (4), Teagan Calkins (2), and Armstrong (2) also scored, with Jada Heaton, Wilkinson, Stuurmans, and Arnold seeing floor time for Megan Richter’s squad.

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Playoffs loom, but business to finish

Posted in Basketball, standings, tagged , , , , on January 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Jada Heaton flies into the danger zone. (Jackie Saia photo)

The end is near.

Of the regular season, that is.

There are only 13 games left on the schedule for Northwest 2B/1B League basketball teams, then it’s time for postseason action.

The conference’s 1B schools wrap regular-season play this coming week, while the 2B franchises — Coupeville, Friday Harbor, and La Conner — have two weeks left before the playoffs.

The games ahead will decide where, when, and if the Wolf hoops stars advance, though it’s all but a slam dunk for the CHS boys.

CHS coach Craig Anderson keeps one eye on the standings and one eye on the floor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Coupeville girls are still scrapping, and their home game with Friday Harbor this coming Friday, Feb. 2 will have a lot to say about the matter.

Win or lose, Megan Richter’s squad returns to its home court the following day, hosting Orting in a non-conference tilt.

After that, both CHS teams put a bow on the regular season with a road trip to La Conner Feb. 6.

As we hurtle towards the end line of one thing and the start line of something else, a look at where things sit through Jan. 28:

 

Northwest League boys’ basketball:

School League Overall
La Conner 5-0 12-5
MV Christian 7-1 8-10
Coupeville 5-1 13-5
Orcas Island 4-4 7-10
Friday Harbor 2-3 7-9
Concrete 1-7 6-13
Darrington 0-8 4-12

 

Northwest League girls’ basketball:

School League Overall
MV Christian 8-0 16-4
La Conner 5-0 12-5
Friday Harbor 2-3 4-12
Darrington 3-5 8-9
Orcas Island 3-5 4-12
Coupeville 2-4 6-11
Concrete 1-7 8-10

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Balanced Wolves savage Lions

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim and friends are 12-4 after drilling Concrete. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“We’d love it if every game was like this.”

The Coupeville High School boys’ basketball coaching staff was in a righteous mood Tuesday, basking in the afterglow of a 66-30 win over visiting Concrete.

It wasn’t just the win, which lifts the Wolves to 5-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-4 overall, but how the win was accomplished.

CHS put three guys into double digit scoring — including a career-best performance from bearded banger Zane Oldenstadt — got points from nine players and gave floor time to 13.

That should leave the Wolf starters fresh as they kick off a three-games-in-five-days stretch, while giving the role players a chance to earn big cheers from their home fans.

So, exactly the kind of game you want coming off a fairly lackluster performance Saturday against Neah Bay in a rare loss.

This time around, the Wolves hit the floor with purpose and passion, sharing the ball, making the small plays, and never once taking their collective foot off the gas pedal.

Concrete’s one and only lead came at 3-2 extremely early in the first quarter, and then it was fun times under the bright lights for the run-and-gun Wolves.

Chase Anderson drilled a short jumper to put CHS ahead for good, then snatched a rebound and fed Logan Downes for a three-ball and the rout was on.

Another trey, this one flying off the fingertips of Ryan Blouin, staked the Wolves to a 15-8 lead at the first break.

From there, Coupeville steadily stretched the advantage, with first Anderson, then Hunter Bronec, reeling off three straight buckets.

Five different Wolves scored in the second frame, with Oldenstadt converting putbacks and Downes outsprinting the defense on breakaways, as CHS pushed things out to 36-17 at the half.

Bearded banger Zane Oldenstadt arrives to inflict damage and destruction. (CHS Yearbook Staff photo)

Cole White stepped up to showcase the hot hand in the third, with the final one of his three baskets in the frame coming on a wild play.

A ballet of destruction, playing out precisely in favor of the Wolves, it began with Nick Guay bounding airborne to punch the ball half the length of the floor, before Anderson chased down the errant orb a half-inch away from stepping on the end line.

Flicking the ball back to White, he watched in fascination as his older teammate stopped on a dime, throwing the shot down in one smooth motion as Lion defenders skidded past, silent screams etched on their faces.

Things got really brutal for Concrete in the fourth, as they discovered a painful secret.

Once unleashed, you can’t put Oldenstadt back in the bottle.

Like a genie granting all the wishes — even the one for more wishes — the burly Wolf senior ripped off eight straight points to cap the greatest offensive display of his career.

Known for his rebounding, love of planting fools on their butt while patrolling the paint, and willingness to wear a hollowed-out pumpkin on his head at Halloween, Oldenstadt finished with a hyped-up 12 points.

This, after scoring 13 points total across the first 15 games.

It brought a big smile to CHS coach Brad Sherman’s face as he scanned the scorebook, while Oldenstadt’s faithful fans chanted “More playing time! More playing time!!”

Downes led the Wolves with 15, and on the night when he was honored for becoming the #1 scorer in CHS boys’ basketball 107-year history this past weekend, he passed yet another milestone.

With 1,165 points and counting, he slips past Makana Stone (1,158) to become #3 all-time at the school regardless of gender.

Next up? Novi Barron (1,270), then Brianne King (1,549).

Anderson slapped home 14 to slide in between Downes and Oldenstadt, while White (8), Hunter Bronec (7), Blouin (5), Aiden O’Neill (2), Mikey Robinett (2), and Guay (1) also scored.

William Davidson gets frisky. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

William Davidson, Timothy Nitta, Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, and Hurlee Bronec also saw floor time for the Wolves, who host South Whidbey Wednesday before traveling to Puyallup Saturday to play Chief Leschi.

 

No JV action:

Coupeville’s red-hot ‘n rollin’ second unit had the night off Tuesday, as the Lions don’t have a JV boys’ team this season.

The Wolf young guns, sitting at 10-2 on the season, return to action Wednesday with a home game against South Whidbey.

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Down a star, Wolves win with team ball

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“Your bench is short tonight, mom? Put me in! I’ll burn those nets down!!” (Photo courtesy Megan Richter)

Teamwork makes the dream work, especially when you’re missing a star.

With two-way warrior Mia Farris riding the bench while recovering from a nasty fall in a game this weekend, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad spread the love Tuesday night.

Six different Wolves scored multiple times, and a second-half surge carried Megan Richter’s squad to a convincing 45-24 win over visiting Concrete.

The victory lifts CHS to 2-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 6-10 overall.

It also propels the Wolves from the cellar up to fourth place in the seven-team NWL, with the final days of the regular season fast approaching.

Tuesday’s win was a team effort from start to finish.

Nine players saw the floor, and the three who didn’t score still had a solid impact, with Kayla Arnold and Reese Wilkinson snaring rebounds and tougher-than-she-looks Brynn Parker holding up well under stress while handling the ball.

Brynn Parker slices ‘n dices the defense. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville came out firing, with Lyla Stuurmans banking home the game’s first shot, before Katie Marti sank a three-ball from the top after being set up by a rebound and kickout pass from Wolf sparkplug Jada Heaton.

The visitors made their one stand of the night in the first, briefly creeping ahead 8-7 on a three-ball at the tail end of the quarter, but then CHS went to work.

The aforementioned Heaton was spectacular in the second frame, getting her hands on seemingly every loose ball and interjecting herself into nearly every play.

While she still showed off her enormous heart by stopping in the middle of a fight for a loose ball to check on a Lion who bounced off the hardwood, she was also a cold-blooded killer when needed.

Peppering Concrete with buckets, Heaton knocked down the shot of the game when she put back a rebound a half tick before the shot clock buzzed, then merrily cartwheeled down the floor, slapping hands left and right as she went.

Junior Jada Heaton (12) is the glue that holds the Wolves together. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Still, Concrete hung tough, trailing just 17-13 at the half, with a little help from the world’s thinnest-skinned ref.

His operating style? Spending almost as much time lecturing Coupeville’s coaches for imaginary conversations as he did calling fouls on the Wolves with no time left on the clock.

Ignoring the zesty zebra, the Wolves seized control of the game in the third quarter, however.

Madison McMillan dominated in the paint, Skylar Parker slashed the Lion defense to ribbons, and Teagan Calkins was everywhere and nowhere at once, an assassin making the kill, then vanishing before the victim knew they were dead.

CHS exited the third quarter up 28-17 and it would have been more, only to have a ref try to interject themselves back in the game by waving off a Calkins shot at the buzzer.

Not that it mattered, because even when the officials fouled out Heaton early in the fourth quarter — to the wails of her robust fan club — there was no slowing down the Wolves.

Whipping the ball around the arc, and up and down the floor, Coupeville triggered multiple buckets on precise passes, as everyone got in on the point explosion.

The Wolves closed the game on a 17-3 surge, with five of the last eight baskets directly set up by an assist.

Calkins popped for a game-high 13 points to pace CHS, with Marti banking in nine, and Stuurmans and McMillan both rippling the nets for seven.

Heaton had five, before the refs knifed her in the back, while Skylar Parker added four, making for very balanced books.

With the win in hand, the Wolf girls are off until Saturday, when they travel to Puyallup to face Chief Leschi in a non-conference tilt.

After that comes home matchups with Friday Harbor and Orting, and a road trip to La Conner to wrap the regular season.

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