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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Bend? Break? Just win, baby!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Meyer and Coupeville won their 12th straight game Thursday, matching the best start in program history. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Two milestones reached, several more to go.

With a 57-47 win at Mount Vernon Christian Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball squad equals the best start in program history, while clinching at least a tie for its first league title in two decades.

The Wolves, now a pristine 9-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-0 overall, have matched the starts of the 1969-1970 and 1996-1997 teams.

With three regular season games left on the schedule, including NWL showdowns with Friday Harbor and La Conner, the CHS boys will add their first new plaque to the school’s Wall of Fame since current coach Brad Sherman was a player.

Coupeville can finish no worse than 9-2 in league play, while MVC, at 6-2 with three conference clashes left, can finish no better than 9-2.

If that happens, the schools will technically share the title, though the Wolves swept the season series against the Hurricanes, giving them an edge which can’t be denied.

One more Wolf win in league play, or one more MVC loss, however, and Coupeville sits alone atop the NWL.

The last time a Coupeville boys basketball squad claimed a league title was the 2001-2002 season, when Sherman was a junior sharpshooter rattling the rims for 275 points and Randy King was Wolf coach.

Chris Good led that team in scoring, followed by Sherman, Geoff Hageman, Sean Callahan, Casey Clark, James Meek, Brian Roundy, Dustin Vanvelkinburgh, Brian Fakkema, Rob Fasolo, and Joe Kelley.

20 years after playing on the last Wolf boys hoops team to win a league title, Brad Sherman has led this year’s team to the first level of the promised land. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

This year’s Wolf squad, which travels to Granite Falls Saturday for a non-conference rumble and a crack at the first 13-0 mark in 105 seasons, faced down one of its toughest tests Thursday night.

The game was a one-point affair with six minutes to play, but the Wolves refused to bend or crack.

Having frittered away a 14-point second quarter lead, Coupeville saw MVC tie the game up twice in the second half, but never trailed against the Hurricanes after Logan Downes slapped a rebound home to stake his squad to an early 8-7 lead.

Clinging to a 43-42 advantage with the clock headed under six to play, the Wolves stiffened on defense and swarmed to the ball.

Forcing bad passes, hitting the boards with intensity, and plucking the ball away from the Hurricane ballhandlers, CHS closed the game on a 14-5 run which drove a stake through the heart of every MVC fan in attendance.

We dine on your private school tears, and it is sweet. So sweet.

The Wolves did it from distance, with Downes and Xavier Murdy draining three-balls, with the former making the net jump off a pinpoint pass from Hawthorne Wolfe, and the latter hitting a step-back trey.

And Coupeville’s players did it at the free throw line, hitting six of eight freebies in the waning moments after getting hacked and molested on their way to the hoop.

Caleb Meyer put the cherries on top of the sundae, swishing four consecutive free throws to end things, while Grady Rickner and Downes also tickled the twines for a crucial point.

Toss in Wolfe rippling the nets for a foul shot early in the quarter — netting the 750th point of his prep career — and CHS dominated at the line.

Coupeville hit 12 of 18, while MVC was a modest 3-7.

Coupeville Middle School stars made the trek to Mount Vernon to support their high school counterparts. (Riley White photo)

The game tipped off with Xavier Murdy and Meyer in fine form, as the senior duo combined for 19 points as CHS built a 21-12 lead by the first break.

Meyer knocked down back-to-back treys, with one set up by a Wolfe steal, and things were headed in a positive direction.

Barely a minute into the second quarter, after X-Man converted off of an offensive rebound and Downes drilled the bottom out of the net on a three-ball, the romp was on at 26-12.

But then the romp was back off, at least for a bit.

Coupeville hit a dry spell, MVC went on a run, and then the Hurricanes got lucky to tighten things up considerably.

A 10-0 Hurricanes surge cut the lead, while a three-ball which beat the shot clock and halftime buzzer by about .00002 of a second pulled the host team all the way back to within 31-29.

The lid on the bucket refused to budge for the Wolves during much of the third quarter, but Coupeville’s ramped-up defense kept them in front.

A three-point play the hard way from Meyer cracked a 31-31 tie, while Downes put a rebound back up and in to push the lead to 39-35 heading into the final frame.

That set up a rough-and-tumble fourth quarter, with the game tied at 40-40, then CHS up 43-42 when it made its heroic stand.

By getting the final margin out to 10, the Wolves won by double digits for the 11th time in 12 games this season.

The only team to lose by single digits was 3A Oak Harbor in the season opener, when lil’ 2B Coupeville made a major statement (and harvested many a sweet, sweet tear) with a 70-64 win.

Sherman used seven players in the title clincher, with six scoring.

Xavier Murdy led the way with 23 points, while Meyer banked in 18 and Downes rattled the rims for 12.

Alex Murdy (2), Wolfe (1), and Rickner (1) rounded out the scoring, with Logan Martin a terror on the boards.

“Un-de-feated!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

What’s ahead:

Saturday’s non-conference game pits CHS against a 2-8 Granite Falls team, then the Wolves close the regular season with road tilts against NWL foes Friday Harbor (Feb. 4) and La Conner (Feb. 10).

Those games are important, as the three 2B schools in the conference are fighting for two playoff berths — with those slots decided not by the team’s overall record, but their mark against each other.

The league’s four 1B schools — MVC, Darrington, Concrete, and Orcas Island — go their own way in the postseason.

Coupeville is 2-0 in the four-game 2B mini-rumble, having beaten La Conner and Friday Harbor the first time around, with La Conner at 1-1 and Friday Harbor at 0-2.

Districts are Feb. 15-17, with CHS hosting.

The second-ranked 2B team from the NWL plays Auburn Adventist in a loser-out game, with the winner advancing to play the #1 seed.

Both teams in the district championship game earn a trip to state, which would be the first for the Coupeville boys since 1988.

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Wolves pile up hoops wins

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Meyer rolls to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

CHS girls basketball coaches survey the action.

It was an undefeated week.

Not a perfect week, as the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team had to postpone two of its four games.

But when the Wolves did take the floor, whether it was the boys or girls, both varsity squads KO’d every contender.

The CHS boys picked up four wins to stretch their unbeaten streak to 11 games, while the Wolf girls rebounded to drill Concrete and South Whidbey after waving off Darrington and Friday Harbor.

The week ahead is a little slower, with the boys set to travel to Mount Vernon Christian Thursday, Jan. 27, then trek to Granite Falls two days later.

The girls have just one game, and it’s a recent addition to the schedule — a journey up Island to play Oak Harbor next Saturday.

Where things stand through games of Jan. 22:

 

Northwest League boys basketball:

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

 

Northwest League girls basketball:

School League Overall
La Conner 7-0 13-1
MV Christian 6-1 11-2
Coupeville 4-3 6-4
Orcas Island 2-2 3-5
Friday Harbor 2-4 3-7
Darrington 1-4 3-6
Concrete 0-8 2-11

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Rumble for hardwood excellence

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Savina Wells soars for the tip. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hawthorne Wolfe leaves Mount Vernon Christian in his dust.

Things are about to get much busier.

Or, at least that’s the hope.

Nothing is set in stone during the Age of Coronavirus, but, as of this moment, the Coupeville High School basketball teams are scheduled to play four times this coming week.

The Wolves travel to Darrington Tuesday, Jan. 18, then are home to face Friday Harbor and Concrete the next two nights.

The week gets its cap with non-conference tilts with next door neighbor South Whidbey Saturday, with the Wolf girls at home, and the boys traveling to Langley.

As we wait for a week jam-packed with hoops, a look at where the CHS varsity teams stand in Northwest 2B/1B League play.

Through games of Jan. 15:

 

Northwest League boys basketball:

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

 

Northwest League girls basketball:

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

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No fear, no losses

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Brad Sherman doles out hoops wisdom to Xavier Murdy (middle) and Grady Rickner. (Mandi Black photo)

They were ready to rumble.

Surviving a game in which at least two players bled, and three fights almost broke out, the high-flying Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball squad seized control of the Northwest 2B/1B League.

Rallying from an early deficit, the Wolves stormed back to dismantle visiting Mount Vernon Christian 65-48 Tuesday, keeping their unbeaten season alive and well.

Now 5-0 in conference action, 7-0 overall, Coupeville sits a game-and-a-half up on MVC (3-1, 6-3).

Off to the best start since the 1996-1997 team started 12-0, this year’s Wolves are an incredibly balanced unit, something which was on full display against MVC.

The Hurricanes had a notable height advantage, with a pair of six-foot-five heavyweights patrolling the paint, but the Wolves are fast, feisty, and play defense like mad dogs unleashed.

With the Murdy boys terrorizing the neighborhood — Xavier snatching rebounds and Alex driving rival ballhandlers batty — Coupeville used that lock-down D to rally after falling behind 12-4 in the early going.

Hawthorne Wolfe, twisting his body into a pretzel to evade the Hurricane bigs, got things started with a second-chance bucket after yanking a rebound free during a wild scrum.

That lit a fire under Coupeville, with Alex Murdy, Logan Downes, and Wolfe combining for a 12-2 tear to end the first quarter.

At one point, senior banger Logan Martin crushed an MVC shot, rejecting a seemingly sure-thing layup.

When Downes followed it right up by swishing a three-ball while sneering in the face of a would-be defender who was a step too slow, CHS reclaimed its full swagger.

The Hurricanes are a chippy bunch, however, and they were intent on not being pushed around.

So, they pushed/shoved/hip-checked first, second, and last, with bodies being frequently tangled as the refs stepped back and let both teams play fairly fast, loose, and rough and tumble.

MVC snatched its final lead at 23-22 midway through the second quarter, but Coupeville answered quickly enough to make a few heads spin.

Alex Murdy, lighting up the joint all night, knocked down a go-ahead jumper, before Wolfe plucked a ball from a rival, shot down court, then came to a stop on one leg and caressed the net with a three-ball.

Closing the half on a 16-7 tear, the Wolves put a punctation mark on things with back-to-back defensive gems from the Logans.

Martin clamped down on his man during a rumble in the paint, while Downes came flying the length of the court, going airborne to punch the ball free and deny an MVC breakaway.

Sophomore Logan Downes had a strong game on both ends of the floor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville continued to pull away in the second half, turning a 32-26 advantage into a lead which ballooned out to 18 points late in the game.

The Wolves, who have shown a willingness to share the ball, feeding the hot hand all season, kept doing that Tuesday.

Alex Murdy dumped in eight more of his game-high 20 points in the third, while Downes beat the third-quarter buzzer, weaving his way through a pack of defenders for a layup which sucked the last bit of life from the Hurricanes.

Turn to the fourth and it was Grady Rickner time, with the sweet-shooting senior raining down pain on MVC, while Xavier Murdy and Caleb Meyer also stung the defense.

X-Man ended the game with his chin bandaged, while at least one visiting player walked past trying to control a bleeding nose.

Add to that several almost-brawls, one sparked by a burly Hurricane bodily flinging a Coupeville player around in the manner of a cowboy trying to rope a wayward calf, and it got the Wolf faithful flexing.

When an MVC player complained about a call, he was met with a lusty “Look at the scoreboard!” from CHS fans anxious to remind the Hurricanes they were, in fact, getting righteously spanked.

The Wolf players largely kept their composure, with Downes, just a sophomore, showing poise as he preached calm, while still flashing a big, slightly-snarky grin every time a Hurricane looked his way.

Coupeville, which is one slim point away from having five different players averaging double-digits scoring this season, once again spread its offense out.

Alex Murdy’s 20 was his best performance as a varsity player and comes a game after big bro torched La Conner for 24.

Downes banged in 14 in support Tuesday, with Rickner (11), Wolfe (10), Meyer (5), and Xavier Murdy (5) also scoring.

Coupeville now has a week of rest, before kicking off a four-games-in-five-days stretch with a road trip to Darrington next Tuesday, Jan. 18.

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Bad break for Wolf girls

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

A pre-game injury Tuesday sent Coupeville gunner Alita Blouin to the ER. (Photos courtesy Suzan Georges)

Blouin suffered a broken ankle during player introductions.

One loss hurts more than the other.

While an undermanned Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team fell 43-23 Tuesday to high-powered Mount Vernon Christian, that was the least of its worries.

Missing three players, including two starters, before the night began, the Wolves also lost starting guard Alita Blouin when she broke her ankle right before tip-off.

The injury happened when “The Assassin” landed wrong while jumping during pre-game player introductions.

Coupeville, which was also missing Izzy Wells, Gwen Gustafson, and Savina Wells, still put up a fairly remarkable fight against the Hurricanes.

The first time these teams played, the Wolves fell behind 29-2 during a 55-24 loss.

This time around, even with all the confusion and missing firepower, CHS was still within 12-8 midway through the second quarter before MVC began to pull away.

Maddie Georges got the Wolves on the board early with a crisp layup, before Lyla Stuurmans and Audrianna Shaw hit back-to-back buckets to close out the first quarter.

Stuurmans got her points off of a steal, poking the ball away, then beating the defense to the other end, while Shaw dazzled with a sweet running scoop shot in the paint.

Down just 10-6 at the first break, Coupeville got another basket from Shaw before the Hurricanes began to show off their firepower.

A 12-0 run midway through the second quarter pushed the deficit out to 24-8 and Coupeville only scored a single bucket in the third frame.

But down 31-12 heading into the final period, the Wolves dug deep and played the Hurricanes virtually even across the final eight minutes.

Coupeville was moving the ball crisply in the fourth quarter, with teammates setting up their running mates for easy buckets.

Georges dished to Carolyn Lhamon for a score in the paint, while a Ja’Kenya Hoskins steal and pass set up Shaw.

Then it was Stuurmans turn to feed Hoskins for two, right after Georges slid in front of a rampaging Hurricane player to collect a charging call.

All seven Wolf players to see the floor Tuesday played with fiery intensity, with Abby Mulholland and Nezi Keiper hitting the boards with wild abandon.

But if there was a player of the game award to be given out, you could make a great case for Hoskins, who delivered her most-complete performance of the season.

Snatching board after board, poking balls free, even skying high to reject an MVC shot late in the game, the eternally happy Wolf senior brought the full Ja’Kenya Hoskins experience to the spotlight, and her fan club loved every moment.

Shaw finished with a team-high eight points, while Stuurmans (6), Hoskins (3), Georges (2), Mulholland (2), and Lhamon (2) also scored.

With the loss, Coupeville completes its roughest stretch of the schedule, a three-game death march against MVC, La Conner, then MVC again.

Now 3-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-4 overall, the Wolves are in third-place in the seven-team NWL, chasing La Conner (6-0, 11-0) and MVC (5-1, 9-2).

Thanks to the schedule being thrown asunder by holidays, weather, and the pandemic, CHS now has a week off, returning to action Jan. 18 against Darrington.

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