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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

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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Wolf boys atop league standings

Posted in Basketball, standings, tagged , , , , , on January 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Alex Murdy and Co. are outjumping all opponents. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was the perfect storm, if you wanted very few games played.

The aftereffects of snow and ice mixed with the never-ending pandemic shuffle to keep most Northwest 2B/1B League basketball teams off the court this past week.

On the boys side of things, only one of nine scheduled games was actually played, with Coupeville running La Conner off the floor.

Things were slightly more active for girls hoops squads, with an emphasis on the word slightly.

La Conner KO’d Coupeville’s girls, while Mount Vernon Christian blasted Concrete a few days later.

Then, Saturday night, La Conner broke triple-digits, shellacking Concrete in a savage 104-14 win.

Other than that, six of nine scheduled games failed to have a tip-off.

The week ahead is pretty barren, as well, at least for Coupeville, which currently only has one set of games on the schedule.

The Wolves host MVC Tuesday, Jan. 11, with the boys game a showdown for sole possession of first-place in the NWL.

After that, barring pesky Covid positives, or frogs raining down from the skies, CHS goes full-tilt, with four games in five days between Jan. 18-22.

Maybe.

Until then, here are where things stand through games of Jan. 8:

 

Northwest League boys basketball:

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

 

Northwest League girls basketball:

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

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Winter weather erases hoops games

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Hawthorne Wolfe and Co. will not be making a trip to the wilds of Sultan this season, after all. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“Well, if it’s not Covid, it’s something else!”

The steady buzzing sound you hear this winter is the sound of Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith’s phone, as the basketball schedule changes nearly every hour.

The latest upheaval doesn’t involve the pandemic but will still cost the Wolf hoops squads a game.

Former league rival Sultan, who Coupeville was scheduled to play next Saturday, Jan. 15, is still fighting through the aftereffects of the recent snow/ice storms and is starting to hit crunch time.

“They are getting backed up in their league games, and, like us, their league games take precedence over their non-league games,” Smith said.

So, off the schedule goes what would have been a road trip for the Coupeville boys, and home games for the Wolf girls.

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Roll on, mighty Wolves, roll on

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Meyer and Co. are 6-0 on the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was weird, it was wild, it was a win.

Playing for the first time in three weeks, the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball team scored its fewest points of the season Tuesday, yet still whomped on visiting La Conner to remain undefeated.

Blowing out to a 25-0 lead, then falling back on a blistering defensive attack once the net turned inhospitable, the Wolves routed the Braves 54-29.

The win lifts Coupeville to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-0 overall headed into a big clash at home Thursday against Friday Harbor.

The Wolves, who sit alone atop the conference standings, a half-game up on Mount Vernon Christian (3-0, 6-2), were coming off a long layoff when they took the court Tuesday night.

Two games were postponed right before the holiday break, thanks to Covid protocols, then Christmas, New Year’s, and a lot of snow and ice dominated the calendar.

If there were any winter remnants hanging around the gym parking lot, they likely melted under the heat of the game’s opening minutes.

Playing stifling defense, Coupeville frazzled La Conner’s ballhandlers into a string of turnovers, which the speedy Wolves converted into bucket after bucket.

Alex Murdy threw down the game’s first score, alertly picking off an inbounds pass, before whirling to the hoop for a layup.

Then the bombs started dropping from long range, with Hawthorne Wolfe snapping the net on a three-ball, followed by Xavier Murdy netting back-to-back treys.

Not only were the Wolves hitting everything they were tossing skyward, but they were moving the ball with a furious precision.

Hawk’s three-ball was set up by X-Man, then the senior duo flipped the script, with Wolfe feeding the elder Murdy on the very next play.

With La Conner unable to get back quickly enough on defense, Coupeville pushed the pace, and it worked superbly.

A steal by Alex Murdy set up a bucket for his big bro, while Logan Martin converted a steal into an assist on a Wolfe layup, before Hawk returned the favor almost immediately on a Martin jumper.

Xavier Murdy finished the opening eight-minute stretch with 13 points, including a trio of three-balls, and Coupeville, up 27-2 at the first break, looked like it would make a serious run at 100 points.

But then the offensive fireworks started to seriously drain away.

Despite X-Man raining down 10 more points — and three more treys — in the second quarter, Coupeville would net just 27 points total over the game’s final 24 minutes.

After the torrid start, shot after shot started to take weird bounces for the Wolves, and a team which had scored 70+ points in each of its first five games never got close to that number.

Not that it ultimately mattered, however.

With their shooting mojo suddenly in freefall, the Wolves ramped up their defense and played La Conner even across those final three quarters, not allowing the lead to ever get below 22 points.

Caleb Meyer was one of the few Wolves able to convert anything on the offensive end of the floor after halftime, and his six points in the third quarter kept things under control.

His biggest play — three points the hard way on a bucket in the paint, followed by a free throw — was set up by a sensational save on the endline by young teammate Cole White.

Every Coupeville player sold out hard on the defensive end, but the Murdy boys led the way, with Xavier dominating on the glass and Alex relentlessly disrupting passes.

X-Man finished with a game-high 24 points, the best single-game performance by a Wolf player this season, boy or girl, varsity or JV.

With six three-balls on the night, the CHS marksman made a major move up the career scoring chart, cracking the top 100 for a program now in its 105th season.

Passing 13 former Wolves — including Risen Johnson, Alex Evans, and Tyler King — Xavier Murdy moves into a tie with John Beasley for 97th place all-time with 293 points.

That also leaves X-Man breathing down the neck of his uncle, mad bomber Allen Black (305), for family bragging rights.

Meyer tallied nine points Tuesday, while Wolfe and Logan Downes chipped in with five apiece.

Alex Murdy (4), Dominic Coffman (3), Martin (2), and White (2) also scored, with Jonathan Valenzuela standing tall on defense.

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Lessons learned, Wolf girls aim for future success

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

First-year varsity head coach Megan Smith has Coupeville playing with grit and hustle. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They never backed down.

Facing off with the heavyweight of the Northwest 2B/1B League Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball team put up a strong fight against visiting La Conner.

The final score — a 69-13 loss — was lopsided, yes, as the Braves improved to 9-0 overall, 5-0 in conference action.

Just as almost every game La Conner has played this season has been.

But the Wolves, who sit in third-place in the seven-team NWL, were still fighting for loose balls and rebounds until the waning moments.

Now 3-2 in league play, 4-3 overall, Coupeville will try and take that same attitude into a big game Thursday against visiting Friday Harbor.

The Wolves, who are a half-game off of 1B Mount Vernon Christian (3-1, 7-2) in the overall standings, need to finish in the top two of the three NWL 2B schools to make the playoffs.

La Conner may be tough to catch, but Coupeville could stretch its advantage on Friday Harbor (1-3, 1-6) with a victory Thursday.

The matchup against the Braves, who earlier whacked MVC by almost the same score (66-13), was going to be a tough one.

Led by senior Sarah Cook (24) and junior Ellie Marble (19), who combined for almost two-thirds of its points, La Conner relentlessly attacked on defense, then made pinpoint passes and precision cuts on offense.

Coupeville got on the board fairly early, with Carolyn Lhamon knocking down a running layup to cut the early margin to 6-2, but that would be the only first-half field goal for the Wolves.

Free throws from Audrianna Shaw and Izzy Wells provided the only other points before the halftime break, and La Conner triggered a running clock early in the third quarter when it breached the 40-point lead.

Maddie Georges did rifle home a three-ball midway through the third quarter, while fab frosh Lyla Stuurmans rippled the net on a late-game jumper.

The final points of the night came on Coupeville’s best offensive play, as senior Abby Mulholland ripped a rebound loose, then took the ball back up strongly.

Kissing the ball off the glass for a bucket, she earned three points the hard way, also draining an ensuing free throw as dad/PA announcer Moose Moran exulted in his daughter’s stellar play.

Georges and Mulholland paced Coupeville with three points apiece, while Lhamon (2), Stuurmans (2), Izzy Wells (2), and Shaw (1) rounded out the scoring attack.

Savina Wells, Alita Blouin, Ja’Kenya Hoskins, and Gwen Gustafson also saw floor time for the Wolves, with Blouin bringing considerable heat on the defensive end of the floor.

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