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Posts Tagged ‘playoffs’

Stone an ace in playoff opener

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on April 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Makana Stone rumbles. (Photo property Marianne Maja Stenerud)

Win and move on.

Back on the court for the first time in almost three weeks, Makana Stone and the Baerum women’s professional basketball team survived their playoff opener Friday in Norway.

The #2 seed in the eight-team, single-elimination tourney, Baerum edged #7 Storm Ungdom 54-43 to advance to the semifinals.

That game, against #3 Asker, goes down Saturday, while #1 Ulriken and #4 Ullern vie in the day’s other game.

The winners meet in the championship bout, which will be played Sunday.

The quarterfinals victory lifts Baerum to 19-6 and was sparked, as usual, by its Coupeville ace.

Stone knocked down a game-high 16 points, including drilling a pair of three-balls, while snatching five rebounds and making off with two steals.

Storm Ungdom finished the regular season with a record of just 2-21, but came out primed for an upset, jumping to a razor-thin 12-11 lead after one quarter of play.

Baerum righted the ship after that, using a 15-7 run to pull ahead 26-19 at the half, before pushing the advantage to 41-33 heading into the fourth.

Abbey Hoff and Julie McCarthy each snatched 13 rebounds, with Hoff tickling the twines for 10 points to give Baerum two players in double digits.

Stone, who is wrapping up her first season in Norway, and her second as a pro hoops star after debuting in England, continues to pile up the stats.

On the season, the former Wolf has 447 points, 274 rebounds, 57 assists, 61 steals, and 11 blocked shots.

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Tough ending, stellar season

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The present and the future, as Wolf gunner Logan Downes inspires a young Coupeville hoops star. (Angie Downes photo)

For a brief, shining moment, the unthinkable became possible.

But then it was gone.

Trailing by 18 points entering the fourth quarter Saturday, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad almost pulled off a comeback for the ages.

Ripping off 13 straight points thanks to a ferocious defense, the Wolves made visiting Auburn Adventist Academy flinch, and flinch hard, but the Falcons regrouped and closed out a 64-53 win.

The bi-district playoff victory sends the private school ballers to the 2B state tourney, while Coupeville falls a win shy of making a return trip to the big dance.

The Wolves, who snapped a 34-year state tourney dry spell last season, finish 14-9 and can return eight of the 12 players on this year’s final varsity roster.

Not making state stings, especially since CHS had two cracks at punching their ticket, but also lost to La Conner on a disputed game-ending call two nights ago.

But not returning to Spokane isn’t unusual, as half of last year’s 16-team field, including defending state champ Liberty (Spangle) didn’t earn an invite this season.

Kalama (3rd last season), Colfax (4th), Toutle Lake, Ilwaco, River View, and Mabton also missed out, with Kalama crashing to 2-18 after losing a large group of seniors.

Coupeville also took a hit in graduation, losing six players from the squad which went 16-2 last season, but the Wolves never bottomed out.

After opening with a series of games against 2A and 1A foes, Brad Sherman’s squad won the two-day Cascade Hoops Classic in Leavenworth, bouncing always-tough Kittitas and Manson.

The Wolves hit a smooth groove in the middle of the season, winning 11 of 13 games at one point, including one in which Jonathan Valenzuela banked in a game-winning buzzer-beater three-ball to knife La Conner on its home court.

Saturday’s winner-to-state, loser-out game pitted the two #1 seeds in the District 1/2 tourney, after La Conner shocked the hoops world by upending both Auburn and Coupeville to get back to state for the first time since 2019.

The Wolves and Falcons played a non-conference game Feb. 2 in Auburn, with Coupeville winning 58-52 as Logan Downes scored 32 of his game-high 40 points in the second half.

Like in that first contest, CHS fell behind by 13 points in the first half, though this time the deficit was achieved in a much-quicker, more-shocking manner.

As in the Wolves fell behind 13-0 while having considerable trouble cracking Auburn’s slap-happy full-court press.

Coupeville didn’t put a point on the board until freshman Chase Anderson drained a pair of free throws at the 3:26 mark of the first quarter, enduring being hit in the head as he crashed to the hoop.

Chase Anderson, only a freshman, provided a huge burst of energy and defensive scrappiness for Coupeville this season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolves first field goal finally found the bottom of the net with less than two minutes to go in the opening frame, with Nick Guay popping a shot off a feed from Anderson.

The fab frosh came right back around with a bucket off of an offensive rebound, followed by baskets from Downes and Valenzuela, and the comeback was seemingly launched.

If someone walked into the gym right as the second quarter started, with Auburn clinging to an 18-12 lead, they would have had little idea of the carnage which came before.

That second frame was a slugfest, often quite literally, as both teams picked up a string of fouls, and things got chippy.

Coupeville got within four, Auburn surged back to a 10-point lead, then the Wolves hit four straight free throws — with two courtesy a technical foul called on the visiting coach — to cut things down to 29-23.

Unfortunately for home fans, the Falcons plunged a dagger in, as an Auburn guard slipped through a crowd of players and splashed home a three-ball which hit the floor right as the halftime buzzer shrieked to life.

That bitter taste on the back of the tongue carried over into the third quarter for the Wolves, as they struggled to put points on the board.

The best moment of the night came on a wild play in which Downes shot cross-court to outrun a rival for a ball after it was poked loose.

Somehow snagging the madly bouncing orb a step away from going out of bounds, the Wolf junior zipped a pass to Cole White in the far right corner while balanced, barely, on one foot.

Flicking the ball skyward, Coupeville’s wiry junior point guard splashed home his shot, the trey giving him exactly 200 career points with a season left to play.

Other than that, though, and William Davidson and White drawing offensive charging fouls on Falcon ballhandlers, the third quarter was a largely barren wasteland for the Wolves.

Outscored 16-7 in the frame, with Auburn knocking down a trio of three-balls, Coupeville headed to the fourth trailing 48-30 and in dire straits.

Cue up the gut-check defensive stand, as Sherman’s pack came out howling for blood.

Forcing numerous turnovers in the backcourt and converting most of them into wham-bam buckets, the Wolves ripped off 13 unanswered points to open the quarter.

Downes and senior Alex Murdy, who has spilled considerable blood, sweat, and tears as Coupeville’s primary defensive stopper, both rattled home six points during the surge.

The packed CHS gym was rockin’, with the road fans making a fair amount of noise in response to the hyped-up Wolf faithful, and LL Cool J seemed about ready to pop up at midcourt, mic in hand.

“Don’t call it a comeback, just call it a win.”

Except, this time around, Auburn didn’t wilt under the pressure.

Unlike in the first meeting, when the Falcons cracked down the stretch, this time they remained tough and resilient.

Auburn’s seventh, and final, three-ball of the night pushed the lead back to eight, and Coupeville was unable to put together back-to-back buckets at any point in the game’s final four minutes.

For a game in which seemingly every player finished with three or four fouls, there actually wasn’t an extraordinary number of free throws shot, though the Falcons did hit the ones they needed at the end.

Coupeville sank more charity shots — 15 of 25 to Auburn’s 13 of 18 — but left a chunk of points on the edge of the rim.

The playoff loss marked the final appearance for Wolf seniors Dominic Coffman, Jermiah Copeland, Valenzuela, and Murdy.

Alex Murdy (left) and Dominic Coffman played key roles in the rebirth of Wolf boys’ basketball. (Chloe Marzocca photo)

Downes paced the Wolves with a game-high 24 points, with Murdy netting all nine of his points in the fourth quarter.

Anderson (8), Guay (4), White (3), Coffman (2), Valenzuela (2), and Davidson (1) also scored, with Ryan Blouin working hard as a press-breaker.

Murdy, a terror on offense and defense during his Wolf career, finishes with 448 points.

Alex and older sibling Xavier, who scored 482 before graduating last spring, are one of just eight pairs of brothers to both top 400 points during the 106-year run of CHS boys’ basketball.

His running mate, Downes, caps one of the most remarkable seasons put together by a Coupeville hoops star.

The youngest of Angie and Ralph’s three sons scorched the nets for 554 points in 23 games — a hair over 24 points a night — while compiling the second-best single-season total by a Wolf player, boy or girl.

Logan’s junior season trails only Jeff Stone, who scored 644 as a senior in 1969-1970.

The previous #2 scorer was Jeff Rhubottom, who knocked down 459 points in 1977-1978.

Career-wise, Downes sits with 778 points, putting him #15 all-time on the CHS boys’ chart.

He passed Hunter Hammer (755), Barry Brown (769), and Jack Elzinga (770) Saturday, and will enter his senior season needing 360 points to catch Stone and Mike Bagby, who are tied at #1 with 1,137 points apiece.

While that duo tops the boys’ chart, Brianne King, who rained down 1,549 points between 1999-2003, is the undisputed school scoring champ.

 

Final season scoring stats:

Logan Downes – 554
Alex Murdy – 242
Cole White – 161
Nick Guay – 130
Jonathan Valenzuela – 85
Dominic Coffman – 60
Chase Anderson – 55
Ryan Blouin – 48
Zane Oldenstadt – 12
Jermiah Copeland – 10
William Davidson – 7
Mikey Robinett – 4
Hunter Bronec – 2
Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim – 2

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Make the gym rock, make the gym roll

Posted in Cheer, tagged , , , , , on February 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Wolf freshman Miley Gerber gets the gym rockin’. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cheerleaders lead the charge.

Full of school spirit, Wolf sideline warriors have been at the forefront of generating the wall of positive noise exploding out of Coupeville’s gyms at this week’s playoff games.

As the CHS boys prepare to play their biggest game of the season Saturday — 7:00 PM tip vs. Auburn Adventist Academy, winner to state, loser out — a photographic look at the cheer squad in action, courtesy John Fisken.

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“Our boys played their hearts out tonight”

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

All three Coupeville vs. La Conner boys’ basketball games this year were tense brawls. (Bailey Thule photo)

All the emotions were on display.

Elation. Despair. And a whole lot of confusion.

Trapped in a packed gym with two rabid cheering sections operating at a full-throated roar for two hours-plus, Coupeville and La Conner waged a magnificent, sometimes confounding boys’ basketball playoff thriller Thursday night.

In the aftermath the Braves, somewhat improbably, claimed the District 1/2 tourney crown and the program’s 43rd trip to state — even though they will carry a losing record to the big dance.

On the other side, the host Wolves, who beat La Conner twice during the regular season, were dazed, but not KO’d.

Brad Sherman’s squad, which fell 63-61 after a gut-punch final few seconds, return to their own gym Saturday to face Auburn Adventist Academy in a 6:45 PM rumble.

Beat the Falcons, who they thunked on the road earlier this season, and the Wolves punch a return ticket to state after breaking a 34-year dry spell last season.

Lose Saturday and they are done.

Coupeville will carry a 14-8 record to the floor Saturday, while La Conner, which is just 11-12, awaits the release of the state brackets Sunday afternoon.

The Braves reached the promised land dropping eight three-balls, coming up with countless key rebounds, and, in the moment, getting two free throws from Braden Thomas with 0:00.4 of a second to play.

After leading for most of the game, but never able to pull away, Coupeville fell behind by six points late in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to La Conner clanking five free throws in the final 25 seconds, while the Wolves netted all four of their charity shots, CHS still had a chance to send the game to overtime on the final possession of the game.

Thundering up-court under heavy pressure, Wolf junior Logan Downes drilled the bottom of the net out with a pull-up jumper, and mass confusion reigned.

With the refs (and fans) in disagreement over whether it was a three-ball (to tie) or a two-point shot fired up from just inside the arc — but action not stopping — La Conner inbounded the ball.

Thomas was fouled a millisecond before the buzzer rang out, by a Wolf defender who likely believed he needed to stop the clock if Downes shot was being counted as a two.

Unlike several of his teammates, who were undone by the screams of the Wolf faithful as they rimmed out their free throws, Thomas never flinched, sliding both of his gift shots through the net.

That left the Wolves with less than a second on the clock and few options, with a baseball-style pass the length of the court sailing up, up, and away as La Conner’s fans went berserk.

While the final seconds provided the final score, the Braves won the game earlier in the fourth quarter.

After trailing from midway through the second quarter until midway through the fourth — but never by more than eight points — La Conner came up huge in crunch time.

The Braves hit four of their eight treys in the final frame, and the real killer was two of those three-balls were set up by offensive rebounds.

Coupeville fought doggedly all night, but La Conner had an uncanny ability to win 50/50 balls at the end, and it stung.

The Braves pulled ahead 47-46 on a jumper from Isaiah Price, taking their first lead since 20-18, then stretched their advantage out to 56-50.

The one thing keeping Coupeville in the game was the play of Cole White, who went off for all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.

And they weren’t easy buckets, as the wiry junior guard hit three jumpers while surrounded by defenders, converted an offensive board into a bucket, and drained both of his late-game free throws.

White’s charity shots pulled the Wolves to within 58-56, while Downes went the length of the floor, slashing between bodies for a layup to make it 60-58.

Logan Downes finds the bottom of the net. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

When La Conner split a pair of free throws with 10.4 seconds to play, that set up the frantic finale.

The game started intense, and never let up.

Coupeville jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead, only to have the Braves pop a trio of three-balls to get back in the game.

Alex Murdy slapped home nine points in the opening quarter, while Downes rang up five more, but La Conner tied things at 16-16 when Thomas netted three free throws with no time on the clock after being fouled on a three-ball attempt.

After a little back-and-forth to open the second quarter, Coupeville seized the lead at 21-20 when Downes drilled a three-ball, then briefly stretched its advantage out to six points before heading into the half up 31-27.

Murdy was a rampaging two-way warrior in the first half, but the Wolves also got big moments from everyone on the floor.

From Dominic Coffman draining free throws, to freshman Chase Anderson knocking down a breakaway bucket set up by a Murdy steal, to Jonathan Valenzuela pulling off an impressive airborne steal and bucket combo, the highlight reel was full.

The third quarter was the lowest-scoring frame of the night, as the two teams circled each other, punching and counterpunching.

Downes rang up all nine of Coupeville’s points, while Murdy delivered a tooth-rattling block, but La Conner closed on a 6-0 mini-run to pull back within 40-38.

That set up a fourth quarter full of offense, with the team’s combining for 46 points in the final eight minutes.

And, depending on which side of the gym you were sitting on, vastly different emotional states as you exited in search of your car.

For Wolf head coach Brad Sherman, who spent his first moments post-game the way all coaches should — getting hugs from his pack of young sons — there was a trace of disappointment, but much more pride.

“Our boys played their hearts out tonight,” he said.

“Tough loss. But that’s basketball – sometimes it doesn’t go our way.

“I told them to come in tomorrow with heads high, ready to get right back to work,” Sherman added. “And knowing them that’s exactly what they are going to do.

“They have shown resilience at every turn this season and they’ll do it again.”

How close was this brawl? Both big threes combined to score exactly 51 points.

For La Conner, that was Ivory Damien with 19, Thomas with 18, and Price with 14.

For Coupeville, Downes rippled the nets for a game-high 26, with Murdy knocking down 15, and White closing hard with his 10.

Valenzuela (4), Nick Guay (2), Coffman (2), and Anderson (2) rounded out Coupeville’s scoring attack, with William Davidson and Ryan Blouin also seeing floor time.

With his 26 points, Downes rises to 754 and counting for his three-year career, pushing past Dan Nieder (729) and Steve Whitney (730) to move into 18th place all-time for a program launched in 1917.

Heading into Saturday’s game, he is a bucket away from toppling #17 Hunter Hammer (755), with #16 Barry Brown (769) and #15 Jack Elzinga (770) not far off.

Further down the career scoring list, Guay’s first-quarter free throws lifts him to 132 points, pushing him into a tie with Craig Anderson.

That’s notable — for me at least — since Anderson is both an assistant coach for the Wolves and the dad of the aforementioned fab frosh Chase.

106 seasons of Wolf basketball, so many hidden connections.

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Get yourself a Jada Heaton!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on February 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Jada Heaton, a walkin’, talkin’ ray of sunshine for Coupeville athletics. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Every team needs a Jada Heaton.

The irrepressible, high-energy Coupeville sophomore brings joy, excitement, and 1000% support to all her athletic teams.

Whether she’s in the game, or bouncing on and off the bench, Heaton is the ultimate good-time teammate.

You can see that when you watch her in person, and you can see that in the photos above and below, where she appears three times.

And why not?

As long as Jada is having a good time, the Wolves are set.

Avery Parker, whose artwork kept Coupeville Sports in business during the pandemic, grows weary of all the autograph requests.

Wolf students and cheerleaders unleash the noise.

Madison McMillan (23) is ready to throw hands, while Heaton is ready to join her teammate if the floor needs to be rushed.

Megan Richter, calm and composed on the outside. On the inside, a raging cauldron of emotions. “Shoot the ball like I did when I was your age!!”

Starters (l to r) Lyla Stuurmans, Maddie Georges, Alita Blouin, Carolyn Lhamon, and Ryanne Knoblich await their intros.

Mia Farris keeps her eye on the target.

Jada, tries, and fails, to hide from her personal paparazzi. “All night long, it’s clickety-click-click-click. Is this what life is like for Beyonce??”

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