Monica Vidoni, seen here in an earlier game, scored eight Tuesday as Coupeville romped to a 55-22 win. (John Fisken photos)
Wynter Thorne was a spark plug on both ends of the court.
It wasn’t always pretty, but it didn’t have to be.
Recovering quickly after a stagnant opening four minutes, the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball team kicked it into another gear Tuesday night, crushing visiting Port Townsend 55-22.
The victory, the team’s fifth in its last seven games, lifted the Wolves to 7-4 overall, 2-0 in league play. CHS currently has sole possession of first place in the 1A Olympic League.
Coming off of what coach David King called “its best practice of the season” Monday, Coupeville somewhat surprisingly came out in a bit of a stupor.
Facing a winless Redhawk squad, the Wolves looked out of sync early and fell behind 7-2.
Then, whether it was words of wisdom in the huddle from a somewhat agitated coach or their own natural competitiveness resurfacing, the light clicked on for the Wolves.
In a big way.
Suddenly out-fighting and out-scrambling Port Townsend for nearly every ball, setting up a run of breakaway buckets, Coupeville went on a 40-3 tear that went from midway in the first quarter until the final minute of the third.
It started with a 15-1 surge to end the first, with five different Wolves scoring.
Coupeville then busted the game wide open with a 15-0 run in the second quarter.
Two plays in that streak stand out, one for its take-your-breath-away quality, the other for its sheer display of power.
On the first, Makana Stone soared high to snag a rebound, then spun and fired a baseball pass to Madeline Strasburg.
Catching the ball on her fingertips while in mid-sprint, Maddie Big Time spun her defender around 360 degrees, banked the ball off the backboard and then completed a three-point play when the dazed Redhawk was whistled for a desperate foul.
Two plays later, Wolf post player Monica Vidoni kept the ball alive, outreaching a wall of players to poke a rebound back to teammate Wynter Thorne.
Vidoni then called for the ball, got it back, put her shoulder down and made the best move of her high school career, rolling over two defenders and banking home the shot.
Not slowed a bit by the halftime break, the Wolves scored the first 10 points of the third quarter as well, capping a string of 25 straight CHS points.
Coupeville stretched the lead out as far as 36 points in the fourth quarter and took advantage of the blowout to give sophomore Kailey Kellner her first taste of varsity playing time.
The JV squad’s leading scorer, Kellner promptly went all Larry Bird on Port Townsend, draining a sweet three-point bomb from deep in the right corner, causing her large fan section to go bonkers.
Coupeville spread its scoring out, with Stone pumping in a game-high 19 and Strasburg bobbing and weaving for 14.
Vidoni dropped in eight, while Hailey Hammer (4), Thorne (4), Julia Myers (3) and Kellner (3) rounded out the scoring attack.
Kacie Kiel, Mia Littlejohn and McKenzie Bailey went scoreless, but all three chipped in with hustle and intangibles.
Coupeville now has a two-week break before it plays another league game.
The Wolves host South Whidbey Jan. 12, then travel to Mount Vernon Christian Jan. 17 for non-conference games, before beginning its run at a league title.
The team’s final seven games — starting with a a home game against Chimacum Jan. 21 — are all league games as CHS aims for its first league title since 2002.
Coupeville Sports 