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Posts Tagged ‘road trip’

Cold start, hotter finish

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Lyla Stuurmans continues to move up the CHS girls’ basketball career scoring chart. (Jackie Saia photo)

Throw out the first seven minutes, it’s a different ballgame.

The Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team played host Chief Leschi dead even for the final 25 minutes Saturday in Puyallup.

Unfortunately, the Wolves trailed 15-0 after that opening chunk, so a tie the rest of the way still resulted in a 38-23 loss.

The non-conference defeat, coming in the team’s second game without injured star Mia Farris, drops Coupeville to 6-11.

CHS has almost a week off now, returning home for back-to-back games in Cow Town Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2-3.

The first of those contests is Senior Night against Friday Harbor and will largely decide which team advances to the playoffs, while the latter is a non-conference rumble recently added to the schedule.

Saturday’s clash with Chief Leschi started poorly for the Wolves, who surrendered a pair of early three-balls and couldn’t get any of their own shots to stay in the bucket.

Down 15-0 and looking for a spark, the Wolves got it from Katie Marti, who finally cracked the seal on the basket in the final seconds of the first quarter.

Things got much better from there, with CHS holding its own in second and third frames which both ended in 8-8 ties.

Madison McMillan gets out of town fast in an earlier game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Four different Wolves scored in the second quarter, with sophomore Brynn Parker notching her first varsity bucket.

She’s the 247th Wolf girl to score in the 50-year history of the program, and the second in her family, joining big sis Skylar.

The third quarter featured Coupeville’s best work on the boards, with Marti, Madison McMillan, and Jada Heaton all scoring off of putbacks.

While Chief Leschi slipped away with a 7-5 advantage in the fourth frame, the Wolves hit some free throws down the stretch to keep things interesting.

Marti finished with a team-best nine points, while McMillan (6), Stuurmans (2), Brynn Parker (2), Heaton (2), Kayla Arnold (1), and Teagan Calkins (1) also scored.

Skylar Parker, Reese Wilkinson, and fab frosh Haylee Armstrong got floor time, while Farris avidly rooted for her teammates while in street clothes.

Along with Brynn Parker joining the sisterhood of scorers, Marti and Stuurmans both passed CHS assistant coach Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil on the all-time scoring chart.

Marti now sits in 63rd place with 191 points and Stuurmans perches in 66th with 185 points, which puts her a slot ahead of O’Neil, who rattled the rims for 184 during her stellar prep hoops career.

 

No JV action:

Two days before tipoff, Chief Leschi cancelled the second game after deciding it didn’t have enough players to field a full team.

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Orcas, Darrington bail on JV girls’ games

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

Wolf JV players wait for a chance to thump someone. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re going to miss out on the hum of bus tires on asphalt.

The schedule for the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad took a hit Tuesday, with both Orcas Island and Darrington cancelling the remainder of their seasons due to a “lack of players.”

The change, which does not affect varsity action, eliminates two road trips for Kassie O’Neil’s team of young hoops hotshots.

Coupeville’s JV girls will now miss a trek to the wilds of Darrington this Friday, Jan. 5, and an island-hopping escapade Jan. 12.

Sitting at 2-4 coming into 2024, the Wolf JV has actually already played Orcas once, in a non-league game in which the Vikings poached CHS stars Haylee Armstrong and Bryley Gilbert to have enough players to field a full five-player unit.

As the schedule sits today, O’Neil’s crew has seven games remaining, with five at home.

First up is Auburn Adventist Academy, which travels to Cow Town Jan. 8.

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Wolves invade Seattle, bring home a win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on November 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Whether shooting three-balls or eating burgers, Ryan Blouin is all business. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Sammy Hagar couldn’t drive 55, but Brad Sherman can win 55.

The former Van Halen lead man had a problem with the speed limit, while the Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball coach kept his squad humming along Wednesday night.

Taking control early in Seattle, and never relenting during a physical, chippy battle with The Bush School, the Wolves wrapped up a 42-35 victory.

The non-conference win, its second straight against a 1A school, lifts CHS to 2-0 on the season and hands Sherman his 55th career win.

Now, the prairie roundball sage gets to come home, for a moment at least, to lead his team into battle with Toledo Saturday.

The Riverhawks (1-0) will be playing back-to-back games on an Island-hopping adventure, visiting Friday Harbor a day before arriving in Cow Town for a 4:45 tip.

The Wolves stayed undefeated Wednesday by playing stellar defense, sharing the ball on offense, and not spending all night complaining to the refs like the fairly whiny Blazers.

Maybe they just make ’em tougher in Coupeville.

That was shown early, as Wolf big man William Davidson, who got banged up in warmups, had the coaches slap some tape on there, then told his mentors to go and sit down, cause “Big Sexy” needed to go to work.

Corralling a rebound while fending off three players — one for each arm, and his leg aimed at someone else’s fanny — the prairie legend went right back up for a bucket to tie the game at 2-2.

While Ryan Blouin put the Wolves ahead for good by draining a gorgeous three-ball shortly thereafter, Bush went all soft (and whiny) as soon as Davidson flexed.

Once up, Coupeville took it right at the Blazers, with Logan Downes ripping the ball away and hurtling downcourt for layups on back-to-back plays.

The Wolves were savages on defense, drawing three charging fouls in the first quarter alone and picking off enough passes to make Gary Payton proud.

2-0 and lookin’ for more.

Coupeville’s superior toughness continued to shine brightly in the second quarter, as Cole White got smacked in the face, potentially drawing blood while the three refs combined to call zero fouls on the play.

Shrugging if off, the lanky one left the court for a brief second, then came flying back into battle, a glint of danger in his eyes.

CHS pushed the lead out to 18-4, with Blouin netting a trio of three-balls in the first half, before Bush made its one comeback push.

The hosts missed a ton of shots from close range, skipped a bunch of free throws off the rim, but somehow got hot from behind the three-point line.

That helped Bush close the gap to 21-18 at the half, but there was no break in Coupeville’s swagger.

White drilled his own three-ball to open the third quarter, with Nick Guay sucking in the defense, then alertly kicking the ball out to his fellow senior for the open shot.

From there the Wolves kept the lead around 10 the rest of the game, with the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers (Hunter and Hurlee) crashing the boards and White winning a wild battle for control of the ball while sprawled on the floor.

Up 32-23 heading into the fourth, Coupeville got a game-icing three ball from Downes late, while White rampaged from one side of the court to the other, netting three buckets in the final minutes.

The Wolves put three players in double digits, with Downes (14), Blouin (11), and White (11) combining to score 36 of Coupeville’s 42 points.

Guay chipped in with three, Davidson had his highlight reel bucket, and Hunter Bronec made sweet music while dropping a free throw through the net.

For the second straight game, Downes moves up another rung on the CHS career scoring chart.

His 14 points gives him 823 and pushes him past ’70s legend Corey Cross (811) for 13th on a list which began in 1917.

White also hits a numerical sweet spot, reaching 222 and counting for his run on the hardwood.

Sherman put nine players on the floor in Seattle, with Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Hurlee Bronec, and Aiden O’Neill also earning minutes.

It was the varsity basketball debut for O’Neill, who has already earned two letters on the gridiron.

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JV booters rumble in the rain

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Solomon Rudat sends the ball on its way. (Jackie Saia photos)

They got the solo spotlight, in a driving rainstorm.

Playing through more than their fair share of liquid sunshine Monday, the Coupeville High School JV soccer players put up a good fight against always-tough Mount Vernon Christian.

While the Wolves ultimately fell 3-0 on a soggy afternoon in Skagit County, CHS coaches came away pleased with the effort put forth by their young players.

“We played well, connected, and penetrated often, but pace of balls and runners were off,” Robert Wood said.

“Good effort by everyone. Very nice to get a full game for them.”

Sage Arends shows off some fancy footwork.

The loss drops Coupeville’s JV, which is a co-ed team playing in a boys’ soccer league, to 0-3-1 on the season.

Getting a chance for the young guns to play a complete game, especially on a day when they were the sole focus, pleased everyone.

Of course, next time out Wood and fellow coach Kimberly Kisch would appreciate a break from the weather.

“I hope the next one is NOT in a torrential downpour like this one,” Wood said with a chuckle while drying out.

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“I’m impressed with how my girls played”

Posted in Middle School, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Emma Leavitt, seen here at a football game with her parents, is one of many talented middle school spikers playing for Coupeville this fall. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Any foe, any time, any place.

Showing resiliency, teamwork, and solid match-to-match growth, the Coupeville Middle School volleyball squads put a scare into big baddy King’s Thursday afternoon.

While the Wolves came up just short of staggering the private school power while playing in Shoreline, the Island spikers made a solid statement.

“I will tell you that the kids have improved tremendously from last match,” said Coupeville coach Cris Matochi. “I am so proud of them.

“This is an incredible group of kids. They are growing their leadership, their court presence, their confidence. We are heading in the right direction.”

 

Varsity:

Coupeville thrashed their hosts 25-15 in the first set, before dropping the next two by a razor-thin margin at 27-25 and 15-8.

So, while the Wolves came up just short at 2-1 in sets, they actually won more points at 58-57.

“We came in and had an incredible start,” Matochi said. “The team was playing the best volleyball that I have seen for that age group in a long time.

“Our game was so fluid. We were passing so well, we were serving so well and most importantly, we were playing IN SYSTEM. The girls were on fire!”

A huge part of Coupeville’s success came from walking into the gym at Shoreline with confidence and a solid game plan.

“The energy was incredible,” Matochi said. “Before the match started, I told the players — there is a big difference between playing to win versus playing not to lose. Today we play to win.

“Today we are going big. We will play big, and the main focus is to play in system.

“The girls took those words and flew with them.”

Coupeville had a chance to win the match in set two, engaging in “super intense” rallies, but King’s, with a roster full of seasoned vets, managed to eke out the victory.

“We struggled with finishing the points while King’s was growing their game,” Matochi said.

“King’s was fighting hard, but even when we were several points down, we used all of our energy to finish the set strong.”

 

JV:

Team A hung tough through three sets, also falling 2-1, while Team B was swept 3-0.

Coupeville’s top JV squad lost a thriller, coming up just short at 25-20, 23-25, 15-3, while the second unit lost 25-7, 25-11, 15-6.

Wolf coach Kristina Hooks returned to Whidbey pleased with the effort she saw from her players, who pushed the Knights to the limit all day.

“I’m so impressed with how my girls played tonight,” she said.

“They’ve shown so much improvement already from the first game and I have girls stepping up to be leaders, which is amazing to see.

“The energy during this game was so different compared to our first game,” Hooks added. “They are starting to trust each other and work as a team.”

While the hunt for a W is still on, the young, largely inexperienced Wolves continue to improve from set to set, something their first-year coach prizes.

“They may not have won their matches, but I’m impressed with how much their skills have grown in a short amount of time,” Hooks said.

“We definitely need to work on moving our feet more and being more aggressive on the court but I’m excited to see them keep improving and honing their skills.”

 

Next up:

Coupeville plays three straight matches at home, starting with an Oct. 2 rumble with Granite Falls. Tipoff is at 3:15 PM in the CMS gym, and there is no cost to attend.

After that comes bouts with Northshore Christian Academy (Oct. 4) and Sultan (Oct. 9) as the Wolves wind their way through an eight-match season.

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