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Laurel Crowder led all Wolf scorers on opening day. (Photo courtesy Brooke Crowder)

“We did a lot of things really well.”

Coming off their season opener Wednesday against visiting South Whidbey, the Coupeville Middle School girls’ basketball teams have players with a lot of potential and a willingness to put in the work.

That always gets a stamp of approval from the coaches.

While the Wolves “took lots of shots that unfortunately didn’t fall,” they did “open (up) the floor with good spacing and drove to the hoop,” said CMS coach Brooke Crowder.

Even with the day’s third game cancelled at the last moment, Crowder and fellow Wolf hardwood guru Kassie O’Neil got floor time for 27 Wolves on opening day, with 12 of the young guns recording their first points of the new campaign.

How things played out:

 

Level 1:

Coupeville hung tough with a high-powered South Whidbey squad but couldn’t overcome the wham-bam combo of 8th graders Jayda Coleman and Ellie Linaberry, who sparked the Cougars to a 42-29 win.

The duo combined to account for 38 of the visitor’s points, with Coleman rattling the rim for 28 by herself.

The Wolves were down just 15-9 at the first break and stayed within 19-14 at the half, before South Whidbey pulled away with a 14-8 run in the third quarter.

Coupeville’s balanced offensive attack was led by 7th grader Laurel Crowder, who banked in eight points, while Cami Van Dyke (5), Finley Helm (4), Emma Green (4), Kaleigha Millison (3), Claire Lachnit (3), and Aubrey Flowers (2) also scored.

Green, Millison, and Lachnit all hit paydirt from long distance, splashing home a three-ball apiece.

Zayne Roos, Anna Powers, Addison Jacobson, Ava Alford, and Annabelle Cundiff rounded out the rotation for the Wolves.

 

Halle Black made her CMS hardwood debut Wednesday, joining a long line of family members who have played hoops in Coupeville. (Photo courtesy Mandi Black)

 

Level 2:

Both teams brought the defensive heat with South Whidbey ultimately escaping with a 20-9 victory.

The Cougars led from start to finish, but the game was a close one, with the visitors up 8-3 through one quarter, 10-5 at the half, and 14-7 heading into the final frame.

Juniper Dotson, Nikolette Dunham, Millie Somes, and Daisy Leedy-Bonifas all knocked down a bucket for CMS, while Bella Sandlin netted a free throw to round out the scoring.

Also seeing action for the Wolves were Halle Black, Ellie Callahan, Danielle Halsing, Arianna Vinson, Leah Hernandez, Sophia Burley, Amira Anunciado, Ruby Folkestad, Reagan Green, and Sabrina Judnich.

 

What’s up next:

Coupeville hits the road for three straight, traveling to Granite Falls (Feb. 18), Sultan (Feb. 19), and Northshore Christian Academy (Nov. 24).

The Wolves finally return to the CMS gym Feb. 26, when they’ll square off with King’s.

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Camden Glover played strongly in the paint Tuesday night. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

It’s a work in progress.

Playing minus two key players Tuesday, a new-look Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad struggled to contain a quick, efficient South Whidbey team, falling 57-42 in the season opener.

The bad news?

The game actually wasn’t that close, as the Wolves trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.

The good news?

The Wolves stayed scrappy until the end, even after their most dangerous big man fouled out, and closed the game on a 18-5 tear that saw six different players put the ball in the hoop.

Coupeville started the season without leading scorer Chase Anderson and high-energy Davin Houston, both on the sideline in street clothes, and things got out of hand quickly.

Camden Glover rolled inside for a bucket in the paint to make it 2-2, with running mate Malachi Somes drawing an offensive charge on a South Whidbey ballhandler on the very next play.

Then things got bumpy.

South Whidbey ripped off 12 unanswered points, with four consecutive buckets coming off of steals, and kept pushing the pace en route to a 20-5 lead at the first break.

The deficit stretched out to 23-5 early in the second frame, before the Wolves were finally able to put together a sustained run of their own.

A jumper from Glover kick-started an 11-5 tear for CHS, with Somes and Mahkai Myles combining for seven of those points, while Liam Blas and Glover hit the boards hard.

But South Whidbey had an answer on this evening, rallying to score the final five points of the half to carry a 33-16 advantage into the halftime break.

The third quarter was more of the same for the Wolves.

Aiden O’Neill went coast to coast for a pretty bucket, but South Whidbey responded with an immediate 11-0 spurt, crushing any hopes of a CHS comeback.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, with Glover being fouled out by overly sensitive refs and the Falcons up 52-24, that Coupeville found a truly consistent groove.

O’Neill knocked down a three-ball from the top, and he, Myles, Somes, Riley Lawless, Carson Grove, and Easton Green all scored as the Wolves dominated the final five minutes after struggling through the first 27.

Somes, who played a standout game on both sides of the ball, even after taking a hard shot to the head, paced Coupeville with a varsity career-high 12 points, while Glover banked in nine and Myles knocked down eight in his varsity debut.

O’Neill (5), Grove (3), Lawless (2), Green (2), and Sage Arends (1) scored as well, with Blas and Nathan Coxsey also seeing floor time.

The Wolves get a chance to carry over their hot finish when they play host to Forks Thursday and Eastside Prep Saturday.

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Liam Lawson banked in 12 points in his high school hoops debut. (Photo courtesy Fern Photography)

One for the Wolves!

Opening night was a bit rough overall for the Coupeville High School basketball squads Tuesday, but the JV boys’ team more than held up its end of the bargain.

Getting 12 points each from fab frosh Liam Lawson and junior big man Jayden McManus, the Wolves led from start to finish against visiting South Whidbey, romping to a 44-32 win.

Fresh off the non-conference victory, the hardwood heroes will get right back at it Thursday, hosting Forks and looking to get to 2-0 on the season.

With coaches Jon Roberts and Craig Anderson calling the shots, the Wolf JV jumped on the Falcons fast, roaring out to a 13-3 lead after one quarter of play.

Five different CHS players scored in that opening frame, and Coupeville remained hot, stretching the lead to 24-9 at the half and 31-18 through three.

Lawson and McManus both scored in all four quarters, while Josh Stockdale (8), Nathan Coxsey (7), Carson Grove (4), and Khanor Jump (1) also tallied points for the Wolves.

Trent Thule, Chris Zenz, and Ayden Warren rounded out the active roster in game #1, all bringing hustle to their time on the hardwood.

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8th grade ace Cameron Van Dyke, seen here during volleyball season, made her high school hoops debut Tuesday night. (Julie Wheat photo)

Victory was in their grasp but slipped away.

Playing with four 8th graders in the lineup Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball team led at the end of the first, second, and third quarters.

Just not the fourth.

Using a 9-2 tear to end the game, visiting South Whidbey made off with a 32-27 win on opening night to claim the advantage in the Island rivalry.

With former Wolf hoops star Alita Blouin making her debut as JV coach, CHS edged out to a 6-4 lead by the first break, before stretching the advantage to 19-12 by halftime.

The second half was firmly in favor of the Falcons, however, as the visitors sliced away at the lead with an 11-6 run in the third quarter before holding the Wolves to just a single bucket in the final frame.

CHS did have balanced scoring, getting points from six of the nine players in uniform.

Ava Lucero paced the Wolves with a team-high eight points, while Willow Leedy-Bonifas knocked down seven.

Anna Powers (6), Cameron Van Dyke (2), Finley Helm (2), and Ellie Marshall (2) rounded out the offensive attack, with Emma Cushman, Allie Powers, and Zayne Roos also seeing floor time for Blouin’s squad.

Van Dyke, Roos, Helm, and Anna Powers are all 8th graders, and get to double up, playing high school ball before having the chance to also play at the middle school level when that season unfolds in 2026.

The Wolf JV, which is currently scheduled to return to action next Tuesday, Dec. 9 against East Jefferson, may actually get to play before then.

Eastside Prep, which comes to Coupeville Dec. 6, originally said it wouldn’t have a JV squad, but that may have changed.

If so, the move will be confirmed later this week.

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River Simpson was one of three Wolves to score in double digits in Sultan Thursday. (Photo courtesy Rainy Simpson)

The first chapter has been written.

Kicking off a new basketball season in style Thursday, the Coupeville Middle School boys’ hoops teams won two of three in Sultan, with 22 Wolves getting in the scoring column.

The trek off-Island is one the CMS hoops stars will quickly get used to, as they play their first three, and four of their first five, on the road this season.

For Coupeville’s coaching staff, the season debut was one to embrace.

“Everyone worked their tails off,” RayLynn Ratcliff said. “Very proud coaches and showed us what we gotta work on!”

 

How the day played out:

 

Team #3:

Balanced scoring was the name of the game, as Coupeville’s C-Team opened things with a 31-12 win.

The Wolves rang up eight points in each of the first three quarters, then toned it down (just slightly) with seven in the final frame.

Luke Blas and Jack Bailey each pumped in six to lead the way, with Liam Stoner and Logan Flowers chipping in with four apiece.

Alton Hansen (3), LJ Schultz (2), Dreyke Mendiola (2), Logan Dees (2), and Jonathyn Driscoll (2) also scored, with Oliver Miller, Gabe Reed, Vincent Alguire, Dom Durbin, and Burke Winger rounding out the roster.

 

Team #2:

Led by a 14-point performance by Braxten Ratcliff, the Wolves were in control all game, romping to a 45-18 victory.

The third quarter was a particular killer, as CMS went to the locker room with 17 first-half points, then exploded for 17 more to open the second half.

Les Queen (6), Abel O’Neil (5), Xander Flowers (5), Henry Purdue (4), and Nico Strong (4) helped share the offensive load, with Hayden Maynes (3), Brady Sherman (2), and Brayden Grinstead (2) also filling up the bucket.

Mario Martinez, Mendiola, and Bailey saw floor time as well for the Wolves.

 

Team #1:

Coupeville’s only loss was a close one, with the Wolves trailing just 12-11 after one frame, and up 22-21 at the half.

Unfortunately, the Turks, always a tough foe, rallied in the second half, using a 25-15 run across the final 14 minutes to claim a 46-37 win and salvage a bit of the day.

Wolf big man Diesel Eck topped all Coupeville players with 15 points, while River Simpson chipped in with 11 to provide a strong one-two combo.

Trey Stewart (8) and Kamden Ratcliff (3) were the only other varsity CMS players to make the net jump, with Colton Ashby, Xander Beaman, Gracen Joiner, Jacob Lujan, Darius Stewart, Maverick Walling, and Aiden Wheat also in uniform.

 

What’s next:

Coupeville gets back on the bus for trips to private schools King’s (Nov. 18) and Northshore Christian Academy (Nov. 20) before making its home debut Nov. 25 against Granite Falls.

They’re going to get used to life on the ferry. (RayLynn Ratcliff photo)

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