Amanda Fabrizi, a danger in the open court. (John Fisken photos)
Breeanna Messner (5) and Fabrizi — hard work during the early days of practice has paid off.
They were everywhere.
It was Senior Night Friday, and, in every nook and cranny of a densely-packed Coupeville High School gym, you were reminded of the love and respect the Wolf basketball community has for Amanda Fabrizi and Breeanna Messner.
The dynamite duo, who have played together since their middle school days, could be seen in photo collages, in giant face masks brandished by Messner’s billion relatives and on the one-of-a-kind tie worn by CHS coach David King.
Showcasing images of both girls from the five years they have coached the pair, starting with SWISH ball in eighth grade, the tie was designed by King’s wife, Wolf JV hoops guru Amy King.
The unifying theme — both young women sporting huge smiles in almost every shot.
That look was on display again as they sparked their Wolf squad to a 43-20 romp over visiting Granite Falls, notching Coupeville’s third win in its last five games.
Now 9-10 overall, 5-8 in Cascade Conference play, CHS wraps its regular season with a trip to Everett Saturday to play first-place King’s. District playoffs begin Tuesday, with the Wolves traveling to Mount Baker to kick off the double-elimination tourney.
Putting Granite Falls (1-18) out of its misery fairly quickly, Coupeville’s seniors put a distinctive stamp on the game.
They combined for eight points in the first quarter, with Messner hitting for six with a pair of jumpers and a sweet rolling hook.
After that, it was the Fabrizi Show, as she rained down points in every quarter, on her way to a career-high 20.
That’s right, she matched Granite Falls by herself … and probably would have outscored the Tigers if King hadn’t pulled the duo in the fourth to give them a proper curtain call.
Running and gunning, and joining Messner in scrapping for every loose ball, ripping the ball away from Granite Falls defenders with a grin on her face, Fabrizi got her points in a variety of ways.
She rained down a pair of three-pointers from well beyond the arc, one coming off of a quick in-bounds pass, while also slashing to the hoop repeatedly.
Coupeville spent most of the game making off with steals and kicking the ball out quickly, and Fabrizi was the first player out in front on almost every fast break.
The few times the duo didn’t have the ball in their hands, the Wolves were still quite effective. Madeline Strasburg converted a pair of breakaway buckets off of steals, while Monica Vidoni triggered and finished an impressive full-court play.
The junior ripped down a board, passed off to Messner, then hauled tail down court. Messner, having split two defenders, kicked the ball to Strasburg, who whirled and whipped it to Vidoni, now down in the paint, for a quick layup.
Granite Falls only weapon was an occasional trey, usually of the desperation variety.
The Tigers cut the early lead to 6-4 on a three-pointer, then hit another one — but only after the Wolves poured in 15 straight points. Granite Falls went without a two-point bucket until the final minute of the third quarter, at which point they were trailing 31-10.
Fabrizi capped her career night by pouring in seven of her 20 points in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
Strasburg and Messner each popped for six, Vidoni and Makana Stone dropped in four apiece, Kacie Kiel swished a jumper for two and McKayla Bailey notched a free-throw to round out the scoring.
Wynter Thorne, Carlie Rosenkrance and Julia Myers all saw floor time, as well, with Myers, AKA “Elbows,” controlling the boards.
Twice she snatched rebounds away from Granite Falls players so ferociously the hapless Tiger involved ended up planted on the floor clutching nothing but the deep frown plastered on their face.
Exactly the opposite of the looks on the faces of every Wolf on a night that played out perfectly to script.
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