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Posts Tagged ‘SWHS Falcons’

Falcons nip Wolves in tourney thriller

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Haylee Armstrong leads the CHS girls in scoring this season. (Julie Wheat photo)

The rematch was a nailbiter.

Squaring off with next-door neighbor South Whidbey Tuesday, in a game played in Bellingham, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad pushed their rivals to the final shot before falling 44-43.

The loss, coming on day two of the three-day, 16-team Trojan Storm Classic hosted by Meridian, drops the Wolves to 1-6 on the season.

But, for Scout Smith’s squad, who close 2025 with a final tourney game Wednesday before opening 2026 on the road Saturday against Morton-White Pass, the razor-thin defeat was a huge improvement on the first time the two Whidbey schools clashed.

Back in the season opener, Coupeville hosted South Whidbey and suffered through a brutal shooting performance en route to a 45-28 loss.

This time around, the early going was an eerie bit of déjà vu for the Wolves, but then they found their groove.

“We had a hard time with shots not falling in the first half,” Smith said. “But we showed a lot of grit and determination to come back in the second half.”

South Whidbey jumped out to a 16-4 advantage by the first break, with four different Falcons splashing a three-ball, but then CHS clamped down.

“We played a really good game and showed a lot of good improvements from the last time,” Smith said. “Loved the defensive tenacity we had, and we turned it into a lot of transition buckets.”

Coupeville held their rivals in check from long distance after the first quarter and rattled the rims for a trio of their own treys after halftime.

Down 27-13 at the half, the Wolves cut the lead back to 36-28 through three and outscored the Falcons 30-17 across the game’s final 16 minutes.

CHS also had a huge advantage in getting to the free throw line but missed too many charity shots along the way.

While South Whidbey was just 2-6 at the free throw stripe, Coupeville was 14-30, ultimately having too many freebies rim out to claim the victory.

Still, Smith came away pleased with her team’s defensive stand and praised the glass-cleaning ability of junior Ari Cunningham.

“Shoutout to Ari for getting after it rebounding,” Smith said. “We gave her a goal of 10 rebounds and she met that.

“Super excited to continue to watch her develop.”

South Whidbey’s Ali Young led all scorers with 14 points, while Haylee Armstrong (11) and Tenley Stuurmans (10) paced the Wolves.

All seven Coupeville players to see game time scored, with Teagan Calkins banking in nine, while Cunningham (5), Adeline Maynes (4), Danica Strong (2), and Kennedy O’Neill (2) all joined the offensive effort.

The game marked personal milestones for several Wolves, as well.

Calkins, a senior who now has 293 career points, moved from #41 to #39 on the all-time CHS girls’ scoring chart Tuesday, passing Bessie Walstad (288) and the aforementioned CHS coach, one Scout Smith (290).

Meanwhile, Stuurmans, a sophomore, cracked the top 100, jumping up to #95 where she sits with 128 points.

There are three active Wolves in the top 100, with Armstrong, a junior, in a tie with Sherry Bonacci and Marie Hesselgrave at #78 with 165 points.

And something to keep on eye on in the near future — Strong is just a three-ball shy of becoming the 116th Wolf girl to join the 100-point club for a program launched in 1974.

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Some milestones, some pain

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Wolf hoops hotshot Haylee Armstrong cracked the 100-point career club in Tuesday’s season opener. (Photo courtesy Michelle Armstrong)

The net was unforgiving.

The Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball team suffered through a cold-shooting night for much of Tuesday’s season opener, and if you can’t score, you can’t win.

The second quarter particularly stung the Wolves, leaving a new-look CHS squad on the wrong side of a 45-28 score in an Island rivalry rumble with visiting South Whidbey.

Coupeville, which is being coached by Scout Smith this season as Megan Richter takes a leave of absence to deliver her second child, could not get anything to drop in the first quarter.

Haylee Armstrong made off with a steal and slapped home the bucket midway through the frame, but that was it for the Wolves, as everything else slid off the rim, popped back out, or simply refused to fall through the bottom of the net.

Thankfully for CHS, its defense was on point, and the deficit was a modest one at 6-2 when the first break came roaring up on the teams.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, while their own shooting woes continued into the second quarter, South Whidbey found a bit of a groove, dropping in a pair of three-balls during a 19-9 surge.

The second quarter added physical pain to mental pain, as sparkplug sophomore Adeline Maynes, who hit three free throws in her varsity hoops debut, got crunched and spent the remainder of the game with an ice bag on her forehead.

Coupeville pulled off a pair of highlight reel buckets, with Tenley Stuurmans scoring off a ball saved by a major hustle play from Capri Anter, and Kennedy O’Neill converting a bucket set up by a zippy pass from Armstrong.

But the Falcons were scoring in gobs and stretched the lead out to 25-11 at the half and 34-11 late in the third.

Showing a scrappiness reminiscent of the playing style of their acting coach, the Wolves did rally, closing the third on a 7-1 run before battling to a 10-10 stalemate across the final frame.

Coupeville’s leading returning scorer, senior Teagan Calkins, who was held down in the first half, popped in a pair of second half buckets off of stellar set-up passes from Ari Cunningham and Stuurmans.

That allowed “The Red Dragon” to move into the top 50 on the CHS girls’ career scoring chart.

Calkins, who finished with five points in the opener, now has 247 for her varsity career, putting her in a temporary tie with CHS grads Mia Farris and Marlys West at #49 on a chart which began back in 1974.

Stuurmans paced the Wolves with eight points, while Armstrong pumped in six to crack the 100-point club — she has 104 and counting heading into Coupeville’s next game Saturday at home against Eastside Prep.

Maynes (3), O’Neill (2), Sydney Van Dyke (2), and Anter (2) also scored for CHS, with Danica Strong, Cunningham, and Lexis Drake all seeing floor time as well.

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Rough opener for CHS varsity boys

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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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Wolf JV boys win on opening night

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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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Strong start, tentative finish

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

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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