Izzy Wells banked in 11 points in a big win Saturday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith provides quality entertainment for his grandkids. (Cory Whitmore photo)
Third quarter for the win!
Busting open a tie ball game Saturday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls basketball squad hit the jets, scorched the net and ran away from visiting South Whidbey.
Closing the third frame on a torrid 15-4 run, with mad bomber Maddie Georges nailing back-to-back three-balls, the Wolves broke open a tense game on their way to a 48-38 win.
Despite playing with just seven players, and that included a JV ace participating in just her second varsity contest, Coupeville finished the week with a pair of wins.
Now 6-4 after the non-conference victory over South Whidbey, the Wolves are off for a week, not returning to action until they travel to Oak Harbor next Saturday, Jan. 29.
That game is a recent addition to the schedule and will lead into a final three-game stretch of league clashes against Friday Harbor, La Conner, then Friday Harbor again.
The hope is to return as many of the missing players as possible back to the lineup next week, but nothing is set in stone during the Age of Coronavirus.
Saturday marked the return of Izzy and Savina Wells, and the sisters gave Coupeville a big burst of energy — plus a combined 18 points, which is pretty dang nice.
A game between two fairly evenly matched teams, Saturday’s rumble went back and forth for the first 17 minutes or so.
The Falcons got on the board first, thanks to some free throws, while Wolf junior Gwen Gustafson sank the first field goal of the game thanks to a picture-perfect jumper on the move.
The first of a trio of three-balls from Georges pinned Coupeville to an early 5-2 lead, while the Wolves closed the opening quarter with a nice series of plays.
Carolyn Lhamon lowered her shoulder, knocked her defender into the cheap seats, and slapped home a layup, before the Wells sisters turned into the Wonder Twins.
Savina Wells came from behind to soundly reject a Falcon shot, kickstarting a breakaway which finished with Izzy Wells beating the crowd to the hoop at the other end.
Things weren’t going to be easy, however, as a narrow 11-9 lead after one became a 23-23 tie at the half.
There were five ties and five lead changes in the second quarter before Lhamon closed the half by crashing right up the middle, dodging two defenders and lofting in a swooping layup as her mom yelled “Way to go, Tiny!”
That came on the heels of well-executed buckets from Izzy Wells — off of a crisp inbounds pass from Lyla Stuurmans — and one on which Stuurmans rumbled down the baseline, daring any Falcon to stop her as she rampaged to the hoop.
Spoiler: they didn’t.
After exchanging points to open the third, the game hung in the balance, and that’s when Coupeville, to a woman, stepped forward and seized all the momentum.
Lhamon popped a jumper which hit the bottom of the net just as the shot clock buzzer wailed, and that set off a game-busting 7-0 run.
While South Whidbey scratched its way back to 32-29 with the clock ticking down in the third, the Wolves closed on another tear — this one 8-0 — to seal the deal.
Savina Wells, ignoring Falcon benchwarmers trying to ruffle her concentration by drumming on the floor, arched in a pair of free throws, then Georges got deadly.
Her first three-ball beat the shot clock buzzer by .00001 of a second, while also banking in off the glass, while her final trey gave her exactly 200 points as a varsity hoops player.
The fourth quarter was a hotly contested affair, but Coupeville held on, pushing the lead out to 45-31 on a three-ball from Savina Wells, before closing things with a defensive gem.
Georges, who led all scorers with 13 points, scrambled back on defense, cut off an incoming Falcon, firmly planted herself and took a knee to the chest as the ref made the offensive charging call with an emphatic fist punch.
That left the fiery Wolf junior with her biggest grin of the game, one matched by CHS coach Megan Smith.
While she takes considerable pride in her defensive work, Georges also reached an offensive milestone by scoring her 200th point.
She’s the 58th Wolf girl to reach that mark in the history of the CHS girls hoops program, which dates back to 1974.
And Georges wasn’t the only Coupeville player to make some history Saturday, as Izzy Wells and Carolyn Lhamon, who each scored 11, passed the 150 and 100-point marks, respectively.
The elder Wells has 158 and counting, while Lhamon has recorded 102 career points.
Savina Wells dropped in seven points, Gustafson rattled the rim for four, Stuurmans added a bucket, and freshman Mia Farris had a busy day, playing both JV and varsity.
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