The first quarter was great, the second even better and the Coupeville High School girls basketball team romped 46-22 at Chimacum Tuesday, Jan. 27.
The Wolves (5-0, 11-5) remain unbeaten in Olympic League play. A win at over visiting Klahowya (3-2, 3-11) at 4:45 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, will wrap up the conference title for Coupeville.
The Wolves were in control from the outset against Chimacum, using a press to manufacture easy baskets.
Coupeville held the Cowboys to only two points — both free throws — in the first quarter and led 15-2.
Makana Stone scored seven points and Madeline Strasburg drained a three-pointer to lead the way in the opening period.
Coupeville’s defense was “even better” in the second quarter, coach David King said, as the Wolves blanked Chimacum.
Mia Littlejohn’s steal and resulting runner and four points from Stone helped the Wolves go into the locker room with a 25-2 lead.
The Wolves became complacent in the third quarter, King said, and sloppy play and poor shot selection slowed the Coupeville attack. The Wolves failed to produce a point over the second part of the period, yet they outscored the Cowboys 9-6 in the quarter.
Hailey Hammer, with strong post play, revived the Coupeville offense with eight points in the fourth period.
The Wolves’ defense, however, “didn’t bring it,” and the Cowboys (1-3, 2-12) put up 14 points, 10 from Kierston Snyder.
“We subbed frequently in the second half,” King said. “This may be part of the struggles we are seeing on the court and disrupting our continuity at both ends of the court.
“This is something we will look at and shore up moving forward. We have four regular season games left, and we need to tighten things up on both ends of the court. We can’t continue to have these lapses during the game when we aren’t playing good defense or our offensive becomes predictable.”
Coupeville out-rebounded Chimacum 30-15. Stone grabbed seven, Hammer six and Strasburg and Wynter Thorne four each.
Stone also had 18 points, two steals and two blocks; Strasburg added five points and three steals; and Kacie Kiel had two points and two steals.
Julie Myers finished with eight points and Monica Vidoni two.
Littlejohn produced a “productive” and “good defensive game,” King said. The freshman tallied three points, three steals and a block.