The lady Wolves played perhaps their finest back-to-back games of the season, cruising to victories over Friday Harbor last Friday and Sequim the following day.
Coupeville jumped out on Friday Harbor 19-2 in the first quarter on their way to a 72-24 rout of the Wolverines in their first Northwest A League game of the season.
The next day Coupeville sprang to a 22-8 opening quarter lead on Sequim as they picked up a 71-47 non-conference victory over the Wolves.
“I would say we played two very complete games,” said head coach Greg Oldham. “Our only disappointing quarter was the third quarter against Friday Harbor. But seven out of eight quarters isn’t too bad.”
The Wolves jumped out on the Wolverines quickly, going up 17-0 before Friday Harbor finally scored on a bank shot with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same. Like a shark smelling blood, the Wolves quickly put away the battered Wolverines. With a sequence of steals and layups off the press, Coupeville extended its lead to 31-4 with just over four minutes remaining at the half. Tracy Taylor, Vanessa Davis, and Sarah Mouw were able to dominate Friday Harbor inside by combining for 26 points, most coming off offensive rebounds.
The halftime score of 42-7 resembled a Florida State-Duke score – in football.
“We probably could have put up 100 against Friday Harbor,” Oldham said. “We were not going to press in the second half, but I told the kids to stay aggressive.”
Coupeville dominated Friday Harbor in every facet of the game. They outrebounded the Wolverines 49-30, had 20 more steals (26-6), and forced 34 turnovers. Four players, led by Brianne King with 19 points, finished in double figures.
“It was nice to get the first league win out of the way,” said Oldham. “Always nice to break the ice. I thought it was a credit to this team that they played hard all game long.”
The next day against Sequim it was more of the same.
The Wolves raced out to a 14-point lead in the first period behind King. The 5-foot-7 junior scored 11 of her 20 points in the opening frame. Oldham was happy with King’s effort as well as the entire team.
“Brianne set the tone in the first period against Sequim,” he said. “It was nice to have everyone on this team contributing and that is a real fun thing. We came out and played hard and we played smart.”
Sarah Mouw contributed 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds against Sequim. Point guard Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby added 13 points and eight assists in what Oldham described as his team’s “best 32 minutes of the season so far.”
The contest against Sequim was originally supposed to be held on Dec. 14, but postponed due to the cancellation of the Keystone ferry that night.
Oldham credited his squad’s performance to a meeting the team had last Thursday. Disappointed in their showing at the South Whidbey Holiday Classic, the team pledged to improve.
“We were not proud of our showing last week,” he said. “We were anxious to show that we could play better. We made a commitment to each other to work as hard as we could.
“The way we played against Sequim, it’s really frustrating what happened at South Whidbey.”
The Wolves hope to continue their sterling play with a pair of league games this week. They traveled to Concrete to take on the Lions last night (results will be published in Saturday’s edition of the News-Times), and then host Orcas Island on Friday.
Coupeville 72, Friday Harbor 24
At Coupeville H.S.
Friday Harbor – 2 5 7 10 – 24
Coupeville – 19 23 12 18 – 72
CV: Guillory 4, A. Mouw 9, Ellsworth-Bagby 10, Larson 2, Lamb 2, King 19, Taylor 10, Davis 10, S. Mouw 6. FH: Grosjacques 1, Ross 3, Wilson 2, Brem 6, Leyba 4, Brophy 2, Percich 6. Records: CV: 1-0 in league, 8-1 overall. FH: 0-1, 4-5
Coupeville 71, Sequim 47
At Coupeville H.S.
Sequim – 8 12 14 13 – 47
Coupeville – 22 16 19 14 – 71
SHS: Ta. Millet 2, Yamato 4, Tisdale 4, O’Hara 4, Thornton 10, Thompson 16, Collins 4, Ti Millet 6. CV: Guillory 6, A. Mouw 9, Ellsworth-Bagby 13, Lamb 9, King 20, Taylor 2, Davis 2, S. Mouw 10. Records: Sequim N/A. CV 1-0, 9-1.
