For two quarters Coupeville’s game plan against the Northwest A/B’s top team, Shoreline Christian, worked to perfection.

Just as they drew up, the Wolves dictated the game’s tempo by being patient on offense and feeding the ball to their posts. At the same time they applied heavy pressure on defense.

“We played very well in the first half,” CHS head coach Geoff Kappes said. “We had a game plan and we stuck to it.”

That game plan, however, evaporated in the second half as the first-place Crusaders answered and ran away with a 51-31 victory.

“When our guards penetrate and look to dish to the bigs, good things happen for us,” Kappes said. “We get in trouble when they don’t touch the ball enough — that was our downfall in the second half.”

The game started to go downhill for Coupeville with 10 seconds left in the first half.

Just before the buzzer sounded Shoreline’s Elim Lam heaved and sank an awkward three pointer from behind her head, giving the Crusaders a 24-16 halftime lead.

“It gave them a little confidence and momentum going in to the locker room, but it was just one of those lucky shots,” Kappes said.

Shoreline started the first four minutes of the second half on a 7-0 run that put the game out of reach for a struggling Coupeville offense, which turned the ball over 22 times for the game.

The Wolves managed to pull within 13 points on three more occasions, but that was as close as they got.

Shoreline juniors Julia DeKoekkoek and Colleen Woods were a big part of the Crusaders maintaining the lead. The duo caught fire in the second half and poured it on until the fourth quarter. DeKoekkoek scored a game-high 18 points followed by Woods with 17.

Coupeville’s sophomore Shawna West had a team-high 11 points, while senior Brittany Black and sophomore Hayley Ebersole followed with six apiece.

The Wolves dropped to 2-1 in league and 2-6 overall, while Shoreline improved to a perfect 5-0 in league and 9-1 overall.

“Shoreline is 5-0 in league, so they look like the one to beat,” Kappes said. “Every team in our league has been doing some things well, so we’ll be in a battle every night.

We are really looking forward to the challenge.”

Coupeville played at Orcas Island last night and travels to Concrete Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Shoreline 11 13 12 15 — 51

Coupeville 7 9 5 10 — 31

Scoring: Coupeville- West 11, Black 6, Ebersole 6, Bailey 5, Burgoyne 2, Mouw 1. Shoreline Christian-J. DeKoekkoek 18, Woods 17, Fertello 4, Hodges 4, Lam 4, Barrick 2, Nelson 2.