An early long-range attack and hot free-throw shooting from Mount Vernon Christian helped the Hurricanes edge the visiting Coupeville High School girls basketball team 50-46 Saturday, Jan. 17.

Mount Vernon Christian bombed away for six three-pointers in the first quarter as it torched the Wolves for a 24-9 lead. Kimber-Lynn Anderson drilled treys in three consecutive possessions.

After tallying eight field goals in the first period, the Hurricanes added only three more (one in each quarter) the rest of the way. Free throws helped them secure the win, hitting 21 of 31. Conversely, the Wolves didn’t take advantage of their free opportunities, sinking only nine of 25.

Coupeville coach David King said they prepared their defense to harass the Hurricane shooters, but the Wolves failed to slow the MVC attack in the opening period. Meanwhile, the Wolves got off to a slow start, with Julia Myers (four points) the only player to sink more than one hoop.

“From then on, the game turned into a very good game,” King said. “We turned things around defensively and slowly crept back into the game.

Coupeville trimmed the lead to 30-21 at the break and then evened the score at 36 heading into the fourth period.

The third-period surge was spurred by strong defense, King said, with a handful of steals leading to easy buckets.

Makana Stone scored seven points, Kacie Kiel four and Madeline Strasburg three to lift the Wolves back into the game.

Fouls hurt the Wolves in the fourth quarter. Myers fouled out midway through the period, and fellow post Hailey Hammer exited soon after.

The game was tied at 41, then the Hurricanes dropped in 12 free throws and Coupeville couldn’t recover.

Strasburg drilled a three-pointer in the final seconds get the Wolves within two. Coupeville was forced to foul with four seconds left, and the Hurricane converted both shots to ice the game.

Stone recorded another stat-stuffing game, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and three assists.

Strasburg added 10 points, three steals and three assists; Myers and Kiel had eight points each; Wynter Thorne had one point and seven rebounds; and Hammer had three points and three steals.

MVC’s Jacqueline Chase led all scorers with 22.

“Despite the poor defensive effort in the first, we finally showed up and played three strong quarters,” King said. “Our goal is to make districts, get through district play and move on to state. For this to happen, we need to correct some things. Teams will not roll over and just let us come out and win. We need to get tougher mentally and continue to show the fight and positive energy we had for the final three quarters.”

The Wolves (2-0, 8-5), the early leaders in the Olympic League 1A division, return to conference play at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at home. The varsity boys open the doubleheader at 3:30 p.m.

The Coupeville Booster Club encourages all Wolves fans to wear black to the game; the club will also sponsor give-aways and competitions with prizes.