“Last season the Wolves upset Archbishop Thomas Murphy twice at the end of the season and were hoping to do it again as they took on an undefeated in-league Wildcat team. But height and free throw shooting were the Wolves achilles heel as they lost to ATM, 48-42.The Wolves, who are shorter than the Cats by an average of three inches, were burned on fast break after fast break. We did a really poor job of transitioning to defense, said Coupeville head coach Greg Oldham. In a big game the difference is who gets the most easy shots. With arms outstretched under the basket, ATM refused to let defensive rebounds fall the way of the shorter Coupeville players. The results were long passes down the court and an easy two points for the Wildcats.We just didn’t get back, said Coupeville junior Tracy Taylor. We were just two steps behind them. We did a good job of blocking out but were beat on the fast break, said Coupeville sophomore Brianne King.The Wolves managed to pull down 27 rebounds during the game, most of which came on the offensive end and resulted in points. Coupeville had its chances to score, but blocked shots and not being able to penetrate the lane hurt the Wolves. When we were able to penetrate there were times we just didn’t get a good shot, said Oldham. Even though we penetrated to the heart of the defense we had this 6-foot-2 girl standing there. The Wolves free throw shooting stifled Coupeville’s scoring as they only hit 10-of-21 free throws and drew 19 fouls during the game. The free throw shooting was at its worst for the Wolves from the end of the first period through the third quarter, as the girls went just 2-for-13 from the line.As a group we’ve shot right around 60 percent as a team this year, said Oldham. But that’s really fallen down the last three games and it has cost us. Despite the height disparity and troubles at the line, Coupeville managed to stay right with ATM. With just four minutes left during the contest, King stole the ball from a Wildcat player after an inbound pass. King proceeded to take the ball to the hole and draw the foul. The free throw gave the Wolves their first lead since the first quarter. But a 13-5 run by ATM finished off the Wolves.It was the Wildcats’ 41st straight home victory.Coupeville started its week by playing another team with height, La Conner. We were ahead about 2010 and then in the second quarter we just let up and things just weren’t falling, said Taylor. The second and third quarters killed the Wolves as they were outscored, 30-15. Despite the rout during the middle of the game, the Wolves managed to claw their way back. The Wolves would lose in the end, 55-52. One of the problems is that we haven’t had that one big scorer, said Oldham.Darrington will come to Coupeville on Friday for the Wolves next game. With the home court advantage, the Loggers beat Coupeville earlier during the season. Archbishop Murphy 48, Coupeville 42 Coupeville 7 13 8 14 – 42Archbishop Murphy 8 15 8 17 – 48Coupeville: Ellsworth-Bagby 15, King 13, Taylor 7, Lamb 6, Shelly 1. Archbishop Murphy: Coate 22, Lyons 10, Bookey 6, Linscott 4, Terhar 4, K. Turner 2. 3-point goals: Ellsworth-Bagby 1, King 1, Lyons 1. JV: Archbishop Murphy def. Coupeville. Records: Archbishop Murphy 5-0 in league, 11-1 overall. Coupeville 2-3, 5-8.LaConner 55, Coupeville 52LaConner 10 16 14 15 – 55Coupeville 18 7 8 19 – 52LaConne: Willup 3, Keel 2, McBane 2, Coons 4, Dunlap 6, Lane 17, Grossglass 21. Coupeville: Guillory 6, E. Young 2, Ellsworth-Bagby 7, L. Young 8, Lamb 8, King 19, Taylor 2. 3-point goals: King 3. JV-Coupeville def. La Conner. Records: LaConner 2-1 in league, 4-6 overall. Coupeville 2-2, 5-7. “