Wolves tower over Braves, cruise to win

With four players over six-feet tall, height has played a key role in every one of the Coupeville girls’ basketball game this season.

Perhaps no performance had a larger impact than the one put forth in the Wolves’ 60-30 victory over La Conner on Friday night.

The four bigs combined for a season-high 44 points and 24 rebounds, dominating from the get-go.

“They didn’t have size so we wanted to use ours and it worked really well,” 6-foot-1 senior post Jennifer Bailey said.

Coupeville’s plan worked to perfection as the six-footers, sophomore Shawna West, senior Brittany Black, junior Sarah Burgoyne and Bailey all scored in the first quarter.

Coupeville continued to go down low throughout the first half, building a commanding 34-14 lead by halftime.

When the Braves tried to adjust to the height with double and triple teams in the second half, it just opened up other options for the Wolves.

“Our guard play excels when we play against defenses that are wary of our post play,” Kappes said. “When we methodically make the entry pass to the post first, we have a great deal of success.”

La Conner closed the deficit to 17 points early in the third quarter, but got no closer.

Coupeville’s defense played a big role in Friday’s success, forcing 32 La Conner turnovers.

“When the season started, I think the girls were a little unsure of the level of intensity we were looking for,” Kappes said. “We are approaching that now.”

Bailey led Coupeville with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Black ad Burgoyne scored 13 and 10 respectively.

The Wolves, who have clinched no worse than second place and a district berth, moved a step closer to claiming the Northwest A title with the win. They faced Friday Harbor last night on the road. A victory over the Wolverines and the championship is Coupeville’s. A Friday Harbor win and the two teams are tied at 10-4 in league and will have to play a tiebreaker for the Northwest A title later this week.

Kappes said it would likely take place on Friday at a neutral site like La Conner.

La Conner 5 9 9 7 — 30

Coupeville 12 22 9 17 — 60

Scoring: Coupeville- Bailey 15, Black 13, Burgoyne 10, Mouw 7, West 6, Rosenkrance 5, Myhr 2, Ebersole 2. La Conner- Marble 12, Hagman 5, Schwindler 5, Wiersma 4, Hinton 2, Skeele 2.

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