King's ends Coupeville's girls basketball season

The third time was the charm for King's girls basketball team.

Not so lucky was Coupeville which was eliminated from the post season 46-42 by the Knights last Saturday at Mount Vernon High School.

Although King's (9-5, 13-9) finished third in the Cascade Conference, two spots ahead of Coupeville, the Wolves (6-8, 12-11) defeated the Knights twice in league play.

Coupeville won the first meeting at home 46-42, then topped the Knights 39-37 in overtime on the King's court.

King's got revenge when in mattered most.

The Knights lost to Nooksack Valley 39-32 Friday, while Coupeville fell to Lynden Christian 74-39. That dropped both teams into the loser-out, third-place district game Saturday. The Knights squeaked out the win and now will take part in this week's tri-district in hopes of qualifying for the state tournament.

Nooksack (14-9) upset Lynden Christian (18-3) 52-41 for the district title and earned a trip to state. The Lyncs will have to work their way through tri-district to get a state bid.

Although Coupeville lost to King's, it was far from a lost season. The Wolves showed marked improvement over last year when they failed to win a league game and finished the year 4-18. Going into this season, the Cascade Conference coaches predicted in the preseason poll that Coupeville would finish seventh in the eight-team league. The Wolves placed fifth.

When Coupeville and King's squared off last Saturday, it was the third straight time the two clubs played a close ball game; this time, however, the Knights came out on top.

No team could wrestle control of the game as the clubs ended the first quarter tied 9-9. Coupeville edged to a 24-21 lead at the half, but King's tied it back up 34-34 heading into the final period.

Seniors Manker, 16 points (including three 3-pointers), and Megan Smith, 15 points (two 3-pointers), ended their Coupeville careers with fine offensive performances. No other Wolf scored more than Rosenkrance's four points. O'Keefe hit a 3-pointer, and Katie Smith and Courtney Boyd each scored two points.

King's featured a more balanced attack, led by Karlie Storkson's 12 points. Six different players scored at least five points.

Contact Whidbey News Times Sports editor Jim Waller at jwaller@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360-675-6611 ext. 5060.

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