The Coupeville girls basketball team has a little tradition after every game. They have a cake into their locker room and if they win everyone joins in on having something sweet to eat. If they lose they give it to the other team.
If the start of the season is any indication, the Wolves could be on a sugar high all year long.
Coupeville used balanced scoring and an outstanding defensive effort in defeating Darrington 51-39 on Tuesday to run its record to 5-0, the best start in school history.
Junior Brianne King led the Wolves with 13 points against the Loggers, but four other players had at least six points.
“Nice balanced scoring is one of the things that I like about this team,” said head coach Greg Oldham between bites of chocolate cake after the contest. “We’re still not scoring enough though. I would like to score about 70 points a game.”
Coupeville got on the board first when senior Sarah Mouw was fouled making a putback and sank the free throw. The Wolves went up 9-2 early, forcing Darrington into three first quarter shot-clock violations. Ashley Ellsworth-Bagby drained a three near the end of the first quarter and the Wolves ended the period with an 18-9 lead.
In the second quarter it was more of the same. King hit two three-pointers as the Wolves dominated. At one point they built a 32-16 lead.
“There was a stretch in the first half where offensively we were clicking on all cylinders,” Oldham said. “It was beautiful to watch. Defensively we were giving them nothing.”
The Wolves continued applying pressure in the third. King hit a three from the wing and then made a steal and an easy layup making the score 43-23.
“Brianne is averaging a point per shot this year,” said Oldham. “That’s what you look for on every level. That has been a key stat for us.”
With the game in hand things got as little sloppy in the fourth. The Loggers outscored Coupeville 10-4 in the last period to make the final 51-39.
“They went zone on us in the second half,” said Oldham. “So far early in the season we’ve had a hard time playing against zones.”
Besides King, seniors Tracy Taylor and Sarah Mouw were leading scorers with 10 and nine points respectively.
“Tracy makes a lot of plays with her intelligence. It has been nice to move her outside this year,” Oldham said. “And Sarah is starting to figure out our style of play. She’s smart and when she figures it all out she is going to help us immensely.”
Erica Lamb also had an outstanding game against the Loggers. The 5-foot-5 junior scored just four points but she filled up the stat sheet in other areas. She led the team with seven rebounds, three steals, and five assists. She also had a beautiful open-court blocked shot on a Darrington fast break.
“Erica makes every single hustle play,” Oldham said. “There are about three or four plays a game where she saves us.”
Coupeville’s next contest is on Dec. 28 at South Whidbey where it will play the host Falcons in the South Whidbey Invitational.
Coupeville 51, Darrington 39
At Coupeville H.S.
Darrington – 9 12 8 10 – 39
Coupeville – 18 16 13 4 – 51
Darrington: Perrault 2, Jones 15, Bryson 1, Padgett 3, Meece 6, Nations 2, Koch 6, Mauldin 4. Coupeville: A. Mouw 6, Ellsworth-Bagby 7, Lamb 4, King 13, Taylor 10, Davis 2, S. Mouw 9. 3-point goals-Padgett 1, Ellsworth-Bagby 1, King 3. JV: Coupeville def. Darrington. Records: Darrington 3-2 overall, Coupeville 5-0.
