A fast start and a strong finish led the Coupeville Wolves girls basketball team to a 48-31 victory over Friday Harbor Friday night.
The Wolves layed the clamps down defensively on the Wolverines from the opening tip.
“We were trying out a new press in the first quarter and it looked pretty good,” Coupeville head coach Greg Oldham said.
The new press worked well enough for the Wolves that they forced Friday Harbor into six first quarter turnovers, resulting in easy transition baskets and a 17-2 lead.
After taking the press off in the second quarter, the Wolves were still able to maintain their advantage, grabbing a 27-12 lead by halftime.
Coming out of the locker room things got a little interesting for Coupeville. They experienced a slight let down, allowing the Wolverines to pull within single digits, 38-29 at the end of the third quarter.
“We just haven’t put four quarters together in so long,” Oldham said.
Coupeville regained its composure at the start of the fourth quarter and in a mirror image of the first quarter, allowed only two points by the Wolverines for the entire period.
“I think in the fourth quarter it was just our depth that helped us,” Oldham said.
Junior Vanessa Davis provided energy for the defense grabbing four steals and one blocked shot.
“Vanessa came through in the fourth quarter and really sparked our defensive intensity,” Oldham said.
Davis also contributed eight points and seven rebounds on the night for the Wolves.
Having another impressive game, senior Brianne King had a double-double for the Wolves, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
With five regular season games remaining, King is now sitting at 1,357 career points and is nearing a prestigious achievement of scoring 1,500 in her four years as a Wolf.
“It’s going to come down to if we play enough games,” Oldham said.
Coupeville is a combination of three wins and loses away from clinching a district berth by the end of the week. Two wins by the Wolves over Concrete and Orcas Island and one loss by La Conner to league leader Archbishop Murphy this Friday and the Wolves are guaranteed a district playoff spot.
“I look at our team and I think we’re just one step away from being pretty good,” Oldham said.
Up next for Coupeville is a road contest Friday, Jan. 31 at 3:30 p.m. against Orcas Island, who they beat two weeks ago, 44-30 in Key Arena.
Coupeville— 17 10 11 10—48
Friday Harbor—2 10 17 2—31
Scoring—CV: King 16, E. Lamb 9, Davis 8, Mouw 7, Black 4, Larson 3, Guillory 1.
FH: Brem 10, Vynne 7, Percich 6, Carlton 2, Brophy 2, Dixon 2, Andersen 1.
Records: Coupeville 5-1 in league, 12-4 overall; Friday Harbor 1-5 in league 3-11 overall.
