Coupeville had major problems hanging on to the basketball in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Cascade League game against Granite Falls.

The girls turned the ball over 13 times in the quarter which resulted in the Tigers outscoring the Wolves 23-7 and Granite Falls went on to win 59-43.

Granite Falls used a full-court pressure defense most of the game and Coupeville, (0-1, 1-4), turned the ball over a total of 46 times.

“It just came down to turnovers for us,” coach Geoff Kappes said. “We played very, very good basketball for three quarters. That third quarter kind of hurt us. Our defensive effort the whole game was the best I’ve seen them play.”

Coupeville also had problems taking care of the ball in the second quarter, but cold shooting by the Tigers kept the Wolves in the game.

At halftime, the Wolves were still in the hunt trailing by only three points, 22-19.

However, six turnovers in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half and some hot shooting by Lindsey Simon put the Wolves in a big hole.

Simon scored eight quick points in the third quarter as Granite Falls went on a 13-2 run to open a commanding 35-21 lead.

“I don’t really feel like I did as good as I should have,” freshman Megan Smith said. “I usually play more aggressive than I did tonight. I thought I played aggressive, but I could have made smarter decisions. We made too many turnovers. If we could have cut maybe 20 of them we would have won.”

Smith scored a team-high 14 points for Coupeville.

“We played good, but we could have come out better in the second half,” said junior guard Kayla Lawson, who scored all nine of her points, including a pair from three-point range, in the fourth quarter. “I guess I finally just got warmed up and I was open for shots.”

Granite Falls kept the pressure on and when Hannah Anderson hit a basket with 2:05 left in the third quarter, the Tigers were up by 20 points, 45-25.

“I thought we played a smart defense, we just need to work on our offense and get open a little more,” freshman Ashley Manker said.

Manker was the third high-point player for Coupeville with eight.

In the final eight minutes, Coupeville’s offense came around a bit and the Wolves outscored the Tigers 17-14.

“The girls came together and really showed that they love the game,” Kappes said. “Our shots didn’t fall and theirs did, what more can you say.”

Coupeville’s next home game is against a touring team from Australia on Saturday, Dec. 30. The girls tipoff at 1 p.m.

Granite Falls 59,

Coupeville 43

Granite Falls 14 8 23 14 — 59

Coupeville 14 5 7 17 — 43

Granite Falls (59) — Goss 5 6-8 17, Murphy 6 1-4 13, Simon 6 0-0 12, Setzer 0 2-4 2, Dudder 3 0-0 6, Shannon 2 1-4 5, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Jensen 0 0-0 0, Rondorf 0 0-0 0, Saffell 1 0-4 2. Totals 24 10-24 59.

Coupeville (43) — Smith 5 4-5 14, Lawson 3 1-2 9, Manker 4 0-0 8, Myhr 0 0-0 0, Rosenkrance 2 1-5 5, Burgoyne 1 1-5 3, Kelley 0 0-0 0, West 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 9-19 43.

Three-point goals — Granite Falls 1 (Goss); Coupeville 2 (Lawson 2).