It may have not been an ideal game for the Coupeville Wolves girls basketball team, but they won’t complain.

The Wolves defeated the Granite Falls Tigers in a tightly contested battle Tuesday night, 49-42.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was a good first win,” head coach Greg Oldham said.

After committing one of its 30 turnovers with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter Coupeville found itself trailing for the first time in the game, 40-38, after a steal and a lay-in by Granite Falls.

“They played some great pressure defense,” Oldham said.

Fortunately for the Wolves, they played some great defense of their own, forcing the Tigers into 35 turnovers.

After losing the lead in the fourth quarter, Coupeville quickly countered with strong defense and clutch shooting in the final minutes.

“I like the way we finished the game,” Oldham said. “We had opportunities to fold and we didn’t.”

Senior Amy Mouw scored the final six points for the Wolves in the last minute of the game and went 4-4 from the free-throw line in the process.

“Amy Mouw was clutch from the free-throw line,” Oldham said. “I don’t think any of her free-throws touched iron.”

At the beginning of the game it appeared that Coupeville may run away with it, taking a 14-4 advantage after the first quarter.

The quick start was due in large part to the offense play of senior Brianne King. She completed two three-point plays in the first quarter to help spark the offense.

The Tigers refused to let the first quarter hot shooting and pressure defense hold them back. Only two minutes into the second quarter they began to apply pressure of their own, getting within three points, 15-12. From then on, Coupeville never saw more than a seven point lead. Despite the constant push by Granite Falls to keep the game close, Coupeville was always able to respond.

“They made some good back-to-back plays to keep them close,” Oldham said. “And every time that happened we answered.”

King led the Wolves in scoring with 22-points and was a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line.

“She’s an amazing player,” Oldham said. “They were able to contain her pretty well tonight.”

Other leading scorers include Mouw, who finished with 10 points and senior Carly Guillory and sophomore Lexie Black who both had four points respectively.

With the first game jitters out of the way, Oldham expects his team to improve in certain areas.

“We need to get tougher defensively,” Oldham said. “We had to work harder for our baskets than they did.”

The Wolves played Mount Vernon Christian last night and will face Seattle Christian 4:30 p.m. today in Coupeville.

Scores for last night’s game were unavailable due to the Friday night deadline. The results for both games will be in Wednesdays Whidbey News-Times.

Coupeville — 14 7 8 20 — 49

Granite Falls — 4 10 13 15 — 42

Scoring— CV: King 22, Mouw 10, Black 4, Guillory 4, Larson 3, Davis 3, E. Lamb 2, T. Lamb 1

Records: Coupeville (1-0) Granite Falls (0-1)