Anyone can tell you it’s a heck of a lot more fun being able to play basketball games over the holiday break than just coming to the gym and practicing day after day.
This year, the Coupeville Wolves had the opportunity to host a touring team of high school-age boys and girls from Australia in a pair of “fun” games on Dec. 30.
The seven girls and 10 boys are from Queensland and Victoria, New South Wales, are part of the USA Basketball Tour, organized by Horizons Sporting Events LTD.
The two squads will be playing games against teams from the United States and British Columbia from Dec. 27 through Jan. 14.
Herb Haddon, coach of the girls team nicknamed the Koalas, said his players didn’t come together until two days before the Coupeville appearance.
“We got to the United States at 2 a.m. a couple of days ago and this is our third game already,” he said.
The “seasoned” Coupeville girls outscored the Koalas 21-4 in the opening quarter and that was nearly enough points as the Wolves had little trouble picking up a 56-26 victory.
“We had a height advantage on them for sure, but it was a really fun game,” senior center Sarah Burgoyne said. “Actually, I was born in Australia, so it was a fun time talking with the girls on the other team.”
Burgoyne tied with Shawna West for game-high scoring honors with 12 points.
Megan Smith was the third Coupeville player in double figures with 11 points, eight of which came in the explosive first quarter.
“I hope that they had a good time, that’s what it’s all about,” coach Geoff Kappes said. “This was a fun opportunity for us and it’s a life-changing experience for the Australian girls. It’s a good for our girls to get the opportunity to get together with girls from another country for a little while just to talk and have a good time.”
In the second period, Coupeville put an additional 16 points on the board while holding the Australian team to four, and then shut the Koalas out in the third period.
“We shot an incredible percentage today and I don’t know where that came from,” Kappes said. “My girls worked hard and it was a fun game for everybody.”
Jennifer Pocock, a 17-year-old high school junior from New South Wales, scored 10 points for the Koalas.
Coupeville 63, Australia 35
The Coupeville boys matchup with the Wallabies was a little closer for the first three quarters of play.
Coupeville took a 13-6 lead after the first period and were up 29-13 at halftime, but the Australian squad came back with 16 points in the third quarter while holing the Wolves to 12.
“These are not really our best kids,” coach Mark Hewish said. “Most of these kids had a bit of money to come over to the United States on holiday and had the bonus of being able to play some some basketball games.
The Wallabies cut the Wolves’ lead to 10 points, 41-31, at the 7:34 mark of the fourth quarter, but were held scoreless for the next six minutes as the clock wound down.
Trevor Tucker hit a pair of three-point goals, Casey Larson nailed another and Brian Miller tossed in six points as part of a 19-0 run as Coupeville pulled away.
“I was pretty open so I figured if they gave it to me, I might as well take it,” Tucker said.
Miller scored a game-high 14 points for Coupeville and Tucker had 10.
“It was real fun out there and I really enjoyed it,” Miller said.
Tony Prosser scored nine points for the Wolves and Larson had seven, including a pair of three-pointers.
“I was able to get a lot of guys in the game today and get them some playing experience,” coach Randy King said. “It’s been nine days since our last game and my guys were getting tired of just practicing.”
Brad Chalmers and Nathan Hewish scored seven points each for the Australians.
Coupeville gets back into Cascade League action on Friday against King’s. The girls are at home and the boys play on the road. Both varsity games tipoff at 7 p.m.
Girls
Coupeville 56, Australia 26
Australia 4 4 0 18 — 26
Coupeville 21 16 12 7 — 56
Australia (26) — Pocock 5 0-1 10, T. Child 3 0-0 6, Fraser 3 0-1 6, Lanigan 2 0-1 4, Stiler 0 0-0 0, Beattie 0 0-2 0, K. Child 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 0-5 26.
Coupeville (56) — Burgoyne 5 2-4 12, West 4 4-4 12, Smith 3 2-2 11, Myhr 0 2-2 2, Rosenkrance 4 0-0 8, Manker 3 0-0 6, Caselden 0 1-2 2, Harpe 0 0-0 0, Kelley 1 0-0 2, Mueller 0 0-2 0, Vass 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 11-18 56.
Three-point goals — Ausxtralia 0, Coupeville 1 (West).
Boys
Coupeville 63, Australia 35
Australia 6 7 16 6 — 35
Coupeville 13 16 12 22 — 63
Australia (35) — Chalmers 3 1-9 7, Hewish 3 1-5 7, Ferguson 2 0-0 5, Joseph 0 0-2 0, Mackie 2 0-0 4, Niehus 0 1-2 1, Norio 2 0-0 5, Pearce 1 0-0 2, Mann 0 1-2 1, Taprell 1 0-0 3. Totals 14 4-20 35.
Coupeville (63) — Miller 7 0-0 14, Tucker 4 0-0 10, Larson 2 1-2 7, Smith 0 0-0 0, O’Keefe 3 0-0 6, Prosser 4 0-0 9, Folkestad 0 2-2 2, Loesch 0 0-0 0, Walker 0 3-4 3, Farmer 2 2-5 6, Emerson 2 0-2 4. Totals 24 8-15 63.
Three-point goals — Australia 3 (Ferguson, Norio, Taprell), Coupeville 5 (Larson 2, Tucker 2, Prosser).
