WHIDBEY ISLAND, Washington (STPNS) -- Revenge. Sweet revenge.

Who knows if that’s what the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball players were thinking as they used a stifling defense to shred Meridian 43-28 Dec. 12 in a rare Saturday-night home game.

If they did, it would be understandable. The win, which improved the Wolves to a stellar 4-1, came against a school that bounced three Coupeville squads – football, volleyball and girls’ soccer – from the playoffs during the fall sports season. While it may not totally wash away the sting of those losses, the basketball victory was a step in the right direction.



Coming one day after the Wolves throttled visiting Chimacum 37-14, the two defense-driven wins made up for the one small bump Coupeville has encountered this season, a 47-37 loss at La Conner on Dec. 8.

As they prepare for their Cascade League opener – a home date with Island rival South Whidbey on Friday, Dec. 18 – the Wolf girls have the look of a team that is fully prepared to shut down any offensive attack.

Against Meridian, they used a 21-9 surge in the second half to blow open what had been a fairly even game at halftime. Led by senior Megan Smith, who scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the opening 16 minutes, Coupeville clung to a 22-19 lead as they headed to the locker room. Then, as they have done in every one of their games, the Wolves dominated in the second half.

Combining 14 steals with a 32-16 edge on the boards, the Wolves frustrated Meridian virtually every time down the court. Courtney Boyd, a key member of the soccer team, made off with five steals, while Smith and Marie Hesselgrave added three each. Smith also locked in on Meridian's many missed shots, snagging 10 rebounds, while Ashley Manker chipped in with seven.

Hesselgrave scored seven of her nine points in the second half, virtually playing Meridian even by herself. Manker tossed in six, Boyd popped for five and Kendra O' Keefe and Cassidi Rosenkrance each chipped in with a bucket.

In their dismantling of Chimacum, the Wolves held their hapless foes to a meager three first half points. Utilizing an aggressive, pressing defense, Coupeville made off with 17 steals.

Manker (16 points, 11 rebounds, four steals) and Hesselgrave (six points, seven rebounds, three steals) filled up the stat sheet, while Megan Smith added seven points and Katie Smith four. Rosenkrance and O'Keefe rounded out the evening with two points each.

The lone blemish on Coupeville's early-season record came on a cold shooting night– the Wolves were an icy 10 for 38 – against a La Conner team that jumped out to a 20-1 lead and then held on for dear life. Megan Smith sparked a Wolf comeback with eight of her 13 points in the second quarter, but Coupeville was unable to get the lead back under eight.

Hesselgrave had her usual well-rounded night with nine points, four rebounds and three steals and Rosenkrance (eight points, three rebounds, two assists), O' Keefe (six points) and Courtney Arnold (one point) all found the bottom of the net for the Wolves.