Saturday, February 8, 2014 • Whidbey News-Times
SPORTS IN BRIEF NWLL collects gear North Whidbey Little League is collecting gently-used baseball and softball gear for its equipment swap scheduled for Feb. 22 and 23. Donations are being accepted at Little League registration sessions from 9-11 a.m. at North Whidbey Middle school each Saturday through Feb. 15. The equipment swap will take place during evaluations: baseball, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at Windjammer Park; softball, 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at Volunteer Park. Those wishing to donate can also call Melissa Riker at 360-929-2489 to schedule midweek donations. NWLL is accepting donations of gloves, youth bats (Little League certified), catcher’s mitts and protective gear, batting helmets (with cages), player equipment bags, rubber baseball cleats, youth uniform pants and batting gloves. Items should not be damaged or in need of repair.
Signups continue In-person registration for this spring’s North Whidbey Little League season will take place each Saturday through Feb. 15 from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the North Whidbey Middle School gym and cafeteria. Registration forms can also be picked at Big 5, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Burger King and the league’s website, www. northwhidbeylittleleague.org For more information, call 360-6791522.
NW soccer meets The North Whidbey Soccer Club will be
WOLVES CONTINUED FROM A8 “As long as we play our hearts out, we will be fine,” Messner said. “These are two players that get the most out of their abilities,” King said. “Both work extremely hard and are willing to put in the extra time and effort to get better as individual players along with improving the team. “This doesn’t just apply to the basketball court. Both are very good students, they volunteer their time within the community and they are
WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM holding its annual general meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10, at the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of the meeting is to elect officers and approve the 2014 budget. Officers to be elected are vice president, director of coaching, secretary, director of sponsorship, director of fields and the referee liaison. All NWSC members at the meeting can vote. The NWSC regular monthly meeting will immediately follow adjournment of the annual general meeting. For additional information, visit the NWSC website, nwhidbey soccer.org or email northwhidbey soccerclub@gmail.com
‘Cats miss playoffs A poor shooting night cost the Oak Harbor High School boys basketball team more than a game, it robbed the Wildcats of a chance to advance to the postseason. Oak Harbor’s misery was Marysville Getchell’s (and Marysville-Pilchuck’s) delight as the host Chargers won their only Wesco 3A North game of the season 60-51 Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the 2013-14 finale for both teams. Had Oak Harbor won, it would have hosted Marysville-Pilchuck in a tie-breaker to determine the final berth into next week’s district tournament. The Wildcats (4-9, 4-14) shot a tepid 24.6 percent (15 for 61) in the game, while Marysville Getchell (1-12, 2-19) made four more field goals in 16 fewer attempts (42.2 percent). The Wildcats trailed 11-2 after the first quarter and 33-14 at halftime. Oak Harbor put a dent into the Chargers’ lead in the third quarter, trimming the gap to 42-37. Drew Washington led Oak Harbor with 17 points, Dyllan Harris had 16, Gabe Groenig 10, Zach Gibbs five and Zach Jones three.
ones that I hope the younger players watch and want to strive to be like in terms of effort and putting the team first.” Fabrizi and Messner said they want to keep playing but didn’t include winning when asked to define a successful season. “For the most part, if we bonded as a team,” the season will be a success, Messner said. And that bond is forming: “We are all dedicated workers; we don’t give up. We are all athletes and share that understanding.” Once the season does end, Fabrizi and Messner said the coaches, King and his wife,
assistant coach Amy King, are what they will miss most. The Kings have coached the girls since their fifth-grade start and “have always been there for us,” Fabrizi said. “They are really dedicated to all of us; they don’t give up on us,” Messner added. King reciprocated the respect: “Amy and I have been lucky enough to coach them for five different basketball seasons. It really is team first for both of them.”
Wolves play well in loss to Murphy King liked just about everything he saw on the court
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Groenig and Gibbs each grabbed 10 rebounds; Gibbs also had four assists.
Wolves lose last 2 The Coupeville High School boys basketball team closed out the season with a 78-50 loss to visiting Archbishop Murphy Tuesday, Feb. 4, and a 76-54 loss to host Granite Falls Thursday, Feb. 6. The Wolves ended the year with a 1-13 Cascade Conference record, picking up their first league win in three seasons. They went 3-17 for the year after winning only one game the previous two. Archbishop Murphy used a press to force Coupeville turnovers and jump to leads of 19-11, 40-25 and 62-38 at the quarters. Wiley Hesselgrave paced Coupeville with 16 points, Anthony Bergeron had 11, Joel Walstad eight, Nick Streubel six, Aaron Trumbull three, Gavin O’Keefe three and Matt Shank three. Coupeville, playing its final home game of the season, honored seniors Bergeron, Streubel, O’Keefe and Morgan Payne before the game. At Granite Falls, the Wolves’ problem with second half struggles resurfaced. The Tigers, down 35-30 at half, attacked the Wolves with a trap in the third quarter and outscored CoupePhoto by Jim Waller/Whidbey News-Times ville 22-7 in the period. Coupeville’s Gavin O’Keefe splits two Archbishop The Tigers (6-7, 9-10) continued to Murphy defenders on the way to the hoop Tuesday. pull away, outscoring the Wolves 24-12 in the fourth period. Wiley Hesselgrave, who had a stelCoupeville finished with 20 turnlar first half with 16 points, hit a 40-foot overs in the game. shot at the second-quarter buzzer to give The two teams were tied at 19 after the Coupeville its 35-30 halftime lead. first quarter.
from his team at Archbishop Murphy Tuesday, Feb. 4. However, when he looked up at the scoreboard, the lights revealed a 50-48 loss. “We wanted to put a complete game together, that meant all facets of the game,” King said. “After all was said and done, this was one of our best games along with getting contributions from everyone. A total team effort.” The game was close all night, and with the help of
a Fabrizi three-pointer, the Wolves took their final lead, 48-46, with about a minute left. Murphy countered with a three and a free throw to regain the lead. With less than 10 seconds left, the Wolves had one more chance. King drew up a play, his players “ran it perfectly” but the shot missed. “It just wasn’t meant to be,” he said. Makana Stone filled the stat sheet with 19 points, 14
rebounds and four blocks. Messner had a nice allaround game with nine points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block. Kacie Kiel finished with eight points, seven rebounds and a block; Fabrizi tallied 10 points, two steals and a block; Maddi Strasburg added two points, three rebounds and four assists; and Julia Myers had three assists and a block.