Coupeville's girls' basketball team's defense picked up a sluggish offense to lead the Wolves to a 44-20 nonleague win at Concrete Tuesday in the season opener for both teams.

Coupeville trailed 13-12 at halftime after shooting just 14.6 percent (6-41). Coach Blake Severns made a simple adjustment at halftime.

He said, "I told them we were going to a full-court man-to-man defense." He told his troops that they were better athletes than their opponents and it was time for that athleticism to take over.

Take over they did. The Lions crumbled under the press. Severns said, "We had at least 10 steals in the second half. They didn't handle pressure well." Needless to say, Severns was "pleased with our defense the second half."

The Concrete turnovers fueled transition scoring opportunites for the Wolves who buried the Lions 19-2 in the third quarter. Megan Smith led the defensive charge with three steals, and Kendra O'Keefe scored five points late in the quarter to finish off the Lions.

After jumping to a 10-5 first quarter lead, the ice-cold Wolves managed just two points in the second quarter. The Lions hit two threes to get back in the game. That may not seem like much, but Severns said, "When you only score 12 points in the first half, two threes are big."

Eight different Wolves scored, and Smith led the way with 13 points. O'Keefe had 7; Courtney Boyd 5; Marie Hesselgrave, Courtney Arnold, Ashley Manker and Cassidi Rosenkrance 4 each; and Kate Smith 3.

Coupeville plays its first home game Friday against Darrington at 7:30 p.m.

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