Coupeville came into Erikson Gymnasium determined to avenge a 33-31 loss to South Whidbey earlier in January.

The Wolves took a 6-4 lead in the first quarter, extended it to 27-16 at halftime and never looked back as they beat the Falcons, 51-38.

“I think they got better this season,” said Falcon sophomore post Annalies Schuster. “We improved, too. I guess it was just an effort thing. For us, we didn’t give our full effort for the whole game.”

South Whidbey (1-9 in Cascade Conference play; 1-12 overall) trailed by 11 points five minutes into the second quarter after Coupeville post Amanda Manker made two free throws, 20-9.

The Falcons cut the lead to nine points on a mid-range basket and a three-pointer from Hayley Newman to close out the first half, trailing the Wolves 27-16.

The Falcons didn’t close the scoring gap within 10 points the rest of the game. They came close on a 6-0 run in the fourth quarter to draw within 13 points, down 47-34. Coupeville (2-8; 4-11) made its shots and converted its free throws, though, to close out the game.

Newman led the Falcons with 9 points, despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter. Senior guard Lyna Nichols scored 5 points off the bench on 5-of-10 free throws. Schuster scored 6 points and blocked 2 shots, all in the second half. Playing with her back to the basket, Schuster found room in the paint on smooth pivots and made both of her free throw attempts.

“I had to go and put myself in position,” Schuster said.

Falcon freshman Madi Boyd saw significant minutes in the fourth quarter and played alongside starting point guard Brittany Wood. Boyd played three quarters in the junior varsity game, and was only eligible for one quarter of varsity. Boyd was fouled in the single free throw bonus for a one-and-one, and made the first before the second one bounced off the back iron.

“I think throughout the game, we started working more and more as team,” Boyd said. “All the upperclassmen are really nice. They’re helping me get better and supporting me in playing with them. I like it.”

Falcon head coach Andy Davis brought up a pair of freshmen from the junior varsity squad because of their fearlessness and hustle. Boyd was the only freshman that saw minutes against Coupeville because the other freshman, Maia Sparkman, was injured.

Coupeville senior guard Kendra O’Keefe scored a game-high 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers.