"Boyd, Ellis lift Wolves to victory"

"If the South Kitsap High School girls basketball team won last night against Capital, the Wolves assured themselves at least a share of the Narrows League Bridge Division title.Going into their contest, South Kitsap held a two-game advantage over Capital with an 8-2 league record. A win would give SK a three-game lead with three games remaining in the regular season.The Wolves showcased their high-octane offense in a 75-61 win over Olympia last Friday.Both schools made the game seem longer than the Super Bowl with a combined 45 fouls and 33 turnovers. Olympia scored 27 of its points from the free throw line.Seniors Kristin Boyd (18 points, five steals), Beth Ellis (18 points) and Kristen Truax (11 points) led SK, with sophomore Katie Ralph chipping in 10 points in two quarters. Ralph also finished with five rebounds and two blocked shots.The Wolves were able to produce a win without their go-to player, senior Angela Sampson. The Weber State University-bound post sat on the bench for most of the game because of foul trouble, but still managed eight points.Big efforts from Boyd (10 points in the first quarter) and Ralph in the first half kept Olympia at bay, and their team took a 42-27 lead into halftime.Led by Boyd's 10 first-quarter points, SK took a 21-7 advantage in the second quarter.Because she played two quarters in the junior varsity game, Ralph was only eligible for two varsity quarters, but her time was well-spent. Olympia never pulled closer than 13 points after halftime.I was like, 'We gotta get something rolling,' Boyd said of her masterful first quarter. Sam (Sampson) wasn't in, so I was a little nervous. But Beth (Ellis) hit a three-pointer and got me hyped.Like he has all season, SK coach Doug Green utilized his bench, giving the reserves opportunities to flourish.It's a system Boyd said she is confident with when the post-season rolls around in two weeks. Last year, we never never quite got in the rotation as much as we are right now, Boyd said. This feels so good. I've got energy because people are coming in and relieving me.Boyd predicted the Wolves would have an advantage at the state tournament, assuming they make it there.It's going to be absolutely beautiful because maybe things aren't rolling for some of the starters, but we can get a break and our sophomores can come in and we'll get our energy back and get in there and start rolling, she said.If the Wolves plan to go fare, they will have to shore up on the defensive end. Nearly a dozen Olympia buckets came on slashes to the basket for easy layups.When they slash from 20 feet and go all the way, it's safe to say we probably didn't have much for help, Green said."

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