The Wolverines shook off a slow start and had a talented Coupeville club on the ropes on their own home court.

They just couldn’t land that knock-out punch.

Friday Harbor suffered its second loss of the season as the the Wolves (7-1) outscored their San Juan Island rivals 11-6 in the finals minutes of regulation to clinch a 41-37 non-league victory Dec. 22 at Coupeville.

Trailing 23-19 at the break, the Wolverines (4-2) claimed their first lead of the game, at 31-30, by tallying 12 of the first 19 points of the second half. It was a see-saw battle after that.

“The whole fourth quarter was back-and-forth and back-and-forth,” Friday Harbor Head Coach Eric Jangard said. “We just couldn’t get a basket that put us far enough out in front.”

Sophomore Liz Taylor led the Wolverines with a season-high 13 points. Maggie Andersen had 10 and Kelsey Barnes added nine. Coupeville’s Megan Smith led all scorers with 14 points and Ashley Manker netted 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Next: The Wolverines traveled to Mount Baker Tuesday; see SanJuanJournal.com for results. They travel to Darrington Saturday for a 2 p.m. game, and then back home to take on the league-leading Orcas Vikings, beginning at 7:15 p.m. in Turnbull Gym.