Everett, WA – The Trojans hosted Whatcom on Wednesday night at the Walt Price Center, the Orcas coming off a big win last Saturday, upsetting Skagit Valley College for their first north region win on the season. Everett was hoping to steal away some of that upset magic by picking up their first north region win against WCC.
The first quarter was closely contested, with Whatcom holding a slight 14-12 lead. If not for 6 turnovers, EvCC might have been able to gain the edge, but Everett got to the line and some key WCC players got into foul trouble. In the second quarter, Everett took the lead on a Jada Andresen three, and built a five-point lead. Whatcom made a slight run, but EvCC held onto the lead. The defense was solid for both teams in the final five minutes of the half and neither team was able to score. Heading into the break, Everett had a 22-21 lead over the visitors.
A pair of three's by Baylor Thomas and Ashlee Kluin helped EvCC build an 8 point lead halfway through the quarter, but the Orcas would not go away quietly and closed the gap to within one with just over two minutes to play. An 8-2 run, led by Ashlee Kluin's 4 points gave EvCC a 40-34 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
Early in the 4th, the Trojan lead extended to 10 after a pair of Thomas free-throws. Jada Andresen pushed the lead out to 13 on back-to-back threes, and from there the Trojans were able to keep a comfortable cushion, cruising to a 62-52 win.
Baylor Thomas led all scorers with 24, and continues to lead the NWAC in scoring, averaging 22.6 points per game. All of Jada Andresen's 15 points came from beyond the arc as she hit five threes, tying her season high. Ashlee Kluin controlled the boards pulling down 13 rebounds and adding 7 points. Ghadir Ramadan also had a big night coming off the bench grabbing 10 rebounds and also scoring 7.
The Trojans improve their overall record to 8-12 and pick up their first north region win moving to 1-5 on the season. An important date is coming up against Skagit Valley who is also 1-5, and a win could get the Trojans back in the hunt for the playoffs. Tip off is Sunday, February 4th at 4:00pm.