Triton Women's Hoops Stuns No. 6 Everett

LYNNWOOD -- Edmonds CC women’s basketball came out on fire early against North region foe Everett CC on Saturday, and stunned the No. 6-ranked Trojans 73-70. It was a fitting end to the home portion of the schedule, playing in front of the largest crowd of the year. The Tritons jumped out to a 16-1 lead midway through the first quarter, and did not relinquish that lead until 3:46 was left in the fourth quarter when Everett took their first lead of the game, 64-63. 

Freshman Hailey Carlson

It looked as though the Trojans would complete the comeback – Edmonds was up by 28 points at one point – but the Tritons showed resilience, fighting back to close out the victory with some key stops and big shots. Caitlin Rojas nailed a trey that stopped the Trojans’ momentum, and put the Tritons back on top for good, 67-65. Ryan Terry made two free throws with 35 seconds left that extended the lead to five, and Zaria Smith’s two freebies iced the game with 8 seconds on the clock.

Smith has been the bona fide scorer for the team all season (averaging 17 ppg), and she again led the Tritons with 23 points in the win, but the emergence of Hailey Carlson has been a major reason for the squad’s recent surge. Carlson scored a season-high 22 points and added 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. The return of Ryan Terry has also given the team a boost. In her third game back after injury, Terry chipped in 7 points and was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Head coach Eric Ensign reflected on the win. “Our girls were focused from the beginning and did a great job of executing our game plan. Everett came back in the second half when we started to get tired, but we were able to keep our composure at the end of the game, which has been tough at times with such a young team,” he said. Ensign didn’t take much time to enjoy the win. Shortly after the upset, he was back on the recruiting trail headed to Tacoma to watch games.

Edmonds, who picked up their second league win of the year against Everett, has three more regional tilts – all on the road – to close out the 2018 campaign. This week the ladies are at Whatcom (6-16, 1-8 North) Wednesday, and Peninsula (5-16, 3-6 North) on Saturday. Edmonds has five wins this year, the most since the 2012-13 season. Watch Wednesday's game at Whatcom here.