Since the EvCC Women’s team already clinched the fourth spot in the NWAC’s, Sunday’s game against the Bellevue Bulldogs wasn’t of much importance. However, with the Bulldogs ranked second in all of NWAC, the Trojans could get a good look at a top team before facing the top team in Lane on March 5, in the first round of the tournament playoffs.

The game started out evenly for both teams, but the Bulldogs pulled ahead to a six point lead 18-12. In the first game between the two schools earlier in the year, this was where Bellevue pulled ahead and cruised to a victory. That wasn’t the case in this game, as the Trojans had more fight in them from the rigors of the season. EvCC would make a run back to tie the game at 18 and stay with the Bulldogs for the rest of the first half.

Kaela Tyler hit a three with no time remaining at the end of the first quarter to give the Trojans the lead 20-19. They would ride that momentum through the second quarter, and pull ahead to a six point lead at 30-24. That’s when the Bulldogs made another offensive run right before halftime with under a minute left and tie the game at 30 a piece.

Breezy Shore lead EvCC at halftime with nine points, and the Trojans would shoot 30.8% from the field, while the Bulldogs shot 41.9%, but still managed to only tie the game. The Trojans went into halftime with confidence knowing they went toe to toe with a top team in the league.

Although EvCC had the momentum going into halftime, the close game would not last. The Bulldogs jumped all over the Trojans right out of the gate going on a 16-4 run and stopping any positive runs EvCC could muster. After that horrendous third quarter, the Trojans would never get back to within reach the whole game. The closest they could cut the deficit was nine points, but even then Bellevue would hit two more threes to seal the game.

EvCC kept pace in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 points to the Bulldogs 18, however, it was too late for the Trojans on their very own Sophomore night. The Trojans would end up losing by a score of 72-56. According to the EvCC Head Coach Chet Hovde, this match still brought tons of confidence to the team. “We know we can hang, they are number two in the NWAC and we were tied at the half. We have to take care of the ball in the second half, along with handling the press better,” Hovde said.

So even with a loss on Sophomore night for EvCC, the women are still feeling confident heading into the playoffs to take on the number one team in Lane College. Standout Guard Shore talked about playing on Sophomore night and moving into the thick of the playoffs. “The energy was good, I was definitely excited and sad at the same time. We just have to get better through practice, we have great sparks of play, we just can’t allow huge runs,” Shore said.

The next game for the Everett Trojans is on Saturday, March 5 in Oregon for the first round of the NWAC playoffs. The game will be tough, since they are facing the number one team in the whole league, especially since the Trojans lost by 50 to the same Lane College team earlier in the year.