Triton women rise to the occasion, stifle Pierce in Pasco 67-52

PASCO -- Edmonds College women's basketball is moving on to the Elite 8. The Tritons led wire to wire, defeating Pierce 67-52 Saturday night.

The defensive effort early set the tone, limiting Pierce to 27% from the field in the first quarter. Edmonds also held the rebounding advantage 11-6 which propelled them to a 17-7 lead 10 minutes in. Towards the end of the first half the Raiders gained momentum, aided by Triton foul trouble, and used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to seven at halftime (30-23). Pierce was just 2-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first half.

Alexa Munoz's trey as the shot clock expired early in the third ignited a 9-1 run in the third quarter that pushed the advanatage to 50-35. A few turnovers in the fourth quarter allowed Pierce to linger and close the gap to a six-point deficit, but the Triton defense forced a ten second backcourt violation to swing the momentum back in the Tritons' favor. Both team's swarming defense led to 52 turnovers in the contest. Jada Walters' drive to the lane that beat the shot clock put Edmonds ahead for good at 62-51. Walters and Keira Slippern each scored 16 points. Kyana Brucelas had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Maleika Ashe added 8 points.

To advance to the Final Four, Edmonds (19-7) will need to find a way to top the South Region champions. Lane (27-2) won the NWAC title last season and are riding a 10-game winning streak. They disposed of Treasure Valley 59-49 on Saturday.

Today's Elite 8 matchup tips off at 4 p.m.

See Dan Acosta's photo gallery from the game here.

Jada Walters was interviewed post-game