WCC women’s basketball adds Whatcom County flavor with nine area signings

The Whatcom Community College women’s basketball team will rely heavily on some home cooking next year, as the school inked no fewer than nine Whatcom County student-athletes to letters of intent last weekend. The Orcas held a signing celebration for all nine on Saturday at Orca Pavilion.

Committing to the school were Lynden Christian’s Shaye Brandsma, Mount Baker’s Kylee Engholm, Lynden’s Mariah Gonzalez, Meridian’s Kiana Gray, Sehome Samantha Hruby, Blaine’s Kjirstin Larson, Nooksack Valley’s Rachel Sande, Lynden Christian’s Emma Stump and Cornerstone Christian’s Elissa Vreugdenhil.

Brandsma, a member of the Class of 2016, averaged 2.5 points during the Lyncs’ run to the Class 1A state title in 2016.

Engholm graduated from Mount Baker in 2016 after averaging 6.3 points per game for the Mountaineers her senior season.

Gonzales, a 5-11 post, averaged 4.5 points per game this season, helping the Lions to a 22-6 record and the Class 2A state title.

Gray, a 5-9 post, averaged 9.4 points and helped the Trojans to a 20-9 record and their first trip to the Class 1A State Tournament since 2004.

Hruby a 5-6 guard, was on Sehome’s varsity roster this year, but did not play. She averaged 5.1 points as a junior.

Larson averaged 5.5 points for the Borderites as a senior during the 2015-16 season.

Sande, a 5-6 guard, averaged 12.3 points per game and helped the Pioneers to an 11-9 record this year.

Stump, who was a member of the Class of 2016, has not played varsity basketball for the Lyncs since the 2014-15 season, when she averaged 3.5 points per game.

Cornerstone Christian did not offer a varsity girls team for Vreugdenhil and her classmates.

Identification of Shaye Brandsma, spelling of Kjirstin Larson and her background corrected April 5, 2017.

This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "WCC women’s basketball adds Whatcom County flavor with nine area signings."