The Mercer Island High School girls basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to defeat the Juanita Rebels 54-43.
The score was tied 23-23 at halftime, but the Islanders came out hot in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Rebels 17-6.
Renae Tessum, Jessica Blakeslee & Jamie Mounger all had 9 points to lead the team in scoring, with Julia Blumenstein and Rachael Tessum adding 8 each and Kris Brackman scoring 7.
The Islanders were able to find a way to win despite losing senior captain and the team's leading scorer Kris Brackman for most of the game due to foul trouble.
The win was seen as a huge win for the Islanders who were 1-1 against Juanita during the regular season.
Next up is a rematch with KingCo No.1-seed Bellevue, who the Islanders lost to in overtime last time they played. The KingCo Championship tournament game tips off at 8:15 p.m Thursday, Feb. 6th at Bellevue College.
Team ScoringQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Final Mercer Island 11 12 17 14
54 Juanita 9 14 6 14
43
Individual Scoring
Mercer IslandPointsJessica Blakeslee 9
Jamie Mounger 9
Renae Tessem 9
Julia Blumenstein 8
Rachael Tessem 8
Kris Brackmann 7
Christina Williamson 2
Suri Johnson 1
Arianna Moscatel 1
JuanitaPoints
Breanna Carter 8
Jade Finau 5
Mary Carter 4
Aimee Richardson 4
Shannon Brink 2
Mikayla Jones 2
Winnie Levitt 2
Kenzie Waltar 2
Jaisa Nunn 14
