Sports
Islander Girls Face Cleveland Next After Win Over Bainbridge, 59-39
Mercer Island Girls Basketball will face defending 3A State Champion Cleveland High at Bellevue College at 3 p.m. Feb. 15 (Tuesday) at Bellevue College.
The Islanders braved stormy waters and a ferry detour to get to Spartan Territory Saturday night, but left their mark with a decisive win over Bainbridge, 59-39.
It was a slow start for both teams, clearly feeling the pressure of this "loser-out" game. In the first quarter, fouls threatened to outnumber points made—both teams reaching double penalty. But it was Mercer Island who overcame the the jitters first, coming to life after a Jae Shin 3-point shot near the end of the first quarter.
Once the shots starting sinking, Mercer Island never looked back. The Islanders outscored Bainbridge in the 2nd quarter 20-7, going into the halftime break with a 19-point lead (30-11). The Islander's defense rattled Bainbridge, forcing turnovers and disrupting their shooting rhythm. The Spartan's shooting percentage was only 12% in the first half, and while it improved to 40% in the 2nd, this was not enough to make a dent.
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The Spartans also had trouble grabbing rebounds, coming away with only 34 to Mercer Island's 51.
Islander coach Jamie Prescott admitted it wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win.
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“The girls played OK and had good energy, but we need to be able to maintain intensity and focus regardless of rotations and runs by the other team,” she said.
For Bainbridge, Grace Kenyon scored 14 points, Hannah Depew added 8 and Wesley Nottingham came away with 6. Islander Jae Shin was high scorer again for the Islanders with 2; Hailey Gullstad scored 14 and Kris Brackmann added 10.
Questions were raised about how far the Mercer Island girls basketball team could go in the post-season after battling to fourth in the KingCo tournament and grabbing the final qualification spot in districts. But the win over Bainbridge sets up the Lady Islanders for at least two more District games.
In the next playoff round, Mercer Island faces a Metro League opponent certain to test their limits: defending 3A state champion Cleveland (19-4). They'll face the Eagles at 3 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 15) Bellevue College.