With her team coming off its second-straight trip to the state tournament last year, girls basketball coach Kaela Yuen has a very specific mindset she expects her players to have, something very much in contrast to that of the up-and-coming teams of years before.

“I’m constantly telling the girls that we are a state tournament team, so that makes us one of the best sixteen teams in the state,” Yuen said. “We always need to be going to that regional game, that should be happening every season and that should be an expectation. Regardless of who we’re losing, how young we are or how old we are… I am demanding a lot from them and trying to make them play at a higher standard than maybe they think they can play.”

It is with that mindset that the Islanders hope to capitalize on after seeing first-round exits from the state tournament each of the last two seasons.

“I think the past two years, not coming home with anything has definitely put that extra chip on our shoulder,” said returning starter and senior captain Julia Blumenstein. “We know what that feeling is like when we come home empty-handed, so this year we want more than anything to bring back a trophy or a banner. Every year we fall short of that, we know how painful that felling is because we know how much work we put in to have those opportunities.”

Mercer Island will have to do so after graduating most of its post rotation, with sophomore Anna Luce serving as the team’s lone post player. Still, Yuen remains confident about the make-up of her team.

“I know we only have one post, but I think she’s going to be one of the best posts in the league,” said Yuen. “Anna is left-handed, she’s a great scorer, she’s got soft touch, so that’s exciting. I also think we’re really strong in the guard area, we have long guards… they’re all kind of the same height they’ve got good length, they handle the ball well and shoot the ball well.”

Yuen expects the Islanders to be better deeper in the season than in years past, with the goal to keep improving throughout the season and have their skills reach a climactic point come playoff time.

“We were very disappointed last year. We thought we had a really good draw to get some wins and I think that left a dissatisfaction with the girls, which is healthy and good. I think they’re hungry to not only get back to the state tournament, but to do some damage down there and get some wins under their belt.”