The Mercer Island girls basketball team had one of its best seasons in program history this past winter, winning the first 11 games of the year and advancing to the 3A state regionals.

Though the success didn’t end there: starting post player Anna Luce broke five school records during her junior campaign, which Luce was recognized for at the Islanders’ post-season banquet last month.

She set program-best marks for most rebounds in a single game (21), points scored in a season (467), rebounds in a single season (235), season field goal percentage (54.8 percent) and season free throw percentage (83.5 percent).

“She was the most the consistent player we had this year,” Mercer Island coach Gillian d’Hondt told the Reporter. “She came ready to play every day, she came out and put our team on her back at times. When we were in droughts, Anna was still getting putbacks.”

Luce was named to the 2A/3A All-KingCo First Team for the second year in a row, averaging 18 points along with 9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game her junior year. She attributed her on-court production to her elevated role with the team.

“I think I was a lot more confident this year,” she said. “Coming in as a captain, there was a lot more on me as an upperclassman and a third-year returner to step up and lead the team along with Jess [Blakeslee] and Taylor [Krause]. It was a great year. There was a lot of great teamwork.”

Luce began playing basketball in the Mercer Island program as a fourth-grader, participating in the Junior Hoopsters basketball clinic. Now, as a member of the varsity team, she serves as a coach leading the youngsters during the camp.

As a team, Luce and the Islanders appeared to catch on quickly to their new offensive and defensive systems, which were implemented by d’Hondt in her first year as head coach. The team’s new triangle offense is a post-oriented offense, which complemented the offensive-minded Luce.

“I’ve always been a pretty big scorer on all the teams I’ve played on,” Luce said. “I’m pretty offensive-minded usually. I would say it comes more naturally.”

D’Hondt, a former post player herself, said her goal for Luce was to make her more defensive-minded and disciplined on the court. If Luce avoided foul trouble and could play more minutes, it would certainly affect her stats.

The coach touts Luce as a Division I-caliber athlete, and Luce said she’s gotten offers and looks from several schools but hasn’t made any commitments yet. She still has her senior year to look forward to with the Islanders.

“I think we have a pretty solid group coming back next year, I’m really excited,” Luce said. “[We have] some good freshman coming up, a good coach, our team chemistry is really good. A lot of us have played together since third or fourth grade, it’s good to have that.”