With two 3A state tournament appearances and two state regional appearances in the last four years, the proverbial bar for preseason expectations is as high as it’s ever been for the Mercer Island girls basketball team.

“We’ve made it to regionals the last [four] years. I think it’s expected now just to make it to regionals,” said senior captain Anna Luce, who in October verbally committed to play Division I basketball for Dartmouth.

“I think we have a lot to build on,” said second-year coach Gillian d’Hondt. “I don’t wanna be complacent and comfortable with what we did last year.”

Mercer Island had one of its best starts in program history last winter, winning the first 11 games of the season. This year, the Islanders appear to have the right group to build off of last season’s success. Mercer Island lost only two players to graduation, though both were All-KingCo selections last year: four-year varsity member Jess Blakeslee and fellow program stalwart Taylor Krause.

But the remaining players believe they’ve developed a familiarity within the team that will pay off as they begin the 2016-17 campaign.

“Since we’ve only lost two [players], we’re still very cohesive,” said junior guard Claire Mansfield. “And we’ve all grown up together. I think that will be one of our strengths as well.”

“Most of us have played together since fourth grade, so we know each other pretty well,” Luce said. “We know where each of us like to score and how to make each other better.”

On offense, Mercer Island’s inside game is set with Luce in the post, while the Islanders will look for aggressive play from the team’s guards in their half-court sets.

Defensively, d’Hondt said Mercer Island will look to dial up its aggression with its all-out deny full-court press. The Islanders began incorporating the defense last season, though didn’t rely on the full-court press with as much frequency.

“You can’t expect people to go from zero to 60 in one season, so I’m looking to build on that aggression,” d’Hondt said.

“[Our defense] was more laid back with not as much pressure last year,” said senior guard Kailee Yan. “It’s definitely a change this year, but I think we can do it.”

The Islanders will be tested early, with their third game of the season coming against the defending 3A state champs and rival Bellevue Wolverines on Dec. 7.

Though Bellevue will feature a completely new starting five and head coach this year, the Islander players still see the Wolverines as their toughest opposition in KingCo 3A.

“They’ve got a lot of height and that’s something we don’t have, so [we’ll look] to see how our pace matches up with their height,” Mansfield said. “They’re still gonna be good. Just because they lost a lot of players doesn’t mean they still won’t be good.”

But expectations remain high. Such goals as winning KingCo and advancing to the state tournament don’t require much discussion around the team. They go without mention.

“Those have been our goals for the last few years on the team,” Yan said. “Even though we lost a few of our key players, I think we can definitely still do it. It’s definitely possible.”