Mercer Island girls top Bellevue for KingCo title

February 20, 2010 2:23 am
Islanders guard Hannah Lilly steals a ball against Bellevue during the KingCo 3A league title game on Friday. Mercer Island won 49-36.
Islanders guard Hannah Lilly steals a ball against Bellevue during the KingCo 3A league title game on Friday. Mercer Island won 49-36.

By Joel Willits

Bellevue Reporter

It seemed that Bellevue held all the momentum in the world heading into the half of the girls KingCo 3A championship game after Kelly Meggs drained a near-halfcourt three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Wolverines an 18-16 lead over Mercer Island.

Then came the third quarter — and the Islanders couldn’t miss.

Mercer Island scored on its first eight possessions — with just eight shots — and turned a two-point deficit into a 15-point lead en route to a 49-36 victory.

The Islanders (18-4) made 11 of their 13 shots in the third quarter and forced the Wolverines to turn the ball over seven times in the frame.

“The whole game boiled down to that eight minutes,” said Bellevue coach Ron Tinnin. “They just keep firing shots and they’re going to make runs — we knew they’d make runs, but we didn’t think it’d be like that.”

But the biggest difference may have proved to be the return of Hannah Lilly. Lilly didn’t play in the last matchup between the two squads — a 59-57 win by the Wolverines on Feb. 3 — because of an eye injury.

But the senior made her presence felt early. Lilly started the game off with a three-pointer and never let up from the start, leading the Islanders with 19 points.

“Hannah is just a floor leader,” said Mercer Island coach Jamie Prescott. “She refuses to lose.”

“She’s one of the best players in the league,” Tinnin said. “She does a bit of everything for them.”

Bellevue (14-8) was led by Meggs, who scored 18 points. The Wolverines will head into the district tournament as the No. 2 seed — meaning that they will play on the same side of the bracket as Metro League champion Holy Names.

“That’s a major, major task,” Tinnin said. “But I like where we are. Our kids are playing really well right now.”

The Islanders handily beat Mount Si the day before, winning 56-44 over the Wildcats.

Islander head coach Jamie Prescott was named the KingCo 3A coach of the year, while Hailey Gullstad was named the MVP of the league. Kate DaPron and Hannah Lilly were named to the first team all-conference.

The girls now advance to the district tournament, entering as the top seed from KingCo. They will play the winner of the Lakeside versus Bainbridge game on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bellevue College. The winner of that game moves into the next round the following week.