Mercer Island encountered some early shooting struggles in its 2A/3A KingCo matchup with Lake Washington Friday night at MIHS. But turning to its defense and holding the Kangs to five second-quarter points, the undefeated Islanders pulled away to beat Lake Washington 50-35 for their fifth league win of the season.
Both teams struggled from the field to open the contest, though a couple 3-pointers from Lake Washington had the Kangs (7-5, 3-2) in front in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The Islanders (11-0, 5-0) used a 6-0 run to close the period ahead 14-8.
A 3-pointer from Lake Washington’s Johnna Jahnke made it a three-point game to begin the second quarter, but it marked the last field goal the Kangs would score in the first half. The Islander defense didn’t allow Lake Washington to score from the field until the 5:05 mark of the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Mercer Island’s offense exploded for 20 second-quarter points, as the Islanders took a 34-13 lead at the break.
MI coach Gillian d’Hondt said her team adjusted its defense in the second by switching to a man-to-man front.
“We wanted to take away their post play, and we knew that their guards were a little susceptible to turnovers,” d’Hondt said. “We wanted to pressure them so that we could force those errors before [they] got into those posts.”
The Islanders maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way. Taylor Krause and Anna Luce scored 14 points each to lead all scorers. Lindsey Allan led Lake Washington with eight points.
Mercer Island will face its biggest test of the season when the Islanders take on the fellow undefeated Bellevue Wolverines (12-0, 5-0) at 7:15 p.m. next Wednesday at BHS. Mercer Island follows Bellevue with away games against Liberty on Friday and Todd Beamer on Saturday.
“It’s a big week for us and a barometer of where we are,” d’Hondt said. “We don’t need to say anything about Bellevue, they’re doing amazing. They have a lot of talent, so we’re excited to get in there and see what we have.”
Notes
Senior captain and starting point guard Jess Blakeslee missed her second KingCo game since suffering an ankle injury during the Surf ‘N Slam tournament Dec. 28-30 in San Diego. d’Hondt initially hoped to have Blakeslee back in time to face Bellevue, but said that wasn’t a realistic timetable.
“We’d love to have [Blakeslee] and we miss her, but it’s a time for us to grow,” d’Hondt said. “When she is back, we’re going to be that much tougher.”
