Hoop dreams for Mercer Island girls
Published 5:42 pm Monday, November 24, 2008
By Matt Phelps
There are few sports at Mercer Island High School without a division title. Among them is the girls basketball program. There is little evidence of the team or program in the venue that they play. No records board and no banners. One year after taking over the program head coach Jamie Prescott, a former Islander player herself, has no delusions about reality, but is beginning to see where the light at the end of the tunnel will be.
“(Not having a KingCo title) is something that drives the entire program as we set goals,” said Prescott. “I learned a lot about our players last year. Girls basketball has always been an afterthought here and we are trying to change that.”
With a 6-17 record in her first year, the reality of Mercer Island girls basketball was apparent. But a closer look at the numbers from 2003 to 2004 shows exactly where Prescott’s team is going. In 2003, the team played six games where they were down by 15 points or more after the first period and won just three games all year. Mercer Island also lost eight of 10 games by 20 or more points that year. Last season the squad won twice as many games and were only blown out four times. Mercer Island lost four games by five points or less.
The Islanders’ biggest problem last year was getting out of a short scoring drought that would ultimately cost them the contest.
“We are working with situations in practice and how to get out of those two minute stretches that were costing us games last year,” said Prescott. “This year is also about reads, and figuring out what other teams are doing to beat us and adjusting.”
But teams can change dramatically in one high school sports year. So is this a trend of the program improving or just another year in the cycle? The fact that the Islanders had one senior last season and return seven players with varsity playing time might be an indication. The program is not struggling this year with turnout. The high school program had 40 girls come out. When Prescott was at Redmond, a 4A school, the turnout was between 18 and 20 each year. Prescott has also made it very clear that the best players must still earn their playing time.
“We have four or five seniors that have played together since fifth grade,” said Prescott. “This is their time, but they all have to earn it.”
Two of those seniors are second year co-captain Ellie Chapman and first year co-captain Mika Rothman. Both girls have had extensive playing time during the last two seasons.
“We need to believe that we can win,” said Chapman, who will run the offense from the point guard position this season and has shown good accuracy from beyond the three-point arch. “We gained a lot of experience on the floor together last year and that can only help this year.”
But the stigma of losing games and barely making the playoffs is still felt.
“Not being regarded as one of the best teams in KingCo is huge motivation for us,” said Rothman, who also has been a leading scorer for the team.
The third and final co-captain of the team is junior Georgia Gier. At 6-feet 2-inches tall, the center is the most visible player on and off the court. Gier has shown that her strength is not her height but her heart.
“Her work ethic and desire are great,” said Prescott. “She is harder on herself than I could ever be. She just needs to work on her quickness in the post.”
Gier’s height does not hinder her speed and the team will look to get out and run in every game this season.
“They have to establish the tempo,” said Prescott. “One of the biggest things I would like to see is for this team to be known for something and other teams to have to prepare for that.”
The stigma that surrounds the program has hurt more than morale and the revitalization of the program’s booster club is a big part of the reconstruction for the future.
“The long term goal is to change the culture,” said Prescott. “Having middle school girls wearing the same sweats as the high school girls, having middle school girls look up to the high school players is a big part of that. There are a lot of programs here that have that, and we don’t have that yet. We will see the effect in three or four years. But the biggest change will come on the court with wins.”
Head coach: Jamie Prescott (second year – MIHS grad)
Assistant coaches: Charnell Bolger, John Parker and Kelly John-Lewis (JV)
Last year’s record: 6-17 overall, made KingCo playoffs
Key returning athletes: Ellie Chapman (Sr.), Mika Rothman (Sr.), Georgia Gier (Jr.), Christine Rasmussen (Sr.), Elaine Chirls (Sr.) and Meg Farra (Sr.)
Key newcomers: Too early to tell.
Key losses: Jessie Paull
Key games this season: Bellevue, Issaquah and Mount Si
First game of the year: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Eastlake
