When Mercer Island girls basketball coach Jamie Prescott took over the program in 2004, she set a goal of winning the KingCo title within five years. That goal was a bit lofty. After all, Mercer Island had never won the league championship, most of the past decade had been spent in the cellar of the division, and all of the players on the 2008-2009 team were still in middle school.

“This is awesome,” said a jubilant Prescott, following the team’s title-clinching 56-50 win at Liberty High School on Feb. 10. “All the kids believed, and here we are.”

But the eighth in-league victory of the year did not come easy, as the Patriots still hoped to win the title themselves. The Islanders opened the game with an anxiety-relieving barrage of three-pointers. Three consecutive high floating shots from Janelle Chow, Jae Shin and Hailey Gullstad gave Mercer Island a quick 9-2 lead, as the Islander fans erupted. Most high school students in the gym were rooting for Liberty. But Island parents, five middle school girls basketball select teams and even Islander boys coach Ed Pepple watched as Mercer Island battled for a long-awaited title.

“We wanted our first ever banner, and this is awesome,” said Chow, who finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.

But despite Mercer Island’s fast start and desire, Liberty took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter. The Patriots lost composure during the opening minutes with three consecutive traveling violations. But the Islanders struggled to take advantage. A three-pointer by senior Chloe Snethen gave Mercer Island an 18-16 advantage, but the teams would trade the lead seven times during the first half and enter the locker rooms tied at 26-26 on a pair of Kate DaPron free throws.

DaPron, battling inside to start the third, ignited a run for Mercer Island with a lay-in and foul shot, giving her team a 37-31 lead. The team’s center would lead the Islanders in scoring for the game with 11 points.

Mercer Island’s advantage would be extended to 11 points on two free -throws by Sarah Taylor. Taylor came up big during the third period with six of her nine points for the game.

The final quarter was one big shot after another. Liberty pounded the key to get to the free-throw line for 14 shots, while the Islanders made draining the clock for a big final shot an art form. But the biggest shot of the quarter could have been disastrous for the Islanders. After receiving a pass from Gullstad, Shin put up the ball two feet outside the three-point stripe, right in front of Prescott and an official. But the referee called the shot a two-pointer. Prescott argued the call, to no avail, as Mercer Island led by just six points. Despite the missed call, Mercer Island used its defense to clinch the victory.

“I expected to win this game,” said Shin. “I knew we would get it.”

That attitude is new for a program that has traditionally struggled just to make the playoffs.

The win is one with history for the coaching staff, as Prescott and assistant coaches Beth Christofferson and Holland Fleming all played for the team and graduated from MIHS.

“It’s incredible,” said Christofferson. “I am just along for the ride.”

The Islanders finished out the regular season with a loss at Mount Si on Thursday, 57-47. The loss breaks a nine-game winning streak for the team.

But Mercer Island will take the No. 1 seed into the KingCo tournament this weekend at Bellevue Community College.

“This win gives us a lot of momentum,” said Prescott, whose team finished with a 10-2 record. “But it is tough to beat any team three times in one season.”