While Mercer Island girls basketball coach Kaela Yuen says defense is the primary focus for the Islanders this season, it’d be easy to think otherwise with the way her team has been shooting in their early-season contests.

Coming off a win over Seattle Prep earlier in the week that saw Mercer Island shoot 12-19 from three-point range, Mercer Island knocked down ten more 3-point shots in a 75-47 home-opening win over Issaquah Friday night at Mercer Island High School, improving to 2-0 on the year.

“We’ve been shooting the ball well, this is probably some of the best shooting we’ve been having,” Yuen said after the game.

“Our Prep game, our first few shots were threes. Today, our first few shots were threes. Honestly, I think we have smart players who know what to take and what’s given to them.”

Picking up where they left off two nights prior, the Islanders connected from long-range early to claim a 16-2 advantage over Issaquah midway through the first quarter and led 21-8 at the end of one. An 11-point second-quarter effort from Julia Blumenstein, who shot 6-9 from the arc against Prep, helped Mercer Island extend its lead to 26 at one point in the first half, with the Islanders taking a 42-20 lead over the Eagles into the break.

Strong post play from Anna Luce in the second half helped pace the Islanders, as Mercer Island fended off a 20-point third quarter from Issaquah to maintain its lead. Luce led the Islanders in scoring with 16 points while posting 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Jess Blakeslee had 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Blumenstein finished with 13 points and five rebounds while hitting two of her three 3-point attempts.

Hitting nearly 70% of her long-range shots through two games, Blumenstein attributed her early-season shooting success to added focus in the offseason.

“My coaches have been working with me a lot on my shooting technique, and the key is having it look the same every time,” she said. “I’ve been really focused on just flicking my wrist, and another thing is just confidence. I tell myself every time before I shoot every ball that it’s going to go in, and that’s been a big help.”

Despite the impressive shooting displays from her team, Yuen knows the Islanders can’t always depend on shooting throughout the rest of the season, especially against taller and more athletic opponents.

“You’re going to have bad shooting nights, and my mantra is ‘control the controllables’,” Yuen said. “Some nights, our shots aren’t going to fall so we do have to rely on pass and dribble penetration, or getting those stops and really playing with each other. Of course I’m happy with the way we’re shooting, but I’m not going to be set that that’s how we’re going to play the rest of the season.”

Mercer Island will open KingCo competition taking on Liberty at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 at Liberty High School.