When the girls 3A state basketball bracket was released the Sunday before the tournament, the Mercer Island girls basketball team zeroed in on the quarterfinal bracket.

If things went according to plan, the Islanders would see Kennedy Catholic, the reigning state champion which entered state on an 18-game winning streak.

The Islanders surpassed Mt. Rainier, 62-31, in the first round of state in Tacoma last Wednesday, ensuring their half of the Mercer Island/Kennedy meeting. Kennedy did the same with a 61-55 win over East Valley of Spokane. The stage was then set for the quarterfinal showdown between two of the top teams in the state.

In a huge upset, the Mercer Island girls basketball team found its way around Kennedy Catholic on Thursday night for a 52-50 win in the state quarterfinals. The game, which was delayed by almost two hours due to a match which ran into double overtime earlier that day, pushed the Islanders for everything they had.

“This is what we’ve worked for all season,” said head coach Jamie Prescott, following the win. “This is awesome. They had great composure.”

The Islanders, who trailed for the majority of the game, rallied in the fourth quarter, which started with a 43-35 lead for Kennedy. Senior Hannah Lilly hit a 3-point basket with 3:22 remaining in the game to lift the Islanders to a momentary 50-49 lead, before Kennedy hit a free throw to tie the game in the last minute.

Hailey Gullstad pushed the Islanders over the edge with 7.9 seconds remaining for the final 52-50 lead. Gullstad had 9 points tonight, while Heidi Black had 12 points for the Islanders, as did Jae Shin.

“It was a totally different style [of defense], contrary to what we normally do,” said Prescott of the defensive game that night. “We rarely zone, but we had to against them because of their quickness.”

For senior guard Hannah Lilly, the game was one she will never forget, a perfect memory from her last season.

“That was definitely the highlight of the tournament,” she said after the team’s final state game. “I hope that we’ll look back and always remember that game as the biggest upset we played and just the highlight of our season.”

Advancing to the semifinals, elated and overjoyed, the Islanders faced Cleveland, a team making its first state appearance in 32 years. Despite a solid game, Mercer Island couldn’t repeat its performance from the night before, losing 57-55.

Heading into the final eight minutes of the match on Friday night, Mercer Island trailed 44-29, but made a 26-point surge in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 55-50 with just 1:22 left on the clock.

Hailey Gullstad scored 2 points for the Islanders and was fouled with 44.6 seconds in the game, pushing the score to 55-54, which was followed by a 3-point basket from Jae Shin for a momentary 56-55 lead for Mercer Island.

The Eagles’ Whitney Wilson, who put up 16 points for Cleveland, missed two free throws with approximately 5 seconds on the clock, sending the ball back to Mercer Island. Hannah Lilly was fouled and the senior went to the line for Mercer Island, looking to give them a definitive lead with just 2.7 seconds left in the game. Lilly missed both shots, and in the rebounding scramble, Cleveland’s Whitney Wilson was fouled, sending her to the line and capping the game at 57-55 for the Eagles.

“We just didn’t move the ball well,” said Prescott following the game. “We should have made shot, we should have made our free throws and we should have rebounded better. I thought Hannah played a great game. I know it’s not how she wanted to end it.”

After the loss, the Islanders moved into the consolation bracket, facing off against Shadle Park of Spokane on Saturday afternoon in the third/sixth-place game. The Islanders lost with a final score of 49-36 to finish in sixth place overall.

The Islanders trailed 25-19 going into the half, racking up eight team fouls in the first two quarters. The trend continued in the third and fourth, with Mercer Island giving up 26 points due to foul calls.

The Islanders, coming off a semifinal loss to Cleveland the night before, started their final game of the season with a 6-0 run in the first quarter against the Highlanders, but defensively and throughout the game, the girls couldn’t hold back Shadle Park.

For the Islanders, who finished 8th in state last year, this year’s finish, on top of a KingCo league title and second place finish in the SeaKing tournament, was a best-ever for the program.

The tournament was won by Cleveland, following a title game showdown between the Eagles and Holy Names Academy.

The team will lose three seniors to graduation: Hannah Lilly, Kate DaPron and Kaylia Balinbin.