The Mercer Island girls basketball team stayed alive in the postseason race after a first-round KingCo win over Bellevue.

The Islanders beat the Wolverines 55-40 on Saturday night at Mercer Island. Despite an early lead by Bellevue, Mercer Island surged in the second quarter for a 23-point tie going into the half. The Islanders held Bellevue off in the second half, while ramping up their offense to take the win.

Jae Shin put up a team high of 21 points, while Hailey Gullstad had 14 points. Kris Brackmann posted nine points in the win, followed by Carly Andersen’s five points and two points apiece for Savanna Reid, Sarah Taylor and Christina Williamson.

In the team’s last regular season game of the year against Lake Washington, the Islanders won 59-44. The win secured the team’s No. 3 seed going into Saturday’s game.

Mercer Island led the entire game at Lake Washington, ending the half with a 40-28 lead over the Kangs.

Shin scored a game high of 27 points, followed by Williamson’s 10 points, Brackmann’s nine and seven from Hailey Gullstad.

The Islanders faced Mount Si on Tuesday afternoon, after Reporter deadline, at Bellevue College with a 4:45 p.m. start time.

A win pushed the Islanders into the KingCo girls title game on Thursday, Feb. 10, to play for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed into districts. A loss moves the Islanders into the No. 3/No. 4 seed game, also on Thursday.