The last time Mercer Island and Juanita met, the Islanders won in overtime. On Tuesday, Feb. 5 when the teams met, a chance to go to the KingCo championships was on the line. Mercer Island held off the Lady Rebels, winning 54-43 to advance to Thursday’s finals.

The Islanders will now play Bellevue on Thursday, Feb. 7 in an 8:15 p.m. game.

Against Juanita on Tuesday, Mercer Island opened to an early 11-9 lead in the first quarter, but Juanita bounced back in the second quarter, scoring 14 to the Islanders 12. The score at halftime was tied 23-23.

A big 17 point third quarter for Mercer Island, while the team held Juanita to just six points, set up the final quarter showdown between the teams. Though both sides hit 14 points, the dominate third quarter gave the Islanders the edge.

Mercer Island had three players with nine points in the game, Jessica Blakeslee, Jamie Mounger and Renae Tessem. Julia Blumenstein and Rachael Tessem each scored eight poitns while Kris Brackmann had seven overall. Christina Williamson scored two points, and Suri Johnson and Arianna Moscatel scored one point each.

A win on Thursday over Bellevue would give the Islanders the No. 1 seed going into the SeaKing district tournament next week. The team would play the winner of the Metro 7 vs. Metro 5 teams on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at Bellevue College. A loss to Bellevue Thursday and the Islanders become the No. 2 seed from KingCo, playing on Saturday, Feb. 9 at MIHS against the Metro No. 8 team.