After a hard-fought loss to Juanita last week, the Mercer Island girls moved on to this week’s district tournament as the No. 4 seed from KingCo. The team then traveled to Bainbridge on Saturday, winning 59-39 at the Spartans’ home gym.

During the match Jae Shin scored 22 points for Mercer Island, followed by Hailey Gullstad’s 15 points. The win moved the team into the second round of the tournament, which pitted the Islanders against Cleveland, the reigning state champions, on Tuesday after Reporter deadline.

During the KingCo tournament, the Islanders were 1-2, beating Bellevue before losing to Mount Si and Juanita. They lost to the Rebels 69-60 last Thursday for the fourth-place finish.

Juanita led the match early in the game, but ended the half down by two to the Islanders. That lead grew to 47-40 in the third quarter and was extended even further in the fourth. Juanita’s Mikayla Jones had the game high of 28 points, thanks to a huge second half, including a 15-point third quarter. Kate Cryderman had 17 points for the Rebels, and Molly Grager picked up 11 in the match. Mercer Island’s Jae Shin had 19 points overall during the game, followed by 15 from Kris Brackmann. Hailey Gullstad picked up eight and Savanna Reid had six. Caroline Carfi and Sarah Taylor each added four to the mix.

The Islanders beat Bellevue 55-40 on Saturday, Feb. 5, and lost 61-49 to Mount Si on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

In the district tournament a win over Cleveland would move the Islanders into the semifinals, where they would face Seattle Prep or Mount Si on Friday, Feb. 17, at 4:45 p.m. at Bellevue College. A loss on Tuesday means the Islanders would take on the loser of the Seattle Prep vs. Mount Si match on Saturday at Bellevue College at 5:15 p.m.