After a stunning 52-50 upset over Kennedy Catholic last night, the Mercer Island girls basketball team couldn’t find the gas to beat Cleveland in the state semifinals.

The final score was 57-55 for Cleveland.

Heading into the final eight minutes MI 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 two 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 three 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.

Islander head coach Jamie Prescott said she was proud of Lilly’s game, knowing it wasn’t how she wanted to end the night. Defensively, Prescott said, the Islanders had trouble finding the key Eagles players on the court and keeping the ball away from them.

Overall, Mercer Island shot 33.3 percent from the field, while Cleveland was 47.8 percent.

Eagles player Cheyenne Wilson scored 24 points during the game, while Lilly had 17 overall.

Mercer Island faces Shadle Park of Spokane in tomorrow’s 3:30 p.m. game at the Tacoma Dome to decide third and sixth place.

Cleveland will face Holy Names, a regular season opponent of the Eagles, in the girls championship match at 9 p.m.

This is the Eagles first trip to state in 32 years, after losing in first round of the 1978 3A girls state tournament.