Lukas Varney drives to the basket. Photo by Jake D’Souza.
Tuesday, Jan. 29, Mercer Island Boys Basketball faced off against Lake Washington, defeating them 61-55.
Boys
It was a notable victory for the team, especially as the meet marked MIBB senior night.
| SENIORS |
| Will Lee |
| Teague Conder |
| James Kirkmire |
| Rainer McDonald |
The Islanders were up 14-3 in the middle of the first quarter, reaching 20-9 at the corner after a last minute three pointer from Lake Washington.
The scores began to even out approaching halftime, reaching 24-23 before the Islanders secured a more comfortable lead of 38-25 at the end of the second quarter.
“I was most concerned that were going to lose focus in the end, but we were able to secure the win,” captain William Lee said.
After keeping a 49-39 third quarter lead, Mercer Island narrowly managed to sustain their lead for the remainder of the game.“I trust in my guys, we’ve pulled out a lot of games like that all year long,” Mercer Island Head Coach Gavin Cree said. “It gives us a share of the Kingco championship for this season, so I feel great about it.”
Girls
Mercer Island Girls Basketball loses 64-53 against Lake Washington, closing out their season with a record of 1-18.Lake Washington led 25-11 the first quarter, creating a significant deficit for Mercer Island. The Mercer Island defense turned up the intensity in the second quarter, holding Lake Washington to 11 points. Mercer Island finished the first half 36-21 with Lake Washington still in the lead.During halftime, senior players were honored for hard work and leadership on the Mercer Island Girls Basketball Team.
SENIORS
| Anna SwansonAngelina BarokasRio BeutelspacherSarah Gest Emma Pfeiffer |
Mercer Island and Lake Washington battled hard in the third quarter, Mercer Island scoring 15 and Lake Washington scoring 17, ending the quarter 53-36. Mercer Island faltered in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 64-43 defeat to Lake Washington.“It was a rough loss, but overall I think we had a lot of energy,” captain Angelina Barokas said. “The only thing we talked about is that we struggled with getting back on defense, but other than we had a close game.”Despite the tough season, Barokas thinks that the team was able to connect with each other as the season progressed.“I think we’ve really come together as a family, we’ve begun to click more and more It sucks that it’s so late in the season, but overall we’ve really developed a bond,” Barokas said.
