On Thursday, Feb 2, the Girls Varsity Basketball team lost to the Juanita Ravens 62-66 on Senior Night.
Leading by four at halftime wasn’t enough for the team, as the Ravens came back in the fourth quarter. The most notable Mercer Island players included Caitlin Monahan who scored 25 points and Anna Marsh who played as the main guard until leaving the game with a foot injury. The team played strong with many drives to the basket and also hitting outside shots, while also out-rebounding the Juanita team.
On defense, the Islanders let the Ravens get inside the paint many times, yet their offense kept them in the game for the first three quarters. Mercer Island also managed to keep Juanita off the perimeter, and prevented the Ravens from taking open shots.
During the final quarter, the game accelerated, with fast-paced scoring and many transition shots. In the last minutes of the game, the Islanders weren’t able to get inside the key, and were forced to take bad shots. This led to extra Juanita possessions in the most crucial moments of the fourth quarter.
“I really think we should’ve had that,” senior captain Gabby Lumaco said. “We had our moments. We definitely gave our hearts out there.”
The night saw the team say their goodbyes to four graduating seniors. The team’s four seniors include Cassidy Bundy, Kate Nordstrom, Lauren Monahan and Lumaco. “It’s really sad [to be a senior on Senior Night],” Lumaco said.
At fourth place in KingCo, the team hopes to enter the playoffs, and beat Bellevue in a tournament game on Saturday, Feb. 3.
