A dominating performance was unveiled by the Issaquah Eagles girls basketball team against the Mercer Island Islanders.
Issaquah registered a convincing 69-20 victory against Mercer Island on the road on Nov. 30 at Mercer Island High School. The Eagles, who improved their overall record to 2-0 with the win, built a commanding 42-9 lead at halftime. With 5:35 left in the third quarter, they expanded their lead to 40 points, which resulted in a running clock for the duration of the non-league matchup.
Issaquah senior sharpshooter Lucy Stewart, who has been a member of the varsity team since her freshman year, is thrilled with her team’s 2-0 start to the 2018-19 season.
“It is always good to start off the season really well and get that confidence up early,” Stewart said.
Stewart is the only senior on the Eagles roster.
“We have a very young team but we just have girls that have a pretty high basketball IQ. We are holding ourselves to a pretty high standards this year. Obviously we have some pretty tough games coming up. That is going to show where we are at when we play those teams,” Eagles head coach Jackie Bykonen said.
Stewart is determined to lead her team to the KingCo 4A title. This is her fourth and final chance to attain that elusive goal for not only herself, but for the entire Eagles girls basketball program.
“Our goal is to win KingCo and that’s been the goal since freshman year. We have a good squad and I hope we can get that done,” Stewart said.
Bykonen is a huge fan of Stewart’s 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time mentality on the hardwood.
“Lucy is the hardest working athlete I have ever coached. That is the bottom line,” Bykonen said. “She brings a lot of energy and she always goes hard. There is no medium for her and there is no slow speed. I want this to be a great year for her and I think it will be. She has got a great team around her.”
Issaquah Eagles freshman Mercedes Tinder (pictured) battles in the paint for a loose ball against Mercer Island junior Grace Shaddle in a non-league contest on Nov. 30. Issaquah defeated Mercer Island 69-20. Photo courtesy of Don Borin/Stop Action Photography
