The Mount Si High School girls basketball team has learned some big lessons in key games over the last few weeks.

Those tough lessons proved their value as the Wildcats stayed focused and used solid free-throw shooting to score a big Kingco home win that greatly improved their playoff chances.

Mount Si was 10-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and they needed every last one of those baskets to hold off the Bellevue Wolverines, 57-54, last Tuesday, Feb. 9. A balanced scoring effort was led by the 14 of Hailey Eddings, with Traci Nelson adding a strong 13-point effort to pace the Wildcats.

“We did an impeccable job,” said Mount Si coach Megan Botulinski. “That entire game was for our seniors.”

“The first thing I wrote up on the board tonight (was) that we had to play with heart all four quarters, and that was for those four girls,” the coach added. “It was just amazing.”

Bellevue broke out to an early 6-0 lead to open the game behind two Catelyn Webber three-pointers. Then the Wildcats, behind Nelson, rallied to tighten things at the end of the first quarter. A basket by Karly Thompson midway through the second tied the game at 17-17. A few minutes after the Thompson bucket, Jori Braun hit a shot of her own to put Mount Si in front for the first time. The Wildcats went into the locker room up 21-18.

Mount Si extended their lead in the third quarter to as many as 11 points at the end of the frame, 39-28. But Webber, who had been dormant since the first quarter, woke up in a big way in the fourth to help the Wolverines rally. The Bellevue scored 15 of her game-high 23 in the final frame, and the Wolverines got to within two points of tying the game in the final minute of regulation. Free throws down the stretch, though, saved the day for the Wildcats, as Eddings, Sarah McDonald, Nelson and Braun all hit key shots from the free throw line in the final seconds. McDonald scored 11 to help Mount Si.

Prior to the game, the Wildcats honored the contributions of seniors Nelson, Karly Thompson, Emily Ferree and Allysa McLauchlin. Botulinski had kind words to say about the class of 2010.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better four girls to lead this team and to start my coaching career with,” she said.

Thompson reminisced about her four very successful years in the program.

“It’s been absolutely great. Tonight just makes it even better because you only get one Senior Night, and it feels great to come back and beat Bellevue,” she said.

“My advice to the future seniors is who you are as a person is far greater than who you are as a basketball player,” Feree said. “I think tonight it showed.”

“Just definitely take advantage of all the opportunities you have in this program,” Thompson added.

Playing last Thursday, Feb. 11, Mount Si was unable to follow up on their strong performance against Bellevue, as they could not recover from a slow start and fell to the Mercer Island Islanders, 53-37.

The Wildcats’ postseason future is to be determined; they had to win a game earlier this week after press time against Liberty in order to play tomorrow and Friday.