When all was said and done, coach Marc Hillestad’s dream of taking

his Cedarcrest girls’ basketball team into the Kingco playoffs lasted an

extra week. Unfortunately, the Red Wolves were eliminated in the first round

of league tournament action, ending the gutsy team’s dream season.

In Wednesday night’s first-round playoff game at Bellevue

Community College, Mercer Island notched the overtime victory by a score of

37-33. The ladies from Duvall failed to score in the extra period as the Islanders

built an early lead and hung on for the win.

The Wolves jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first period behind

the shooting of junior forward Melanie Klevberg, but the Islanders came

back to knot the halftime score at 15-15. The teams battled back and forth

in the second half and ended regulation tied at 33.

Klevberg finished with 10 points and was the only Red Wolf in

double figures while senior guard Heather Sherfey scored nine points in the

final game of her high school career. Lindsay Peterson, Sarah Gustat and

senior Erin Townsend each contributed four points toward the Cedarcrest cause.

The win boosted Mercer Island’s record to 9-4 in Kingco play and

15-7 overall. The Islanders finished the year in third place in Kingco’s Sky

Division

Cedarcrest ended its 1999-2000 season with a 9-12 overall and

4-9 record in league games, good enough for fourth place in the league’s

Valley Division. The four wins were more than any other Cedarcrest team

had notched since joining Kingco.