The Wildcat girls basketball team continues to fight through what is increasingly becoming a very difficult season, as they fell in two more games last week.

Mount Si ran into a barrage of three-pointers last Wednesday, Jan. 21, as Mercer Island sank 11 from beyond the arch to send the Wildcats home with a 70-60 loss on the island.The Islanders had two players score 20 points or more in the same game for the first time in over a decade.

Mercer Island head coach Jamie Prescott and assistant coach Beth Richards watched their younger sister, Mount Si senior Caitie Richards, get hot from three point range. Hitting two threes during the first five minutes of the game, Richards helped the ‘Cats to a 10-3 advantage. But the tandem of Hailey Gullstad and Jae Shin brought Mercer Island back, tying the game at 13-13.

The Wildcats briefly regained control at 24-17 before Shin took over. Her 12 second-quarter points, seven in a row, gave Mercer Island new life and left the game tied 31-31 at the half. The fourth quarter was the beginning of the end for Mount Si as Gullstad and Shin combined for 15 points, six steals and five rebounds, despite the team starting the quarter over the foul limit.

Shin finished with 26 and Gullstad added 23 with seven assists to lead the Islanders.

As for Caitie Richards, she finished with 13 to lead Mount Si, while Traci Nelson added a dozen to pace the Wildcats. Once again, the team struggled to hit shots, as they hit just 27 percent from the floor. This was the sixth time this season Mount Si hit below 30 percent as a team from the floor; all of these games have been losses.

Mount Si traveled to Liberty last Friday, Jan. 23, to face the Patriots, looking for a little revenge. Liberty beat the Wildcats earlier this season at Mount Si, and that loss for Mount Si had been on their minds all season.

Once again, though, the Patriots showed why they have been the league’s surprise story of this season, as they overcame their own struggles, and outlasted the Wildcats in a very hard-fought contest, 44-39. Corinna VanHurston scored 12 to lead Liberty, while Halie Ericksen scored 11 to pace the victors. Caitie Richards scored a game-high 15 to lead Mount Si in defeat.

The continued struggles are a frustration to Wildcat coach Dirk Hansen.

“It’s been a rough season,” Hansen said. “It’s hard when you’re working hard every day and you don’t see the benefit of your hard work.”

Junior Karly Thompson said her team did their best.

“As a team, we improved our defense, but if we hit a couple more free throws, that would have helped us a lot,” Thompson said.

It appeared initially that the Patriots were going to run Mount Si off the floor, as Liberty opened proceedings on a 10-0 run, using baskets from VanHurston, Katie Growden and Danni Sjolander to break out to that big lead. The Wildcats finally got on the board with 2:15 left in the first, with a Sarah McDonald bucket, and started their slow climb back into the contest.

A couple of Nelson baskets and a key three from Hailey Eddings — her only points of the game — helped the Wildcats continue that climb in the second quarter, but an Ericksen basket with seconds left in the frame gave Liberty an 18-15 advantage at halftime.

Mount Si opened the second half on a 9-0 run, using buckets from Richards and Aubrey Larion, to take the lead 24-18. Liberty then went on a 14-0 run to retake the lead, and free throws down the stretch in the fourth sealed it up for the Patriots.

Larion and Nelson both finished with six points apiece to pace Mount Si, who plays Juanita at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.

Larion summed up the season thus far in a nutshell.

“This is a rebuilding year for us and we just need to get better,” she said.

• Mercer Island Reporter sports writer Matt Phelps contributed to this story.