Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Friday’s game at Eureka High.

By Ray Hamill — Through their opening two league games, the Eureka Loggers are living up to the billing as Big 5 favorites.

On Friday night at Eureka High, the Loggers pulled away from Fortuna in the second half and held on for a 37-29 win in a defensive affair, their second victory in two league games.

“I thought we played a good game,” Eureka head coach Mike Harvey said. “I don’t think the shots fell, but I thought our defense was quite good.

“Some times the shots fall and sometimes they don’t.”

The Loggers had just six players suit up for the second straight game because of COVID protocols and they had to stay out of foul trouble, although the Fortuna girls were also shorthanded and missing a couple of key starters for the second straight game.

The Huskies got the better of exchanges in a low-scoring first quarter and led 8-4, but the Loggers battled back to take a slender 13-11 lead into halftime.

The third quarter, however, belonged to the home team, which stretched the advantage to 14 and then held on down the stretch.

McKenna Beach was once again instrumental in the win and finished with a game-high 17 points.

“I thought McKenna Beach had a good game,” Harvey said. “She made some timely shots. But I thought they all did good, especially on defense.”

Fortuna’s Eunice Casas

Eureka’s McKenna Beach

Kira Morris added seven points in the win, while Mariah Napoleon continued to have an impact at both ends of the court and finished with six points.

Amaya Gee also continues to play well at guard and chipped in five points for the Loggers, who improved to 2-0 in the Big 5 and 12-6 overall.

Teal Mostovoy paced the Huskies with 10 points, while teammate Ronnee Norwood added nine points.

“We played hard and did a nice job defensively,” Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman said. “We rebounded better tonight than our last couple of games. Unfortunately we struggled to score.

“Credit to Eureka’s defense. They did a good job pressuring the ball and making it difficult for us to get open shifts.”

The loss was the second straight to open league play for the Huskies, who dropped to 8-10 overall.

Both teams are hoping to have some or all of the missing players back next week.