Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The McKinleyville players react before their playoff opener against Middletown.

By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville Panthers are looking forward to next week’s state playoffs in girls basketball and they appear determined to enjoy every moment as long as they’re still competing.

Despite falling to a very talented Piedmont team in the North Coast Section Division-4 semifinals on Wednesday, the Panthers will advance to the NorCal tournament after an impressive playoff run that saw them win back-to-back games over Middletown and Del Norte.

The victory over the Warriors in Crescent City secured a place in the upcoming NorCal tournament, and, according to head coach Jacob Cheek, the players are relishing the moment.

“We’re just appreciating the opportunity,” he said. “The recent history of McKinleyville girls basketball, we haven’t made it this far, so (our hope) is just to appreciate the moment.

“They’re excited and they’re pumped for next week.”

The Panthers are 17-10, but struggled a little down the stretch of the regular season and lost five of their last seven H-DN games, including a four-point loss at Del Norte in the opening round of the Dick Niclai Tournament.

That defeat, however, sparked a memorable NCS playoff run, which included an impressive 39-38 win over the same team in the NCS quarterfinals.

“I think ever since we lost in the first round of the Niclai, the mood has changed,” Cheek said. “And it’s come from the team. They’re practicing more physical and there’s a ‘refuse to lose’ attitude.”

Much of that has come from a deep senior class that includes Kim Lewis, Trinity Preston, Morgan Stubbs, Camryn Pinard, Taya Gomes and Kalyssa Claros, and a group that is eager to keep playing together as long as possible.

“The senior leadership (has impressed),” Cheek said. “They’ve been kind of leading by example. They continue to play with the right attitude and push through adversity, and you can see the entire team kind of following that.”

The NCS semifinal loss to an undefeated Piedmont team (26-0) that is ranked No. 21 in the entire nation was expected, but the Mack girls battled despite falling 67-29.

“Their talent kind of took over,” Cheek said of Piedmont. “But the score doesn’t show how much we fought. We were physical and we stepped up.”

The Panthers will find out their seed and opponent for the NorCal tournament on Sunday and they’re hoping for at least one more home game.

“We want to be competitive and ready to go,” Cheek said. “We talk about the three seasons — the preseason, league and the playoffs — and we’re doing really well in the playoffs right now.”