Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Juniors Harmony Nelson (3) and Ivy Lamebear are both back for the Hoopa Warriors this season.

By Ray Hamill — The Hoopa Warriors will test themselves against some Big 5 teams this week as they get set to compete at the Arcata girls basketball tournament, which tips off on Thursday.

A small Hoopa roster that features just seven players will match up against McKinleyville in their tournament opener at 6 p.m., and will also play Arcata on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Willits on Saturday afternoon at 1.

But despite the low numbers this year, head coach Floyd “Cowboy” Billings has plenty of experience available at key positions and some young talent on the bench that will be expected to have an immediate impact at the varsity level.

And that, Billings believes, will set them up nicely to challenge for a conference title this winter.

“I think we’ll be okay in our league,” he said. “I do believe deep down it’ll be us and St. Bernard’s. The girls are in shape and capable of playing a full game.”

Billings will look to three players in particular to lead the challenge for a league pennant, and all three have plenty of varsity experience. 

Senior center Tashee Tracy is a four-year starter in the paint, while junior guards Ivy Lamebear and Harmony Nelson are in their third year as varsity starters.

All three plays got the new season off to an impressive start with some strong performances against Eureka and Del Norte last week.

The Hoopa girls lost both games, but matched up well against the bigger schools, including barely losing 55-53 to Del Norte.

Tracy led the offense in both games, scoring 10 points against Eureka and 14 against Del Norte, while Ivy Lamebear finished with 20 points and five 3-pointers over the two games and Nelson had eight points against Del Norte and five against Eureka.

Senior forwards Talena Downs-Miguelena and Tahlia Booth round out the starting lineup and both will also be looked to for some key leadership and to play substantial minutes.

So too will freshmen Maggie Morris and Wau-Kel Blake, who appear ready to have an immediate impact at the varsity level.

“They remind me of Ivy and Harmony when they were freshmen,” Billings said of the freshmen. “They’re not JV level players, they’re capable of playing varsity basketball, varsity tempo.”

Blake also gives the coaches some versatility off the bench and can play guard or forward.

Billings said he may call up some JV players by the time league play rolls around to add some depth to the varsity squad.

For now, however, he believes in the players he has available.

“I’ve got seven ballers on my team and they’re all capable,” Billings said. “I don’t see any weaknesses.”