Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Taly Turner in action for the Panthers at McKinleyville on Friday night.

It’s been a good week for McKinleyville Panthers basketball.

On Friday night, the McKinleyville girls continued to roll with a comfortable 53-23 win over Fortuna in the Big 5 at Mack High, as they improved to 2-0 in conference play and took over sole possession of top spot in the standings.

The victory was their sixth straight and eighth in nine games, and it came one day after the McKinleyville boys won at Fortuna to go to 2-0 in the Big 5 and also move into top spot in conference play.

Just like they did against Del Norte on Wednesday, the McKinleyville girls came out ready to play against Fortuna and quickly took control of a game they never looked in danger of losing.

Three Mack players finished in double digits in scoring as the team improved to 11-5 on the season.

Gabby Watson led the offense and scored a game-high 16 points on her way to a double-double.

Watson also had 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals, and made 6 of 7 free throws.

Tatum Fisher also had a big game in the win and finished with 15 points, while Bella Turner added 11 points and three steals.

McKinleyville’s Taly Turner and MaryAnn Som each chipped in five points.

The loss was the second in two conference games for the Huskies, who dropped to 0-2 in the Big 5 and 11-7 overall.

Sophomore Tatiana Olson was one of the few bright spots for the visitors and finished with a team-best eight points.

The loss was the third straight for Fortuna.

Next up, the Panthers will try to keep their winning streak going when they travel to play Arcata in a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday, while the Fortuna girls will try to bounce back when they play at Eureka, also on Wednesday.

The Tigers, who had a bye in conference play on Friday, are 1-0 in the Big 5 and 10-3 overall.

In other Big 5 games on Friday, the Eureka Loggers won their conference opener, beating Del Norte 50-21.