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

Tatum Fisher had a huge night in a tough road game for the McKinleyville Panthers, who took a big step toward securing a place in this year’s Dick Niclai tournament with a 46-31 victory at Del Norte in Big 5 girls basketball on Friday night.

Also in the Big 5, the Arcata girls kept the pressure on conference leaders Eureka with a comfortable 67-42 win over Fortuna at Arcata High.

Fisher scored a game-high 20 points, including 15 in the first half, as the Mack girls ended a two-game conference losing streak.

The impressive junior capped an excellent week with the performance, which followed a 15-point outing against Eureka on Wednesday.

And she showed her intent early, scoring 11 points in the opening quarter to set the tone.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 3-2 in the Big 5 and 12-7 overall and all but guaranteed themselves a top-three finish in league, which would secure a place in next month’s Dick Niclai tournament.

The win was the team’s second over Del Norte in conference play.

The Warriors, who remain fourth in the B5 standings, dropped to 1-4 and 14-7.

Bella Turner also impressed for McKinleyville and finished with 11 points, while teammate Neyr-res Bartoo chipped in five points.

The Warriors, who were playing without three key players for various reasons, were led by Khloe Smith, who scored a team-high seven points.

Breann Winingham added six points and Anyessa Bettega finished with five points.

The loss was the second in three days in the Big 5 for the Warriors, both at home.

“There were moments we competed well, but we did not put together a full game,” Del Norte head coach Dylan Nelson said. “We have to re-find our identity. It was an emotional week that didn’t go as we would have hoped.

Nelson also praised the play of Fisher. 

“Fisher came out early and had 15 points in the first half and we couldn’t claw back,” he said.

At Arcata, meanwhile, the Tigers improved to 4-1 in conference play and closed to within half a game of Big 5 leading Eureka which had a conference bye on Friday and is 4-0.

The Tigers broke out of a shooting slump with a big performance and were led by senior standout Nora Talty, who scored a game-high 15 points and also had six rebounds.

Sophomore twin sisters Tae and Mae Wolford both also continued to impress.

Mae had a double-double and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Tae added 14 points.

“I’m really proud how the team came to play,” Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza said. “We played together and we balanced the floor well.

“We’ve emphasized playing controlled but fast, and I saw a lot of that today.”

Emmerson Brownfield also had a good game in the win and finished with six blocks.

“We’ve been in a shooting slump for the last couple games, but today I think we shook off the rust,” the coach added.

Mia Cueto also had nine points for the Tigers, who improved to 14-4 overall, while JV players Zalaysia Velasquez and Izzy Allen were brought up to the varsity roster for the game and both impressed their coach.

“They got in and showed they are capable of playing at that pace,” Espinoza said. “I’m excited to see them blossom on the court.”

Allie Cox and Kalie Chittenden each scored a team-best eight points for the Huskies, who dropped to 0-5 in conference play and 13-10 overall.

Next up, on Tuesday, Arcata plays a non-conference game against Little 4 leaders St. Bernard’s, while the Fortuna girls will try to bounce back when they host McKinleyville.

Also on Tuesday Del Norte hosts Eureka.

The Fortuna Huskies fared better in the JV game and beat Arcata to move one step closer to a conference title, while the Arcata girls won an exciting freshman game in double overtime.