Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Tatum Fisher in action for the Panthers at St. Bernard’s on Saturday.

By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville Panthers showed why they could be a force in the upcoming Dick Niclai girls basketball tournament after handing the Crusaders their first loss of 2024 at St. Bernard’s on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors won the non-league game 52-50, beating a St. Bernard’s team that had knocked off Big 5 frontrunners Eureka and Arcata over the past seven days and were the No. 1 team in this week’s Humboldt Sports Power Rankings.

The win also avenged an earlier defeat to the Crusaders last month.

And the difference this time around was the player’ execution, according to Mack head coach Jacob Cheek, especially in their approach to containing SB’s dynamic duo of Laila Florvilus and Madelyn Shanahan, who were each coming of big games against Eureka and Arcata.

“Just our execution, offensively and defensively,” he said. “We really honed in on making sure Laila was contained, and Madelyn Shanahan. They still got theirs, but we were able to contain them.

“It was just a complete team effort, with the girls buying into the game plan.”

The Panthers were fired up for the occasion and got off to a fast start, opening up an 18-8 lead after the opening quarter.,

The Crusaders began to settle into the game in the second quarter but still trailed by seven at the interval.

The home team would make a run in the second half, which saw the ever-dangerous Florvilus reach the 1,000 career-point milestone.

After seeing the deficit reach 12 points at one stage, the Crusaders made their move and would pull within three with three-and-a-half minutes remaining.

The gap was still just three points going into the final minute, making for an exciting finish, but the Panthers would seal the deal thanks to some clutch late free throws by Gabby Watson and Bella Turner.

A last second 3-pointer by Florvilus cut the deficit to two, but the home team ran out of time.

Check out the final seconds of an exciting finish below …

“I want to congratulate coach Cheek and his players on a. Wonderful game,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “They played excellent basketball and earned that victory.”

Florvilus scored a game-high 22 points, while Tatum Fisher scored a team-high 21 points for the visitors, including 15 in the first half to help set the early tone, and she also had six rebounds.

Watson added 13 points, including six in the fourth quarter when she was 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

Watson also had team-highs with seven rebounds and six assists.

Syriah George gave the Panthers a spark off the bench and added six points, while Turner finished with five points, all of them in the fourth quarter.

“We really answered the call,” Cheek said. “I think if we can play like this, we can play with anyone in the H-DNL.”

With the win, the McKinleyville girls improved to 14-8.

The loss was just the third of the season for the Crusaders, who saw a 10-game winning streak end and dropped to 19-3.

“I’m super proud of my players,” Tomlin said. “Today was not our day but we never quit and fought to the final horn.”

Freshman Samantha Sundberg continued to impress for the home team and finished with 13 points, including three crucial 3-pointers in the third quarter to help key the second-half rally.

Shanahan added nine points.

If there is such a thing, the loss could be a good one for the SB girls and it will keep them from growing complacent as they get set for the playoffs.

“This was a remarkable winning streak we had and it had to eventually come to an end,” Tomlin said, “We will get back to work on Monday and prepare for two big league games this week.”

Next up, the Panthers will play at Hoopa in a non-league game on Monday, while the Crusaders will host Hoopa in the Little 4 on Tuesday.