Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Isis Poteet in action for the Eureka Loggers on Tuesday night.
By Ray Hamill — The Eureka Loggers are champions of the Big 5 in girls basketball for the third straight year after a a 61-48 win over Arcata at Eureka on Tuesday night.
The only question now is whether they can complete a perfect run through conference play with a win in their final regular season game against McKinleyville on Thursday, something they were denied in each of the past two seasons.
Also in action on Tuesday night, the Del Norte Warriors celebrated senior night with a 45-32 win over Fortuna in Crescent City.
The victory for Eureka also secured the conference’s top seed for next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.
The Arcata girls, to their credit, made a game of it for much of the night, but a big third quarter saw the champions pull away and they were able to hold on down the stretch.
Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon described it as “a great team win.”
In a back-and-forth first half, Arcata senior Nora Talty gave her team a one-point lead late in the second quarter on a steal and basket, but a Samara Gaither buzzer-beater left the Loggers leading 29-28 at the interval.
The momentum firmly swung the home team’s way after the break as the Eureka girls outscored the Tigers 22-5 in the third quarter.
Standout senior Isis Poteet sat out much of the second quarter after getting in foul trouble and without her on the court the Tigers began to take control on the boards.
Poteet’s return in the third was a difference maker.
“At the time it seemed as if we were getting out-rebounded,” Napoleon said. “Then the girls turned it on in the third quarter … and the difference was Isis cleaning the glass and KK (Kaitlin Giacone) knocking down some big shots.”
Giacone, who is the reigning Big 5 MVP and is enjoying an outstanding senior season, scored a team-high 15 points, including eight in the final 2:12 of the third quarter.
With just over a minute remaining in the period, Giacone hit a 3-pointer to give her team a 13-point lead.
Poteet added 13 points in the win, while Samara Gaither finished with 12 points and Tiara Maualuga chipped in nine points.
The Loggers, who are 7-0 in the Big 5 and 19-4 overall, also got big contributions off the bench from Maia Hales and Mallorie Beauchamp, who “came in and gave some quality minutes throughout the game,” according to their coach.
The win leaves the Loggers two wins ahead of the chasing pack with just one game remaining.
“Congratulations to league champs Eureka,” Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza said. “Big shout out to their seniors, who lead the way and helped raise the bar for Humboldt County basketball.”
The Tigers dropped to 5-2 in conference, with both of their conference losses coming against Eureka.
The Arcata girls remain second in the Big 5 standings, one win ahead of McKinleyville (4-3) with one game each remaining.
A win against Del Norte on Thursday would secure second spot and the No. 2 seed for next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.
No final stats from Tuesday’s game were immediately available for Arcata, which is now 15-6 overall.
Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, the Del Norte Warriors honored their five seniors — Breann Winingham, Kimora McCovey, Anyessa Bettega, Koy-Pah McQuillen and Jacalyn Gorbet — before tip off.
And some of them had a big say in the win.
Bettega scored a team-high 12 points, while Gorbet added eight points and McQuillen chipped in five points.
Lauren Stutes also had eight points for the home team.
The game was tied 18-18 at halftime, but Bettega hit a big 3-pointer at the start of the third quarter and it immediately gave the home team some much-needed momentum.
“It was a nice win on senior night,” Del Norte head coach Dylan Nelson said.
The first-year coach also praised the contribution of his seniors.
“Jacalyn had a good night doing the winning things that don’t show up in the book,” he said, before adding that “Koy-Pah was excellent in the second half.”
The Del Norte coach also gave credit to the Huskies.
“Fortuna fought until the final buzzer and we wish them well in the playoffs,” he said.
Del Norte improved to 2-5 in the Big 5 and 15-8 overall, while Fortuna dropped to 0-8 and 13-13.
