Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Arcata’s Mayleah Jackson (12) and Mae Wolford celebrate their playoff win on Saturday night.

By Ray Hamill — The Tigers are headed to the state playoffs after a hard-fought victory over their biggest rivals in the North Coast Section basketball quarterfinals at Arcata High on Saturday night.

The Arcata girls won the game 47-39 after pulling away in the third quarter and holding McKinleyville at bay down the stretch.

Remarkably, it was Arcata’s fifth win in five games against the Panthers this season.

But the Tigers attacked the game and it paid off.

“We haven’t played a game in over a week and that’s a barrier in itself,” said Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza, whose team got a forfeit win in the opening round of the NCS playoffs. “Let alone when you’re playing your rival for the fifth time.

“We went in with the mindset we must do the hunting, we can’t be hunted.”

The strategy paid off as the Panthers once again fell short against their neighbors and Big 5 rivals.

The game was dominated by defense early on and Arcata held a slim 8-5 advantage after the opening quarter.

Both teams matched each other stride for stride in the second quarter and the gap remained at three at halftime.

However, the home team began to take control in the third and an 8-0 run capped by an Addison Wingate 3-pointer put the Tigers up by 12 late in the period.

The Panthers, to their credit, never backed down and made their rivals battle all the way to the final buzzer for the victory.

The win sets up an NCS semifinal at No. 1 seed St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Wednesday night and guarantees the Tigers a place in this year’s state playoffs, which get under way later in the month.

“I’m super proud of the team for the effort tonight,” Espinoza said. “We punched our ticket to the state tournament and are very excited about it.

“But we are focused on our game on Wednesday.”

Twin sisters Tae and Mae Wolford were both instrumental in the win in a game that featured way too many fouls.

Tae Wolford scored a team-high 15 points, while Wingate added eight points and both Mae Wolford and Mayleah Jackson each scored seven points.

The Wolford sisters and Wingate each also had a big night on the boards, which played a key role in the victory.

“Those three have the dog mentality and our team feeds off of it,” Espinoza added.

Kyndle Eisner added four points in the win, as the Tigers improved their record to 19-7.

The Panthers, meanwhile, closed out their season 16-11, with almost half of their losses coming against the Tigers, including two in the postseason.

Junior Tatum Fisher capped a very good season with a game-high 19 points as she continually caused the home team’s defense problems.

Gabby Watson also had a big game and added 10 points, while Bella Turner chipped in four points.

However, the Panthers were held to single digits in scoring in two of the four quarters and did not manage a point from play in the third quarter, with all nine of their points in the period coming from the free throw line.

The game was part of a playoff doubleheader with the Arcata and Mack boys teams and was played in front of a packed house and electric atmosphere.

And afterwards, Espinoza praised the support.

“We are so lucky to have so many great people in our corner supporting us on our playoff journey,” he said.