Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Nora Talty in action for the Arcata girls on Tuesday night.

By Ray Hamill — The Arcata Tigers appeared to be cruising to a comfortable win in their state playoff opener in girls basketball on Tuesday night, but their opponents had other ideas.

Playing Bear River out of Grass Valley at Arcata High, the Tigers led by nine at halftime (32-23) and would stretch their advantage to as many as 16 in the final minute of the third quarter.

That’s when things got interesting.

Thanks to some pinpoint 3-point shooting, the Bruins battled their way back to tie the game in the final minute of the fourth quarter and make for a nervy finish for the home team.

But with Addison Wingate stepping up late, the Tigers scored the final three points of the game and won 51-48.

“Survive and advance,” is how Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza described it. 

The win sets up a NorCal quarterfinal showdown for the No. 2 seeds in the bracket at Arcata on Thursday night against No. 7 Mt. Diablo.

And it keeps alive the hopes of an all-local NorCal championship game against No. 1 seed St. Bernard’s, which defeated West Campus 55-39 on Tuesday.

Tae Wolford led the Arcata girls with 16 points, while Wingate was “huge down the stretch,” according to her coach.

With the Tigers struggling to make a shot in the fourth quarter, the junior guard hit a couple of clutch free throws and scored what would be the wining basket with 27 seconds remaining, just her team’s second basket of the period.

“Man, we gutted that one out,” said Espinoza, who was playing his alma mater. “I’m super proud of the ladies for gutting that one out.”

With the win, the Tigers improved to 20-8.

Thursday’s quarterfinal is set for 7 p.m.