With their Big 5 opener now less than a week away, the Del Norte girls are poised for a competitive campaign on the basketball court.

On Tuesday night, the Warriors won for the seventh time in eight games, traveling to Brookings-Harbor and defeating the Bruins 53-48.

It was the Warriors’ second win over Brookings this season as they improved to 10-4.

The Del Norte girls will play at the West Valley tournament this weekend before opening conference play at home against Arcata on Tuesday night.

And the Warriors appear well positioned to challenge for the conference in what should be a very competitive Big 5.

“The goal of these next few games is to continue to improve,” Del Norte head coach Dylan Nelson said. “Getting a little better every day goes a long way over the course of the season.

“We need to continue to buy in, believe in ourselves and play for each other.”

Senior Tsinte Steinruck has been a consistent bright spot for the Warriors throughout December and she helped set the tone once again against the Bruins with a big contribution at both ends of the floor.

According to Nelson, the senior team leader “had another really solid all-around game,” on her way to scoring 14 points.

Brooklyn Carter added a team-high 16 points, while Bliss Blackburn chipped in eight points.

Carter had an off night shooting from the perimeter but made up for it by attacking the basket well and finding other ways to contribute.

Blackburn also impressed her coach.

“Bliss shot the ball confidently and worked hard on both ends,” Nelson said.

The Del Norte guards helped pave the way to the victory as the Warriors bounced back from a weekend loss to University Prep.

“We passed the ball much better and got easy baskets against the press,” Nelson said. “Our guards did a better job of not over-dribbling and passing ahead.”

The Brookings-Harbor girls dropped to 4-5.

The Warriors open the West Valley tournament against Lassen on Friday afternoon at 4:30.

Lassen is 4-6.