File photo – The Arcata Tigers improved to 2-0 in the Big 5 with a win over Fortuna on Thursday night.

The Arcata Tigers continued their fast start to conference play with a second win in three days on Thursday night, while the McKinleyville Panthers quickly put their conference-opening loss behind them with a nice bounce-back victory at Del Norte.

Just two days after a 33-point win in Crescent City, the Tigers welcomed the Fortuna Huskies to Arcata High and won 60-33.

With the win, the Arcata girls improved to 2-0 in the Big 5 and 11-6 overall.

And they won with another strong team performance, something the coaches stress.

“We preach family in the locker room, and that’s our biggest asset as a team,” Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza said. “We are committed to one another and I trust everyone involved in this program.”

Tae Wolford continued to play a key leadership role for the Tigers and scored a game-high 14 points, while teammate Addison Wingate added 12 points.

Mayleah Jackson also impressed for the home team and finished with eight points.

Mariah Bravo battled hard for Fortuna and finished with seven points and five rebounds, while teammate Kalie Chittenden also impressed and added seven points and a pair of rebounds.

The Tigers’ defense helped pave the way to victory.

“We struggled against their trapping defense,” said Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman, who added his team had too many turnovers. “We must be stronger with the ball.”

Espinoza was also impressed with his team’s defense, which came away with 24 steals.

“Our defensive presence has been outstanding,” the Arcata coach said.

Mae Wolford had a big say in that storing defense and had a team-high six steals.

The Tigers also had 30 rebounds as a team.

Tatiana Olson added six points and five rebounds for the Huskies.

Despite the loss, Chapman was happy with the way his players kept battling.

“Arcata is a difficult team to match up with,” he said. “The girls never gave up despite getting behind early.”

The game was the first at home for the Tigers this season.

“We are so happy to be back at home and play in front of a home crowd,” the coach added.

The Huskies, who were playing their conference opener, dropped to 0-1 in the Big 5 and 11-6 overall.

Next up, Fortuna has a non-league game at Kelseyville on Saturday before continuing conference action at home against McKinleyville on Tuesday.

Arcata plays a non-league game at Chico on Saturday and will have a bye in conference play next Tuesday.

File photo – The McKinleyville girls won at Del Norte on Thursday night.

Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, the McKinleyville girls responded to a home loss to Eureka on opening night with a comfortable 51-30 victory over Del Norte.

Several players stepped up offensively for the Panthers, including senior team leader Gabby Watson, who finished with 12 points.

With her team needing to prove a point after its disappointing performance against the Loggers, Watson helped set the early tone and scored eight of her points in the opening half.

McKinleyville head coach Jacob Cheek was obviously happy with the win, but also the way his players responded to the adversity this week.

“I thought it was a great mental bounce back today compared to Tuesday,” he said. “We had positive contributions from everyone.”

Senior Sarah McCray also had a big night in the win and finished with 10 points, including three 3-pointers, while teammate Tatum Fisher added eight points.

“It was an overall team win that started on the defensive side with our physicality and communication that led to a strong offensive performance,” Cheek added.

Ahty Allen and Bailee Box each also finished with six points in the win.

Brooklyn Carter led the home team with 10 points, but the Warriors’ overall team shooting continued to be a problem as they lost a third straight game.

“We are in a real shooting slump,” Del Norte head coach Dylan Nelson said. “Missed everything inside and outside.”

Makana Baugh added five points for Del Norte, while Bliss Blackburn continued to battle and “competed hard at the defensive end,” according to her coach.

“Credit to McKinleyville for playing tough defense,” said Nelson, who added. “We have to shoot better. Second-chance points killed us.”

The Panthers are now 1-1 in the Big 5 and 13-5 overall, while Del Norte dropped to 0-2 and 12-7.

Next up, the Panthers will play a non-conference game at Ferndale on Saturday at 2 p.m., while the Warriors will try to get back to winning ways when they play a Big 5 game at Eureka on Tuesday night.