Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Arcata Tigers had reason to smile on Thursday night as they improved to 3-0 in the Big 5 with a victory over McKinleyville.

By Ray Hamill — The Eureka and Arcata girls both won their Big 5 games on Thursday night to set up a huge showdown next Wednesday night.

The Tigers traveled to play neighbor and rival McKinleyville and won the game 54-35, while the Loggers won at Fortuna 37-24.

The victories lift both schools to 3-0 in the Big 5 as they get set to play each other in Eureka next week with the conference lead on the line.

“We are growing so much,” said Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza, whose team was fired up for the game against their rivals and played some tenacious defense all night. “We executed our defensive game plan very well.

“We have so much respect for (McKinleyville’s) Tatum (Fisher) and we know what she’s capable of, so we wanted to put them in situations that caused them to get out of their comfort zone.”

The Tigers outscored the home team in all four quarters, gradually pulling away.

They led 16-8 after the first quarter and stretched the advantage to 12 at halftime, while holding the home team to just four points for the second quarter.

“Everyone contributed to this win and we were having fun,” Espinoza added.

No scoring stats were immediately available for the Arcata girls, who improved to 12-6 overall.

Gabby Watson scored a team-high nine points for the Panthers, who to their credit continued to battle throughout and never backed down in what was a high-intensity game.

“Every time we made a run to close the gap, they hit a big shot to take our momentum away,” McKinleyville head coach Jacob Cheek said. 

MaryAnn Som added seven points for McKinleyville, which is now 2-2 in the Big 5 and 15-6 overall, while Bailee Box and Fisher each chipped in five points.

The Arcata players certainly appeared to be having fun with big performances from several players, as they improved to 12-6 on the season.

“I love seeing my kids smile on the court and really finding the groove,” Espinoza said. “We still have a lot to prove and our vision is shifted to Eureka now.”

Cheek also praised Arcata’s team performance.

“Hats off to Arcata,” he said. “They’re a solid team that plays with each other year round. I thought they were the more physical tonight.”

Cheek was also happy with his players’ effort.

“I’m happy with the way my team fought,” he added. “We just gotta clean up our turnovers.”

At Fortuna, meanwhile, the defending conference champion Loggers kept pace with their biggest challengers.

The game was tied 8-8 after the opening quarter but the visitors began to take control and outscored the host Huskies 20-4 over the second and third quarters.

Junior Nashaya Williams had a big night for Eureka and continued her recent good form, scoring a team-high 11 points, while teammate Madelyn Fazio continued her impressive week and scored 10 points.

Olivianna Millender added nine points for a Loggers team that was missing key senior Samara Gaither.

“It was next man up mentality,” said Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon, whose team improved to 13-2 on the season. “A couple girls got some extended play tonight due to us being a little short-handed in areas, so that was good to see.”

Mariah Bravo scored a team-high 11 points and had a good all-around game for the Huskies, who dropped to 0-3 in the Big 5 and are now 12-8 overall.

Bravo also had six rebounds and five steals.

Teammate Evalynn Little added four points and five rebounds.

“Really happy with how the team competed against Eureka,” Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman said. “We had some good shots tonight, but it seemed like nothing would go in for us.”

The Fortuna defense held the Loggers to their lowest points total since an early-season loss to San Marin in late November.

“Defensively, the girls did a great job,” Chapman added. “Eureka is tough to match up with, but everyone did their part.”

Next up, the Loggers will travel to play University Prep on Saturday, before hosting Arcata in the big showdown next Tuesday.

Fortuna plays at Del Norte on Tuesday.