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By Ray Hamill — The race for this year’s Big 5 girls JV championship in basketball went right down to the wire.

The Eureka girls traveled to Arcata and came away with a championship-clinching win to cap a very impressive season for the team on the final night of action.

And they achieved it with a team-first mentality more than anything.

“We had a really good group of girls and all of them just wanted to learn, which was great,” head coach Mickie Tuaila said. “But they also believed in the concept of the team-first mindset. They were always looking for the extra pass and not forcing anything.

“We talked a lot about lifting each other up.”

They also won league without one of their top players down the stretch after freshman standout Peyton Graney was called up to varsity late in the campaign.

And, according to Tuaila, playing without her in the last two games was “definitely noticeable.”

But Graney’s teammates stepped up in her absence and rose to the challenge against a very strong Arcata team.

“It was great that this group won league but it was a battle for sure,” the coach said. “It was a battle with Arcata both times and Del Norte’s always a tough team. I think all the teams are tough to play in our division.”

The Loggers finished 7-1 in the Big 5 and 20-1 overall,

Claire Gast and Braelyn Frank each also played key roles on the path to success.

Gast was the team’s emotional leader, while Frank, one of just two freshmen on the roster of 10, brought a keen knowledge of the game to the team.

“I would say our emotional leader, the leader that tried to keep the girls together, was Claire Gast,” Tuaila said. “Braelyn is super smart for her age, so she helped keep them under composure, but also was able to direct and make sure everybody was in the right position.”

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Savanhie Phanhsavang also had a big impact on the team’s success, and after missing last season through injury the sophomore standout returned with a bang this winter.

Phanhsavang hit two late free throws in the conference-clinching win at Arcata and played the last few minutes with a sprained thumb, but refused to come out of the game at a time when her teammates needed her.

She also took a different role after Graney was called up to the varsity, epitomizing the young Loggers’ team-first approach to the game.

“She was happy to play any position to help our team win,” the coach said.

The roster also included Guiliana Burger, Bella Gast, Kosinobi Saulque, Makenzie Wolff, Violla Kingsang and KaliKay Nunes, all of whom made some key contributions.

“We talked a lot about effort and defense, but mainly team,” Tuaila said. “We had a great group of girls that most people would love, and that was the one thing about them, they came in every day working hard. They had a great attitude.”

And the coach believes that attitude will pay dividends for these players as they make the jump to varsity.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next year,” the coach said. “We have a lot of girls invested in our program.”