The bench players helped the Eureka girls overcome a slow start on Friday night, as the Loggers won on the road at Vallejo 58-33.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 2-0.

The McKinleyville boys also won on the road on Friday, tipping off their season with a 76-48 victory at Clear Lake.

The Hoopa and Del Norte boys and girls also faced off at Hoopa, with the visitors taking the girls game on a late basket, 38-36, and the hosts taking the boys game 69-62.

Madelyn Fazio and Nashya Williams led the Loggers offense with a team-high 14 points each, while teammate Savahnie Phanhsavang added 11 points.

According to Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon, the Loggers “started sloppy with no fire,” but the bench players came in and gave the team a much-needed lift.

Bella Hunt also finished in double digits in scoring and chipped in 10 points, as the Loggers took control of the game late in the first half and led 34-15 at the break.

The team played better as a whole in the second half.

The McKinleyville boys, meanwhile, opened their season at Clear Lake.

Henry Turner scored a team-high 20 points in the win, while teammates Ray Turner and Thomas Brown each scored 10 points.

“We did a good job tonight dictating the pace of the game to our style,” McKinleyville head coach Chris Davis said. “With a short bench, we were able to get contributions from every single player tonight throughout the game.

“Just overall, I was really pleased with our defensive awareness and overall effort.”

Jeremiah Smith added eight points for the Panthers.

In addition to their scoring, Ray and Henry Turner also had a big impact at the other end of the floor and “were especially active on defense, getting in the passing lanes at the right time,” according to the coach.

“We turned the ball over far too much, but I feel like they were mistakes that had the best intentions that we can clean up,” Davis added.

Lucas Jones also impressed for the visitors and made “great cuts to the hoop all night” and found open space, according to the coach, while Miles Day “also had some good decision making when he got in the paint, finishing around the rim and hitting open shooters.”