File photo

It’s been a good few days in tournament play for both McKihnleyville High basketball teams, each of which will play for a tournament championship on Saturday.

The Mack boys won their semifinal at the Mt. Shasta tournament on Friday night, beating the host school 65-61, while the McKinleyville girls won for the second straight night at the Redwood Empire Invitational in Healdsburg, following a 45-26 win over Tamalpais on Thursday with a 38-28 win over Healdsburg in their semifinal on Friday.

The Mack girls will play a good Justin-Siena team in their championship game at 6:30 p.m., while the boys will face off against H-DNL rival St. Bernard’s in their tournament final in the afternoon.

“Big game against St. Bernard’s in the championship,” Panthers head coach Chris Davis said. “Our guys have played a lot against each other over the summer, so there’s some extra positive energy going into (the championship game). Should be fun.”

Neil Moon scored a team-high 17 points in Friday’s win, while Henry Turner added 12  points.

Davis described Mt. Shasta as “young and tough mentally and physically.”

“We were able to get a jump early on in the game, but I felt like we eased up a bit when we did instead of keeping the same pressure applied,” Davis said. “This, along with great offensive rebounds, allowed them to reset a bit and claw back in by halftime.”

The Panthers, however, closed out the stronger of the two teams.

A key offensive board and a nice put back by Ray Turner put the visitors up by three late in the game, and they sealed the victory with some clutch free throws by Moon and Henry Turner down the stretch.

Ray Turner finished the game with nine points, while Jermiah Smith chipped in eight points.

“Jeremiah and Neil had some key moments as well getting to the hoop and nailing some clutch shots,” Davis added.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 7-1.

The McKinleyville girls, meanwhile, have reached the decider in Healdsburg and will play for the tournament championship on Saturday night against a Justin-Siena team that beat Fortuna in its semifinal.

Cabella Carper and Olivia Murphy each scored a team-high 12 points in Thursday’s tournament opener against Tamalpais, while Murphy also had seven rebounds and two steals and Carper added four boards, three steals and three assists.

The team defense played a key role in the win.

“I thought we played a fast-pace game but needed to slow down when we got into our offensive sets,” McKinleyville head coach Alisha Hunter said. “Overall, our defense set the pace with five blocks, 14 steals and 42 rebounds.”

Lily Battilocchi led the team in rebounds with 12 and also had six points.

The team defense continued to play a big role in Friday’s win.

“It was once again a team game where everyone who stepped on the floor had the pace and played our game,” Hunter said. 

Battilocchi was once again a force in the paint and finished with 10 rebounds and four blocks, while Liana Stumpf had a good all-around game, finishing with six points, five rebounds and three steals.

Ahty Allen also impressed and added five boards, four assists, two steals and a block.

It was an impressive team win.

“Honestly this game was a defensive game that wasn’t dominated by one player,” Hunter said. “They shared the ball and got the job done.”

With the win, which was their fourth straight, the Panthers improved to 6-2.