Submitted photo – The Fortuna Huskies improved to 8-3 with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday.

The Fortuna girls won the consolation game at the Red Bluff tournament with one of their best performances of the season on Saturday.

The Huskies defeated West Valley 51-29.

Evalynn Little posted a double-double in the win, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

And she got plenty of help from her teammates.

“We played our most complete game of the season,” Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman said. “The team put together four great quarters of basketball against a very good team.”

The team defense impressed the coach, particularly the play of Jaydyn Dalton, Olivia Scilacci, Taylor Heussler and Jamilet Ortega-Miranda, who “smothered West Valley’s guards,” according to Chapman.

The Huskies held West Valley to just one field goal in the first and fourth quarters.

“Their defense set the tone for the entire game,” the coach added.

Kaleya Parkinson added 10 points in the win, while Dalton chipped in seven points.

Heussler was named to the all-tournament team.

Chapman also liked the energy from his bench, particularly that of senior Tatiana Olson, who “kept the team motivated and playing hard.”

Saturday’s win was the second straight for the Huskies, who lost their tournament opener to Enterprise (44-28), before defeating Corning (58-21) on Friday night.

Fortuna is now 8-3.

In other local games on Saturday, the Arcata girls lost 64-53 to the host school at the Justin-Siena tournament, while the St. Bernard’s Crusaders defeated the host school in the championship game at the Kelseyville tournament, winning 67-35, and Ferndale closed out play at the same tournament with a 59-52 win over Middletown.

The McKinleyville girls were also in action at the Kelseyville tournament and won the consolation game against Clear Lake 52-39.

Ferndale 59, Middletown 52

It wasn’t the greatest of weekends for the Ferndale Wildcats in terms of the team performances, but they still came away with a pair of wins at the Kesleyville tournament.

On Saturday, the Cats responded to a Friday-night loss to league rival St. Bernard’s with a seven-point win over the Mustangs.

“We’ll take the win,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said. “It got a little sloppy. We got in a little foul trouble. It was good to have an off tournament and still come in third.”

Seniors Tinnley Pidgeon and Michaela Ellsmore led the Wildcats’ offense in Saturday’s win.

Pidgeon finished with a team-high 20 points, while Ellsmore added 18 points and Madison Gossi chipped in 12 points.

Gianna Regli also impressed for Ferndale, especially on the boards.

“The guards played well, and so did the bigs,” Ardrey said.

Next up, the Cats will travel for the West Coast Jamboree right after Christmas, opening against St. Vincent de Paul on Saturday.

McKinleyville 57, Casa Grande 27

McKinleyville 52, Clear Lake 39

The Panthers responded to a tournament opening loss at Kelseyville with back-to-back wins.

The McKinleyville girls fell 52-37 to H-DNL rival Ferndale on Thursday night, before posting comfortable tournament wins over Casa Grande on Friday and Clear Lake on Saturday.

First-year head coach Alisha Hunter described Thursday’s loss as a “tough one” against a well-coached team.

“Our heads just weren’t in the game,” Hunter said. “Ferndale took care of the basketball, while we missed our defensive assignments and couldn’t get into a flow offensively.”

Freshman Cabella Carper continued her impressive start to her high school career with a team-high eight points in the loss, while the team had a good night on the boards, pulling down 35 rebounds, led by Olivia Murphy’s eight.

The Panthers also had a lot of blocks in that game, led by Lily Battilocchi’s four, but, according to the coach, those blocks resulted in the team’s bigs getting in early foul trouble.

Avery Bartoo and Liana Stumpf each finished with seven points against Ferndale, while Ahty Allen chipped in five points.

Friday night’s game was a different story, as the Panthers came out ready to go.

“I think they played as a team and recognized the miss-match we had in the post,” Hunter said.

Battilocchi helped set the tone for the team and had a “huge game,” according to the coach, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers led by seven at halftime (30-23) and would buckle down on defense after the break, outscoring the Gauchos 27-4 and pulling down 27 rebounds over the final two quarters.

The team rebounding has been one of the most impressive parts of the Panthers’ play through the early season and the players are continually making their presence felt on the glass.

“The team was really playing for each other,” Hunter said. “They understood their defensive assignments and ran their offense to get the best shot.”

Carper impressed yet again, scoring a team-high 10 points in the win, while Murphy added nine points with all of them coming on 12 free-throw attempts.

Bartoo and Stumpf each had seven points, while Allen chipped in six points.

“The ability of our team when we’re playing together gives multiple (players) the opportunity to score and be great,” Hunter said. “It’s been a team setting from the beginning and will continue to be till the end.”

Battilocchi posted a double-double in Saturday’s win over Clear Lake, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds, as the team continued to dominate the boards and finished with 41 total rebounds.

Stumpf also had a big game and scored a team-high 18 points.

“It took the team a minute to get in their groove, but the second half was their half,” Hunter said. “They took care of the ball and made the extra pass for a better shot.”

Bartoo and Stumpf each hit multiple 3s, with the former scoring eight points, while Murphy had a team-best 14 rebounds.

“I thought that even with the slow start, they are starting to play with confidence in themselves and their teammates,” the McKinleyville coach said.

Next up, the Panthers will travel for the Enterprise tournament, which tips off on Jan. 1