The McKinleyville girls got a boost ahead of conference play at the Enterprise tournament over the weekend, as junior Maggie Morris made her debut with the team after transferring from Hoopa.

Morris was on hand as the Panthers went 2-1 in tournament play, opening with back-to back wins over Fall River (47-38) and Weed (47-41 in double overtime), before falling to Modoc 40-36 in Saturday’s championship game.

The McKinleyville girls are now 10-5 on the season, as they get set for a challenging Big 5 opener at Eureka on Wednesday night.

“I was proud of what our team accomplished this weekend,” McKinleyville head coach Alisha Hunter said. “We’re playing a different style of play at the right time. With Maggie on board, it adds another level to our game.”

Morris had an immediate impact and finished with 10 points in the tournament-opening win, including a key 3-pointer late in the game to help see the team over the finish line.

Freshman Cabella Carper also continued to impress in the win and also had 10 points “while taking care of business at the point,” according to Hunter.

The always-dangerous Lily Battilocchi also had a big impact in the win and scored a team-high 11 points.

The Panthers carried that momentum into a tough matchup on Friday against a Weed team that was 12-1 coming into the game.

“Definitely a game to remember,” Hunter said of the hard-fought double-overtime win. “We had plenty of opportunities to pull away with a win, but our turnovers kept Weed in the game.”

Another freshman, Avery Bartoo, scored a team-high 13 points in the win, while Battilocchi added 12 points.

Saturday’s championship game, however, did not go the Panthers way.

Battilocchi was unavailable to play, which didn’t help matters for the Big 5 school, while influential senior Ahty Allen was forced to the sideline early on with a knee injury and is expected to miss some time.

“Watching Allen go down was heartbreaking,” Hunter said after the loss. “I needed her on the floor tonight.”

The Panthers, however, went down battling, rallying from a 25-11 halftime deficit to make a game of it in the second half and pulling within two at one stage.

“We lost 46-40, but it wasn’t without a fight,” Hunter said. “We couldn’t seem to find our groove on offense and it took a minute to lock down on defense.”

Lily Loomis filled in well for the absent Battilocchi on the defensive end and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Morris added 12 points and had four steals.

“I was proud of Lily Loomis stepping in during the championship game and showing me she’s ready to take on the challenge,” Hunter said. 

Olivia Murphy added six points in the loss, while Carper had five points and Bartoo chipped in four points.

The Panthers will now turn their attention towards Wednesday night’s conference opener at Jay Willard Gymnasium.

“As we conclude our preseason, I know we accomplished what we needed to ahead of league,” the coach said. “I’m looking forward to Wednesday as league gets under way.”

Wednesday’s game tips off at 7:30 p.m.