By Ray Hamill — The Eureka Loggers got the Big 5 off to a winning start on Wednesday night with a 46-33 win over McKinleyville at Jay Willard Gymnasium.

The Eureka defense came out strong and held the Panthers to just eight first-half points on the way to opening up a 21-point advantage at the interval.

The Mack girls, to their credit, grew into the game and outscored the home team in each of the final two quarters, but the hole they dug themselves in the opening half would prove too much to overcome.