File photo – The Del Norte Warriors

Del Norte took a big step towards securing a spot in this year’s Dick Niclai tournament in girls basketball on Tuesday night.

The Warriors welcomed McKinleyville to Crescent City and won 51-38, improving to 3-3 in the Big 5 and taking over sole possession of second place in the conference standings.

The Panthers dropped to 2-4 in conference, but remain in a tight chase for a Nicali berth along with Eureka (2-3), which had a bye in conference play on Tuesday, and Fortuna (1-4), which lost at Arcata.

The Warriors led by three after the opening quarter (10-7), but the Panthers remained in the game for much of the night, with just three points separating the teams heading into the fourth.

The Panthers would take a one-point lead in the final period, but a  strong finish by the home team, including a late 12-0 run, would help seal the win.

“It was a game of runs and we made the last one,” Del Norte head coach Nick Perez said. “Proud of my team for answering back when Mack went up by one in the fourth.

“Coach Alisha (Hunter) had the Mack girls battling all night.”

The Panthers would settle into the game.

“We were slow coming out the gate, but adjusted and made a run,” Hunter said. “Playing in Del Norte is never easy. The Warriors came out aggressive and it took us a quarter to match that aggression.”

The Warriors were led offensively by sophomore Jaylee Keeling, who is enjoying a big winter for the Crescent City school.

Keeling finished with a game-high 18 points, including five 3-pointers, while teammate Gianna Antonetti added 10 points, including two 3s, and Avery Ritter chipped in seven points.

Freshman Josephine Antonetti helped key the late rally with all five of her points coming in the fourth quarter.

File photo – The McKinleyville Panthers

Another freshman, Cabella Carper, led the visitors in scoring and finished with 14 points, 

“She had some nice layups off the drive and assists from (Lily) Battilocchi down the middle,” Hunter said. 

Battilocchi led another strong team performance on the glass and finished with 15 of her team’s 35 rebounds, while teammate Avery Bartoo added five points and Betty Weldon finished with four points.

The Panthers shot just 2 of 11 from 3-point range.

“II thought we countered the Warriors’ solid defense by running the floor but ran out of gas trying to keep Del Norte off the 3-point line,” Hunter said, “Tonight just wasn’t our night. Hats off to Del Norte for making the quick adjustments defensively.”

Del Norte is now 10-8, while McKinleyville is 12-10.

Next up, on Thursday night, Del Norte plays at Eureka and McKinleyville travels to Fortuna.