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By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville to Marin connection is alive and well.

Last week, Panthers senior Ahty Allen became the latest in a long line of recent Panthers to commit their future to play for the College of Marin women’s basketball team, signing her letter of intent in front of a gathering of friends, family, teammates and coaches at McKinleyville High School.

Allen was a two-year varsity basketball player for the Big 5 school and follows in the footsteps of recent McKinleyville graduates Bella Turner, Victoria Claros and Kaylee Armstrong, each of whom have enjoyed plenty of success with the Bay Area JC, along with a host of other H-DNL players.

And it was in part because of that connection that Allen opted to join head coach Emily Schaefer’s Mariners team.

Allen told Humboldt Sports that it was Turner, a good friend, that put Marin on her radar.

But playing college basketball wasn’t always the plan, she admitted, until fate intervened this past winter when she suffered a season-ending injury.

Playing in the championship game at the Enterprise tournament, the McKinleyville team leader dislocated her patella and was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

The setback made her more determined to continue her playing career at the next level.

“Throughout high school I wasn’t really planning on playing in college,” Allen said. “It wasn’t too much of a goal of mine.

“But after that injury, I kind of realized I wasn’t ready to be done with basketball.”

Former McKinleyville head coach, and current school athletic director, Jacob Cheek, put her in touch with Schaefer and the recruitment process took off from there.

“After talking to the coach, I really liked everything she had to say, and it sounded like a very good fit for me,” Allen said. “And when I visited (early last month), it felt like a place I’d like to go.”

Allen’s academic ambitions also played a role.

The McKinleyville senior says she wants to eventually attend a UC and major in Political Science, and the fact that College of Marin has a “really good UC transfer rate” helped seal the deal.

But that’s not all.

When she joins the Mariners, Allen will reunite with a former teammate — current Arcata High senior Syriah George — who also will play for Marin, as will Ferndale senior Michaela Ellsmore, continuing a strong recent tradition of local players committing to the program.

(Del Norte’s Brooklyn Carter and Ferndale’s Emily Sauers were both also freshmen with the team last winter, while Fortuna’s Isobel Crosswhite and St. Bernard’s MaTaya Sherman have each enjoyed success with the Mariners in recent years.)

“I’m really excited to be on the court with her again,” Allen said of George, whom she played alongside as freshmen at McKinleyville, before the latter eventually transferred to Arcata High. “And I’m really excited about (playing with Ellsmore) too. I don’t know her, but she’s a really good player.”

Allen will be fully recovered in time for the new season and has been busy working on rehabbing the knee since the new year.

“It’s been going really good,” she said, “I’ve been consistently doing rehab for the past five months and within the last month I’m almost cleared for everything.”

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Ahty Allen (23) and her teammates celebrate their NCS playoff win over Heritage last year.

Sports have been a big part of Allen’s life for about as long as she can remember, as has the local community, and the Panthers multi-sport student-athlete says she is grateful to both.

In addition to four years of basketball at McKinleyville High, Allen also played three years of volleyball, one season of soccer, one season of softball and one season of track and field.

She says she considered potentially playing volleyball at the next level, but basketball holds a special place in her heart.

“Growing up, sports was always a really big thing in my life, and whatever sports season I was in was my favorite,” she said. “But by the time I got to high school, basketball (became) my favorite.”

The local Native American community has also played a big role in shaping Allen, both as a person and as an athlete.

She is a member of the Yurok Tribe and the Karuk Tribe and is keen to give back to the community that helped her on her journey.

“I would like to thank the local community, especially the Native American community,” she said. “I feel like the local community has been my biggest motivation.”

She added that she would like to be a good role model for younger Native American student-athletes.

Allen also praised the influence of her father Alme, who has been by her side every step of the way and helped shape her to be the athlete she is today.

“I’d say my biggest influence has definitely been my father,” she said. “He’s always been one of my coaches. I was always in the gym with him and talked everything through with him.”

Cheek too has played a big role in helping her on her journey before he stepped down as head coach after her junior season.

“I’m really proud of what he made our program, a tradition of hustle,” Allen said. “And all of the friendships I made. It’s just been my favorite part and it really made basketball enjoyable for me.”

A competitive Mariners team finished 15-13 last season.