The Fortuna boys basketball team wasted no time putting Friday’s loss behind them, bouncing back on Saturday to beat the host team at the Windsor tournament, 65-45.

Donald Willis led the way, scoring a team-high 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, as the Huskies improved to 14-1 on the season.

Drew Gillette added 16 points in the win, while Zac Claus finished with 11 points and Bradley Willis 10.

The high-flying Huskies suffered their first loss of the season against Menlo-Atherton in the tournament semifinal.

The Huskies, who have won three of the four tournaments they have competed in this year, will open the Big 5 on Thursday at Del Norte.

St. Bernard’s 51, Mesa Verde 79

An up-and-down season continued on Saturday for the Crusaders, who fell 79-51 to Mesa Verde at the Fort Bragg tournament.

The loss was the second straight for St. Bernard’s, which dropped to 5-5 on the season.

Will Omey scored 16 points to lead the way for the Crusaders, who were missing a couple of starters for personal reasons.  

“It did give us an opportunity to take a look at some different combinations and some different players,” St. Bernard’s head coach Steve Thrap said.

Lane Thrap scored nine points.

“We got some contributions from other players on the scoreboard tonight, and that should lead to positive results for us down the road,” the head coach said.

The Crusaders host Ferndale in the Little 4 opener on Thursday.

File photo – St. Bernard’s Josie Peterson was named all-tournament at the Fort Bragg tournament.

Girls

St. Bernard’s 45, Freedom 40

Jasa Sisemore was named tournament MVP as the St. Bernard’s girls defeated Freedom in the championship game at the Fort Bragg tournament on Saturday.

Sisemore scored a game-high 18 points in the championship game, including nailing 10-of-12 free throws, to help lead her team to the win.

Josie Peterson, who has stepped up her game recently, continued to impress with 11 points in the win, earning her all-tournament honors.

Senior Emily Gardner, who had six points in the win, was also named all-tournament.

The Crusaders got the better of the first-half exchanges, opening up a six-point lead at the interval, but had to withstand a second-half rally from the Division-I school, which pulled within one point heading into the fourth quarter.

Maddie Costa also finished with six points in Saturday’s win, which was the Crusaders’ fifth straight.

The Crusaders improved to 10-4 on the season and will open league play at home to Ferndale on Friday.

McKinleyville 44, Enochs 46

The Panthers continued to look a far improved team from last season with another strong showing in a heartbreaking loss to Enochs at the Tracy tournament.

A scoreless second quarter didn’t help matters for the McKinleyville girls, who found themselves 13 points adrift early in the second half.

The Panthers, however, rallied in the third quarter, battling back to take the lead late in the game.

Leading by a point in the final seconds, the Panthers missed a free-throw attempt, before the Eagles quickly drove the ball up court and sealed the win on a buzzer-beating shot.

“We played with a little more energy in the second half, and we kept battling,” McKinleyville head coach Tony McClure said. 

The loss was the second straight to Division-I opposition for the Panthers, who closed out the four-day Tracy tournament with a record of 2-2, and are now 10-5 on the season.

Theresia Dickey scored a team-high 13 points for Mack, while Grace Rosebrook added seven points.

Junior guard Hope Kibby continued her recent good run, finishing with seven points and earning all-tournament honors.

“She had a good week,” McClure said of Kibby.

Rayn Tripp and Haile Henry each also finished with six points.

The Panthers, who have a bye in league play this coming week, will travel back to the Bay Area to play both Mount Eden and Montgomery in a pair of non-tournament games next weekend.

The Eagles improved to 8-3.

In other games …

The Fortuna girls (10-5) defeated Rodriquez 62-45 on Saturday for a second straight win at the West Coast Jamboree. No scoring details were available for the 10-5 Huskies.

Also in action at the West Coast Jamboree, which was played at several different locations, the Arcata girls lost a one-point game to Foothill, 43-42, dropping to 7-8 on the season.

The Eureka girls also were in action at the West Coast Jamboree, falling to Davis 63-58, their second consecutive loss.

The Loggers, who are now 9-4, will host Fortuna on Wednesday in both teams’ league opener.

The Ferndale girls, meanwhile, played two games on Saturday, defeating San Rafael 44-37, before falling to Berean Christian by a score of 46-28.

The Wildcats are now 8-5.

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.