Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The St. Bernard’s girls in action against Arcata on Saturday.

By Ray Hamill — The St, Bernard’s Crusaders got the new basketball season off to a flying start this past week, with both the boys and girls teams winning their respective tournament championships.

And because of that, both of those teams feature heavily in our athletes of the week and team of the week awards, sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

The St. Bernard’s girls won the Arcata tournament, knocking off three straight Big 5 teams on the way to the championship.

And that impressive showing earns them the nod for our team of the week.

Junior Lele Tanuvasa had three big games for the Crusaders and was named tournament MVP, as were four other H-DNL standouts who each also led their teams to tournament championships this past week.

Joining Tanuvasa as an opening weekend MVP were Brandon Bento-Jackson (Arcata), Owen Shanahan (St. Bernard’s), Haidyn Fulton (Ferndale) and Oliver Tatton (South Fork), and all of them are this week’s athletes of the week.

Brandon Bento-Jackson

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Owen Shanahan, 

St. Bernard’s Junior

Shanahan got the new season off to a flying start on a St. Bernard’s team that appears poised for a good season.

Shanahan scored 53 points in three games on the way to being named MVP at the Lake County Tournament.

Brandon Bento-Jackson,

Arcata, Junior

The Arcata junior was instrumental in leading the Tigers to a tourney championship at McKinleyville, scoring 55 points in the three games.

More impressive than that, however, was his defensive play and leadership, as he appears ready to take his game to a new level this year.

Lele Tanuvasa

Lele Tanuvasa,

St. Bernard’s, Junior

Tanuvasa lived up to her billing as one of the most dangerous players on the North Coast with a big showing against Big 5 opposition at the Arcata tournament.

She scored 70 points on her way to being named MVP, and like Shanahan she contributed in so many more ways than that.

Oliver Tatton, 

South Fork, Senior

Tatton is another player who has had a big impact for his team through the early season and was named tourney MVP at the Jolly Roger Classic in Point Arena.

The senior standout scored 73 points in the past five games, including a game-high 23 against Calistoga on Tuesday, when he keyed a big late surge with 14 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Haidyn Fulton,

Ferndale, Sophomore

The talented sophomore also got her season off to an impressive start with a big showing at the Calistoga tournament.

Fulton scored 50 points in three games, including 25 against St. Helena, on her way to being tourney MVP.

Submitted photo – The Crusaders celebrate their weekend tournament win.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

St. Bernard’s Girls Basketball

The Crusaders have just eight players on their varsity roster this season, but every one of them is expected to play a major role for the team and all were big contributors over the weekend at the Arcata tournament.

After barely getting past McKinleyville by just two points in an exciting opener, the SB girls took care of business against both Fortuna (45-30) and Arcata (71-62) on the way to the championship.

Tanuvasa was a deserved MVP, but she’s far from the only standout on this team, with teammates Madelyn Shanahan, Laila Florvilus and Emma Watson each also enjoying an impressive opening weekend.

For more on their big week, see Crusaders top the Tigers in exciting tournament decider …