Submitted photo – The Wildcats celebrate a tournament championship earlier this season. Ferndale added a game against Eureka for Tuesday night.

By Ray Hamill — One day after getting the better of St. Bernard’s in a key Little 4 showdown, the Ferndale girls have added a Tuesday night game against Eureka to their schedule.

In what could be a preview of this year’s Dick Niclai championship, the two league frontrunners will face off at Ferndale High at 7:30 p.m.

“Playing tough games like this is going to help prepare us for the playoffs,” Ferndale head coach Terra Albee said.

The Wildcats, who are the top-ranked Division-6 team in the North Coast Section, are 2-0 in the Little 4 and 10-2 overall after defeating St. Bernard’s 57-47 on Friday night.

Sensational sophomore Haidyn Fulton had an outstanding night in the win, scoring a game-high 29 points and making her presence felt at both ends of the court.

“The whole team put in a great defensive effort,” the head coach said. “We put a lot of pressure on them.”

In addition to Fulton, who has been in outstanding form all season, Kyla Albee and Reaghan Langer each also had big nights in the statement win.

“Kyla, she was a pivotal part of our success, being able to run our offense,” the head coach said. “And she made some excellent passes.”

Langer’s contribution was equally impressive, and the sophomore was instrumental in defending St. Bernard’s standout Madelyn Shanahan and pulling down some key rebounds.

The Cats had to withstand a fast start from the Crusaders, but settled into the game and got the better of exchanges in the second half.

“It was a great win for us,” Terra Albee said. “It definitely gave us a lot of confidence. We knew we could compete with them and I felt the girls really stepped up and didn’t back down one bit and didn’t get discouraged when St. Bernard’s came out hot.”

The first-year Ferndale head coach likes a lot of what she’s seen from her players this season.

“I’ve got a group of girls that are tough,” she said. “They want to compete. They don’t want to lose.”

Eureka, meanwhile, is 3-0 in the Big 5 and 13-6 overall.