Submitted photos – The Ferndale girls at the Lady Hornet Classic over the weekend.

The Ferndale Wildcats will begin the defense of their Little 4 championship on Wednesday night when they travel to Hoopa, and they will carry plenty of momentum into the league campaign after an impressive December.

The Ferndale girls closed a busy month with another strong showing at last week’s Lady Hornet Classic in Redding.

The Cats dropped their opening game against Yreka, 39-35, but responded with back-to-back victories over Fall River (45-42) and Enterprise (46-25).

The team played solid defense in all three games and improved to 11-2 on the season.

Reaghan Langer scored a team-high 14 points against Enterprise, while Emily Chavez finished with 11 points, Carly Carmesin 10 and Kyla Albee eight.

“It was another well-earned team win,” head coach Terra Albee said.

Langer and Kyla Albee were both named all-tournament.

The Cats rallied on opening night to tie Yreka late in the game, but the Miners were able to capitalize on a few Ferndale mistakes down the stretch to seal the win.

“We struggled most of the game with shooting,” Terra Albee said. “Even with adversity we hung in there and played tough.”

Chavez scored a team-high 12 points in the loss, while Kyla Albee finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite missing the second quarter through injury.

Langer added eight points and eight rebounds, while Carmesin chipped in seven rebounds and five points.

According to Terra Albee, the team played much better against Fall River, which came into the game as the No. 1 Division-6 team in all of California, one spot ahead of the Cats.

Reaghan Langer and Kyla Albee were both named all-tournament.

“We played great team defense and handled their press effectively.” The head coach said.

Carmesin scored a team-high 14 points in the win and also had five rebounds and four steals, while Langer finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Kyla Albee also had a good game with another double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Chavez chipped in seven points and six rebounds.

The Cats play Hoopa at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.