Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday night’s game at Eureka High.

The Loggers celebrated Senior Night with a victory over their crosstown rivals in girls basketball on Saturday night, beating St. Bernard’s 59-43 in front of large crowd at Jay Willard Gymnasium.

The home team honored their six seniors — Mariah Napoleon, Moriah Bowles, Aniah Gaither, Amaya Gee, Claire Maples and Taliyah Cooper — before the game, with several of them playing a key role in the victory.

Gaither scored a team-high 19 points in the win, including 10 in the second quarter, while Bowles added 16 points, including four 3-pointers.

A pair of juniors also had a big say in the win, with Isis Poteet scoring nine points and Kaitlin Giacone seven.

“We wanted to pound the ball inside and we did a good job of that,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said.

Gaither, in particular, did a good job in the paint against SB standout Madelyn Shanahan.

“Aniah Gaither had a great game,” the head coach added. “She was looking forward to the matchup with Shanahan and she did good.

“It was a big win. Anytime you get a win over your rivals it’s a good win.”

Cliff Napoleon said the seniors will be missed, with several of them three-year varsity players.

Mariah Napoleon and Maples each chipped in four points, as Eureka improved to 20-5 on the season.

“I thought Amaya Gee ran our offense exceptionally, and Mariah Napoleon was huge in the middle again,” the head coach said of the senior duo.

The loss for the Crusaders was just their third of the season and ended a nine-game winning streak.

Shanahan and teammate Laila Florvilus each had huge games as they continue to be the focal point of the SB offense.

“I thought that Madelyn Shanahan was amazing tonight and so was Laila Florvilus,” head coach Matt Tomlin said. “We knew how special those two players are, but I thought both played were amazing in a big-game environment tonight.”

Shanahan finished with a game-high 23 points, while Florvilus added 16, including 13 in the first half.

The SB head coach also paid tribute to the Loggers, who have been the most dominating team in the area all season.

“I tip my hat to Eureka,” he said. “They are a very good team with a really strong senior class and I thought they made some tough shots tonight.”

The Loggers weren’t the only ones to impress the Crusaders coach.

“I want to compliment the officials,” he added. “This was a really well officiated game.”

The Crusaders dropped to 19-3.