File photo – The Hoopa girls beat St. Bernard’s on Wednesday night.

As expected the race for the Little 4 championship in girls basketball will go down to the final night of action.

What wasn’t expected, however, is that we will have a true championship game when St. Bernard’s travels to play Ferndale on the final night of the regular season on Friday.

On Wednesday night, the Warriors stunned the St. Bernard’s girls 54-48 at Hoopa and handed the Crusaders their first league loss.

That result, coupled with Ferndale’s 58-10 win at South Fork against a shorthanded Cubs team, leaves the Crusaders and Wildcats tied atop the standings with identical 4-1 records heading into the final game.

“I want to applaud (Hoopa) Coach Cowboy (Billings) and his players on a great game,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “They outplayed us from beginning to end and earned the victory.”

The win for Hoopa secures third place in league and gives them the No. 3 seed for next week’s Dick Niclai Tournament.

And it was a victory that was achieved with some strong defense.

“We defended well,” Billings said. “We played good defense on them this time, and the rebounding was phenomenal.”

Ivy Lamebear scored a team-high 18 points in the win, as the Hoopa girls took advantage of some balanced offense with several players contributing.

Tatianna Colegrove had a big all-around game and finished with 12 points, nine rebounds — most of them on offense — and six assists.

Colegrove also was clutch down the stretch, hitting six free throws in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.

Tashee Tracy also was instrumental in the win and finished with a double-double.

The junior center scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds, while teammate Harmony Nelson had nine points and Talena Downs-Miguelena six.

“We played all-around good basketball,” said Billings, whose team improved to 2-3 in the Little 4 and 8-11 overall. “There was a lot of emotion and we dug down deep to come away with the W.

“If we play like that in the Dick Niclai, it will be a good game.”

The Crusaders struggled at the free throw line and made just 12 of 38 attempts.

Laila Florvilus scored a game-high 23 points in the loss, which the second straight for the St. Bernard’s girls, who dropped to 19-4 overall.

Madelyn Shanahan also had a good game for the Crusaders and finished with 17 points, while Alyssa Boham chipped in four points.

“We were out-coached and that is on me,” Tomlin said. “We have to put this game behind us, have a good practice tomorrow and prepare for Friday night’s championship game at Ferndale.”

Ferndale 58, South Fork 10

The Wildcats took care of business on Wednesday night to give themselves a chance to defend the league title they won a year ago on Friday night.

Carly Carmesin scored a game-high 30 points in the win, while Kyla Albee finished with 11 points and Emily Chavez finished with nine.

“The girls played solid team defense and moved the ball well on offense,” said head coach Terra Albee, whose team improved to 17-5. “This is a huge week for us and the girls took care of business tonight.”

Tia Henrikson added six points in the win, while Clara Albee chipped in two.

A young South Fork team was led by Jalynn Worswick, who scored eight points, while teammate Caidence Young added two points.

The shorthanded Cubs earned the respect of the Ferndale coach.

“I would like to commend South Fork and the effort they put forth with only five players tonight,” Terra Albee said. “That is tough to do and they made sure the game happened anyway.”

The Ferndale coach and her players are looking forward to Friday’s big showdown.

“We are excited for Friday’s home game against St. Bernard’s when the Little 4 championship will be decided,” she said.

Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.