File photo – The Wildcats own their NCS semifinal on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats will get to play for a fifth North Coast Section girls basketball title in just 11 years this weekend after cruising to a comfortable 56-12 win over Rio Lindo Adventist at Ferndale on Wednesday evening.

The No. 1 seeds in Division 6 opened up a 13-2 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back, holding the visitors to just five second-half points.

And, according to head coach Jamie Ellsmore, every player contributed to the victory.

“It was a total team effort,” said Ellsmore, who took over from Terra Albee after she stepped down from the team last week. “We got everybody involved and had lots of ball movement and were really getting good shots. The girls got some really good looks down low.”

Carly Carmesin led the way offensively and scored a team-high 16 points in the win, while freshman Tinnley Pidgeon finished with 15 points.

“We played really well,” Ellsmore said. “The girls played good man defense and we kind of built on that.”

Despite her relative inexperience, Pidgeon played “good down low,” according to her coach, while senior point guard Emily Chavez “made good decisions” with the ball.

Freshman Michaela Ellsmore also played well and hit a couple of big 3-pointers, while senior Reaghan Langer had a big night on the boards.

“Reaghan is what she is,” the head coach said of the talented all-around athlete. “She’s always looking to score and she did an amazing job rebounding tonight.”

The section championship game will most likely be played at Ferndale, with the Cats taking on either No. 2 Cornerstone Christian or No. 3 Mendocino.

A date and time has yet to be finalized.

The Ferndale girls are defending NCS champions and also won three straight section championships from 2012 to 2014.

With the win, the Cats improved to 20-7, while Rio Lindo Adventist dropped to 17-7.