Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Carly Carmesin and her teammates were all smiles on Wednesday night as they won their state playoff opener against Redding Christian.

By Ray Hamill — There’s something to be said for perseverance.

The one team that had to overcome more adversity than any other in the H-DN this postseason is the last one standing.

On Wednesday night, the Ferndale Wildcats turned in their best performance of the playoffs to secure a place in the NorCal Division-6 semifinals, comfortably defeating Redding Christian 54-27 at Ferndale High.

The performance was a resounding response to a disappointing loss in Sunday’s North Coast Section D-6 championship game and leaves the Ferndale girls just two wins from a NorCal championship.

Not only are the Wildcats the last remaining H-DN team still playing in the postseason, but they have done it without their head coach and three players, who stepped away from the team for personal reasons just before the playoffs began.

The seven remaining players all were instrumental in Wednesday’s big win.

“I thought they played really well,” said head coach Jamie Ellsmore, who stepped into the role after Terra Albee stepped away. “And I felt it was like a statement win (after Sunday’s loss). Overall, it was a huge performance from everyone. We had four players in double digits (in scoring) and that’s big.”

The dynamic trio of Reaghan Langer, Emily Chavez and Carly Carmesin led the way once again and helped set the tone from the opening tip.

Langer gave the Cats the lead in the opening minute and the home team never trailed after that.

The fast start was something the team talked about after Sunday’s loss, and the players did not disappoint.

“I thought we came out with some intensity and they just kept it going,” Ellsmore said. “I thought we had really good ball movement tonight.”

The Ferndale girls led 15-8 after the opening quarter and stretched the advantage to an unsurmountable 21 points before halftime.

They continued to pull away after the break and led 44-20 going into the fourth quarter.

“When those three play well, we’re a hard team to stop,” Ellsmore said of Langer, Carmesin and Chavez. “Since I came on, I thought this was their best game together. They were just really in sync and doing what they needed to do.”

Chavez and Carmesin each scored a team-high 14 points, while Langer finished with 11 points.

They weren’t the only standouts on a young roster, with freshman Tinnley Pidgeon playing with a composure well beyond her years and growing in stature with each performance, particularly with her rebounding.

“She was rebounding like crazy,” Ellsmore said of Pidgeon, who also finished with 10 points. “She has a knack for the ball.

“She was a rebounding machine tonight, and for a freshman she doesn’t have any fear. She was just a little spark out there.”

Junior Clara Christiansen also had a big game and has developed into one of the team’s best defensive players.

“I thought she played great defense tonight,” the head coach said of Christiansen. “She’s always in the right spot at the right time.”

Two other young players — sophomore Saige Machado and freshman Michaela Ellsmore — continued to give the shorthanded team a spark off the bench.

Machado played some tenacious defense, while the young Ellsmore gives the Wildcats a legitimate threat from 3-point range.

“Saige is a ball of energy,” Jamie Elsmore said. “She’s so fast and she got some big rebounds and a couple of steals for us.

“Michaela’s a pretty good 3-point shooter. She came in and she has the 3-point shot down.”

The No. 2 seeded Wildcats, who improved to 21-8, will now host No. 3 Weed at Ferndale High on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Weed defeated Mendocino 55-42 on Wednesday.