Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com –

By Ray Hamill — The best team in the H-DNL might not be who most people seemed to think it was.

On Saturday night, the Crusaders knocked off Big 5 leaders Eureka in a highly entertaining girls basketball game played in front of packed gymnasium at St. Bernard’s, winning 47-42.

The victory over their crosstown rivals and the top-ranked team in the H-DNL sent a message to the rest of the league ahead of next month’s Dick Niclai tournament.

“That was the biggest regular season win for St. Bernard’s that I can remember,” Crusaders head coach Matt Tomlin said. “That was amazing.”

So too was junior Laila Florvilus, who has been outstanding for the SB girls all season long, and her performance on Saturday suggests she could very well be the best player in the H-DNL.

Florvilus scored a game-high 26 points, including 11 in a pivotal second quarter, and she was ice cool at the free throw line where she made 10 of her 12 attempts.

More importantly, she came up with crucial baskets every time the Loggers tried to go on a run.

“I’ve been saying Laila Florvilus is the best player in the H-DN and she showed it tonight,” Tomlin said. “She willed us to victory. She just means so much to our team on offense and defense.”

The Loggers got the better of the early exchanges and led 11-6 after the first quarter.

The home team, however, settled into the game and took control with huge second and third quarters, outscoring Eureka 32-15 over the two periods.

They carried a three-point lead into halftime and would stretch the advantage to 12 after three quarters.

After that, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Loggers, who suffered their first loss of the season to an H-DNL team and saw their four-game winning streak end.

“What a game,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “Tonight was all SB. They wanted it more and went and got it. They played excellent. Great job to Matt and the rest of his team.”

The Eureka girls rallied in the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to as few as three on a clutch 3-pointer by impressive freshman OIiviana Millender with 70 seconds remaining.

The Crusaders, however, would hold on down the stretch, with Florvilus icing the win on two successful free throws in the final seconds.

She wasn’t the only hero in a game Crusaders fans will remember for some time.

Influential senior Madelyn Shanahan also had a good night and finished with six points, but she was in foul trouble early and needed some teammates to pick up the slack.

Junior Ella Hart came off the bench and did just that with a composed performance in the paint on one of the biggest stages of the season.

“Ella Hart came off the bench and was just outstanding,” Tomlin added.

So too was sophomore guard Sahara Tupua, who “did a tremendous job at guard” when she entered the game, according to the coach.

The tenacious Tupua, who never gets out-hustled, inspired her teammates with her work rate.

“You love to see when players come off the bench and are ready to play,” Tomlin said. “No two players had a bigger game than Ella Hart and Sahara Tupua.”

Senior Kaitlin Giacone and freshman Tiara Maualuga led the way offensively for the Loggers and each finished with 12 points, while Isis Poteet added eight points and Samara Gaither finished with seven points.

With the win, which was their eighth straight, the Crusaders improved to 17-2 on the season.

The Loggers dropped to 16-4.

The SB girls have now beaten three Big 5 teams this season and will try to make it four when they host Arcata on Tuesday night.

The Loggers will try to get back to winning ways when they travel to Del Norte, also on Tuesday.

And after such an intense and entertaining showdown, local fans can only hope these two teams face off again in next month’s Dick Niclai tournament.