Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Madelyn Shanahan in action for the Crusaders on Tuesday night.

By Ray Hamill — The St. Bernard’s girls have never won a Dick Niclai tournament championship, but judging by their performances over the last four days there’s every reason to believe this could be their year.

On Tuesday night, the Crusaders defeated Arcata 49-41 in a non-league showdown at St. Bernard’s for their ninth straight win and their second over a top-two Big 5 team in just four days.

The SB girls have now beaten all four of the Big 5 teams they have faced this year and at 18-2 they have the best record of any team in the H-DNL, boys or girls.

The dynamic duo of Laila Florvilus and Madelyn Shanahan had another huge night in the win, as did freshman Samantha Sundberg, who helped set the tone with a big first half.

Shanahan finished with a game-high 17 points and Florvilus added 16 points, while the ever-improving Sundberg added nine points, including eight in the first half.

The Crusaders started the game just where they left off in a statement 47-42 win over Big 5 leaders Eureka on Saturday, and opened the stronger of the two teams.

They led 17-11 after the first quarter and stretched the advantage to as many as nine early in the second quarter.

Despite missing two key players — Addison Wingate and Kyndle Eisner — the Tigers would battle their way back, taking a two-point lead on back-to-back Mae Wolford baskets in the final two minutes of the first half.

The home team, however, closed out the half with five unanswered points to lead by three at the interval.

After that, the Crusaders kept the visitors at bay, outscoring them 22-17 in the second half and holding on down the stretch for another impressive victory.

Mayleah Jackson led the Tigers with 13 points, while Wolford added 11 points and Nora Talty finished with seven points.

The loss was just the fifth of the season for the 14-5 Tigers and just their second to an H-DNL team.

Despite the defeat, the Arcata girls officially clinched a Dick Niclai tournament berth, as expected, thanks to a Del Norte loss to Eureka in the Big 5.

The win was the ninth straight for the St. Bernard’s girls and their 13th in 14 games.

Next up, on Thursday, both teams return to conference play, with the Tigers playing at McKinleyville in the Big 5 and St. Bernard’s playing at South Fork in the Little 4.