Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Madelyn Shanahan in action for St. Bernard’s on Tuesday night.

With the Little 4 championship secured, the St. Bernard’s girls will carry plenty of momentum into next week’s Dick Niclai tournament as they look for a first-ever tournament championship.

On Tuesday night, the Crusaders sealed the deal in conference play with a 62-44 win over Hoopa at St. Bernard’s.

The win lifts them to 5-0 in the Little 4 with one game remaining and secured the conference title outright.

Also in the Little 4 on Tuesday, the Ferndale girls booked a spot in next week’s Niclai tournament with a 40-9 win over South Fork.

At St. Bernard’s, the home team led 18-10 after the opening quarter and never looked back as they kept their perfect conference record in tact.

The Crusaders outscored the visitors in each of the four quarters.

The performance was also a nice response to Saturday’s non-league defeat to McKinleyville, which ended the Crusaders’ 10-game winning streak.

Laila Florvilus led the way for SB with 17 points, while teammate Madelyn Shanahan added 13 points and impressive freshman Samantha Sundberg continued to shine with 12 points.

The win was also the team’s 20th on the season, as the St. Bernard’s girls improved to 20-3.

Aliyah Vigil added 10 points in a balanced team performance, while Hannah Finck and Jocelyn Sundberg each chipped in five points.

No final stats were immediately available for the Hoopa girls, who dropped to 2-3 in conference play and 10-8 overall.

Despite the loss, the Warriors secured a place in next week’s Niclai tournament, although it remains to be seen if they will receive the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

The Ferndale girls also guaranteed themselves a place in the Niclai tournament with their win and they can finish no lower than in a tie for second in the final conference standings.

The Wildcats honored their two seniors — Reagan Langer and Mia Rodriquez — before tip off.

Langer would go on to score nine points in the win as the Cats improved to 3-2 in the Little 4 and 12-5 overall.

Sophomores Michaela Ellsmore and Tinnley Pidgeon were both also instrumental in the win.

Ellsmore scored a game-high 12 points, while Pidgeon added 10 points.

South Fork dropped to 0-5 in league play and 9-10 overall.

All four conference teams will close out the regular season on Thursday night, with Ferndale traveling to St. Bernard’s and Hoopa hosting South Fork.