By Ray Hamill — With three straight Big 5 championships and four straight Dick Niclai tournament titles, the Eureka Loggers have left no doubt as to who is the most dominating program in H-DNL girls basketball in recent years.

But this talented group of players are not done yet and they will carry plenty of momentum into next week’s North Coast Section playoffs and hopefully the state playoffs after that.

On Friday night, they capped another dominating H-DNL season with a hard-fought yet well deserved 45-42 win over St. Bernard’s in the final of the 2024 Dick Niclai tournament.

And they achieved it in front of a packed house at Lumberjack Arena on a night to celebrate H-DNL girls and boys basketball.

Just as important, the game provided plenty of excitement and lived up to the billing as a showdown between the top two teams in the H-DNL.

“What an exciting game of high school basketball,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “Both teams were battling. From the tip, it was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.”

St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said it was a fitting way to close out a memorable H-DNL season.

“That was a great basketball game between just two outstanding basketball teams,” he said. “What a great night to celebrate the H-DN and just how amazing H-DN girls basketball has been this year.”

Both teams will now turn their attention toward next week’s NCS playoffs and both are expected to receive high seeds in their brackets, with the Crusaders likely to be seeded No. 1 in Division 5.

Both schools are also expected to make a deep playoff run, along with several other teams around the H-DNL.

The NCS seeds and brackets will be announced on Sunday.

Check out some of the late-game highlights and postgame celebrations above.

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