Submitted photo – The St. Bernard’s players and coaches celebrate their tournament championship on Saturday.

The defending state champs have picked up just where they left off a year ago.

Nine months on from their historic first-ever state championship for the H-DNL, the St. Bernard’s girls have started this season 3-0 and on Saturday they defeated the host school in the championship game of the Cloverdale tournament.

The Crusaders won the game 57-37.

Senior Laila Florvilus has started the new season as you would expect and scored a team-high in points for the third straight game.

Florvilus finished with 18 points in Saturday’s win and was named tournament MVP.

The SB standout also had 15 rebounds for a double-double, as well as four steals and four assists.

Samantha Sundberg also has impressed early in the new season and was named to the all-tournament team.

Sundberg finished the championship game with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Senior Aliyah Virgil added nine points in the win, while Carli Baum finished with seven and Jocelyn Sunberg chipped in four.

Next up, the Crusaders will play at the Mt. Shasta tournament next week.

Eureka 47, Alhambra 20

The Loggers improved to 5-1 with a victory over Alhambra in Saturday’s championship game at the Gridley Classic.

Samara Gaither led the Eureka girls with 14 points in the win, while Tiara Maualuga finished with 11 points.

The impressive Maualuga, who is only a sophomore, was named tournament MVP, while Gaither was included on the all-tournament team.

And they weren’t the only Eureka players to impress over the three days.

Submitted photos

Submitted photo – Eureka’s tournament MVP Tiara Maualuga (right) and all-tournament selection Samara Gaither.

“We had a successful weekend with multiple kids stepping up,” head coach Cliff Napoleon said. 

In addition to big performances by Maualuga and Gaither, junior Nashaya Williams and senior Mallorie Beauchamp “really stood out,” according to the coach.

Williams finished with nine points in Saturday’s win.

“I’m proud of the intensity we had throughout the weekend,” Napoleon added.

McKinleyville 49, Brookings-Harbor 22

Henley 57, McKinleyville 17

The Panthers bounced back from a Friday loss to Henley with a 27-point victory over Brookings-Harbor in Saturday’s third-place game at the Yreka tournament.

Influential senior Gabby Watson scored a team-high 16 points in Saturday’s win as the Mack girls improved to 4-1 on the season.

Bailee Box also impressed in the victory and finished with 11 points, while teammates Grace Pimentel and Tatum Fisher each chipped in seven points.

The game was the fifth in six days for the busy Panthers.

Watson led a limited offensive performance on Friday against Henley, which won an Oregon state championship last season.

The standout senior scored nine points in the loss.

Submitted photo – The Del Norte Warriors

Henley 71, Del Norte 25

The Henley girls dominated on their way to the Yreka tournament championship, beating an H-DNL team for the second straight day in Saturday’s championship game.

Bliss Blackburn led the Warriors with six points, while Brooklyn Carter and Tsinte Steinruck each chipped in four points.

Foul trouble didn’t help matters for the Warriors going up against the defending Oregon state champions.

“All of our bigs got in foul trouble early and they pounded us on the glass,” said Del Norte head coach Dylan Nelson, whose team finished 2-1 in tournament play and is now 3-2 on the season.

Blackburn capped a good few days in tournament play and “fought hard all the way through” in Saturday’s game, according to her coach.

“Overall it was a good weekend,” Nelson added. “Great learning experience playing against a team of that caliber.”

Weed 39, Fortuna 37

The Huskies fell just short in a tightly-contested championship game at the Colusa tournament, losing to an undefeated Weed team.

After being tied 16-16 at halftime, the Huskies began to take control of the game with a dominating third quarter, thanks in large part to some strong defense that allowed just two points for the period, and they held a 31-18 going into the fourth.

But too many late turnovers saw the momentum switch and the Weed girls battled back to take a slender victory.

“Again, it was a very physical game,” said Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman, who added “We had several costly turnovers that Weed converted to points and the momentum completely turned.”

Despite the late letdown, it was a good few days for the Fortuna girls, including Jorlynn Villalvazo and Mariah Bravo, each of whom were named to the all-tournament team.

Villalvazo finished with a team-high eight points in Saturday’s game, while Bravo added seven.

Evalynn Little also impressed and finished with eight points.

“The girls battled hard and stayed composed despite how the game turned out,” Chapman said. “We are continuing to develop as a team and tonight was an opportunity for us to learn.”

The loss was the first of the season for the Huskies, who dropped to 4-1.

Next up, the Huskies will play at Marin Academy on Wednesday before opening the Healdsburg tournament on Thursday against Tamalpais.