Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Emily Sauers in action for Ferndale at St. Bernard’s on Friday night.

By Ray Hamill — Early in Friday’s game between the two Little 4 frontrunners at St. Bernard’s, it appeared as if the home team was going to cruise to another easy conference win.

The defending L4 and Division-4 state champs came out firing on all cylinders against Ferndale and opened up a 21-7 lead after the opening quarter.

But the Wildcats settled into the game and would give the Crusaders all they handle for much of the night, pulling back to within one point shortly before halftime and trailing by just seven going into the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders, however, would close out as strong as they started and ran out to a 65-43 victory to secure at least a share of the Little 4 championship.

They can clinch it outright with a win in either of their final two L4 games next week, against South Fork and Hoopa.

“A great team win over a very good and well-coached Ferndale team,” St. Bernards head coach Matt Tomlin said. “I am so proud of the girls.”

Senior Laila Florvilus was outstanding once again in the win and finished with a game-high 26 points, as well as nine rebounds and six steals, as the Crusaders improved to 4-0 in conference and 22-1 overall.

St. Bernard’s Samantha Sundberg added 11 points and CJ Figas also continued to impress on her way to 10 points.

“I am so proud of our team,” Tomlin added. “Laila is the engine that makes us go, but this year we are getting great production from several other players and these victories are complete team efforts.”

Freshman guard Carli Baum continues to be a big addition for St. Bernard’s this winter and had another big game on Friday, finishing with seven points and five steals, while senior Aliyah Vigil showed once again why she is so valuable to the Crusaders and finished with six points and seven rebounds.”

Despite the loss, it was another encouraging performance by the visitors, with several players contributing.

“I thought we played really well,” said Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey, who added “We’re not going to quit.”

Ultimately, however, the Crusaders would seal the win with a clutch fourth quarter.

It also didn’t help matters when influential Ferndale junior Madison Gossi got in foul trouble late and Ardrey was forced to go to some of his less experienced players.

Michaela Ellsmore continues to be a force for the Cats and finished with a team-high 12 points, as does Tinnley Pidgeon, who added 10 points.

Emily Sauers also impressed and chipped in eight points for the Wildcats, who dropped to 2-2 in conference and are now 12-7 overall.

Ardrey was particularly impressed with the character his players showed in answering the early deficit.

“(What impressed me was) the way we fought back after that horrendous first quarter,” He said. “We outscored them in the second and third quarter. We kept it a game.

“I know a lot of people thought we wouldn’t be in the game in the fourth quarter. I’m proud of the kids. I thought we fought the whole way.”

The visitors, who are the top-ranked Division-6 team in the North Coast Section, also earned the admiration of the St. Bernard’s coaches.

“We have great respect for Ferndale’s team and coaches,” Tomlin said. “They really challenged us tonight. I think Ferndale is going to do really well in the NCS Division-6 playoffs this year.”

Senior Jocelyn Sundberg also impressed for the home team and continues to play a pivotal role.

The senior standout had six rebounds, three blocked shots and three points.

Ellsmore was particularly impressive for the Cats.

“I challenged her to be more than a 3-point shooter and I thought she answered (that challenge),” Ardrey said.

The Ferndale coach also praised the defensive performance of Pidgeon, who was tasked with the difficult challenge of guarding Florvilus, who was the CalHiSports Division-4 State Player of the Year last winter. 

Despite the loss, the Ferndale girls still have plenty to play for, including a possible NCS championship.

“We’re getting better,” Ardrey said. “Hopefully we peak in February.”