
Submitted photo – The St. Bernard’s Crusaders celebrate their conference championship earlier this week.
Bring on the postseason.
The St. Bernard’s girls capped a memorable regular season on the basketball court with their 25th win on Friday night.
The high-flying Crusaders traveled to Hoopa and won 61-34, improving to 6-0 in the Little 4 and 25-1 on the season.
Also in the Little 4 on Friday night, Ferndale defeated South Fork 58-18 and finished in a tie with Hoopa for second with identical 3-3 records.
The two schools will face off on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Dick Niclai tournament, with the Hoopa girls hosting courtesy of a coin toss after Friday’s games.
Laila Florvilus scored a game-high 21 points for the Crusaders, but head coach Matt Tomlin described it as a complete team win, with some outstanding defense.
“This was a complete team effort as all 12 girls in uniform rotated in and out and played outstanding team defense,” he said. “It was fun watching the team energy and support of each other throughout the game.”
In addition to Florvilus’ big night, her teammate Samantha Sundberg also impressed and added 11 points, while freshman standout Carli Baum and sophomore CJ Figas each had seven points.
Freshman Leah Stevens, who was just recently called up from the JVs, added six points on a pair of big second quarter 3-pointers when the game was still close.
“I am so proud of these amazing young ladies,” Tomlin said. “To close out the regular season with a spectacular 25-1 record is a credit to their team-first attitude and their support of each other.
“We are looking forward to the Niclai tournament and the playoffs now.”
No stats were immediately available for Hoopa.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, will join the Crusaders and Warriors in the postseason after splitting the conference series with Hoopa.
Senior Emily Sauers continued to impress for Ferndale, while some of the team’s younger players, including freshmen Maci Hagemann and Claire Renner, also made their presence felt.

File photo – The Ferndale Wildcats
“It was a good time to showcase the freshmen,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said. “We tried to get everybody in. It was a good team win.”
Hagemann finished with eight points in the win, as the Cats improved to 13-8 overall.
“She had a great night,” Ardrey said. “She had a couple of 3s and played well on defense.”
Sauers, who has established herself as a key member of the team in her first year with the program, scored a game-high 15 points while the ever-dangerous Tinnley Pidgeon added 13 points.
Madison Gossi also had 10 points for the Ferndale girls.
“They didn’t have an answer for (Sauers),” Ardrey said.
Junior Belky Gallardo also impressed for the Cats.
Tuesday’s game at Hoopa is set for 7 p.m.

Categories: Basketball, Ferndale, Hoopa Valley, South Fork, St. Bernard's



















