Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Thursday night’s Dick Niclai semifinal at College of the Redwoods.

By Ray Hamill — The Arcata girls will get the opportunity to avenge last season’s NorCal championship game loss in Friday night’s Dick Niclai tournament final.

On Thursday night, the Tigers got the better of Ferndale in the tournament semifinal at College of the Redwoods, winning 59-45 to set up a championship matchup against St. Bernard’s, the same team that defeated them for the Division-4 NorCal title in 2024.

In Thursday’s other semifinal, St. Bernard’s won a thriller, beating Eureka 48-44.

The Tigers are the most successful program in Niclai tournament history, having won the H-DNL postseason tournament 11 times, most recently in 2018.

They were expected to take care of business on Thursday, but the Wildcats made them battle in a physical and hard-fought showdown between the smallest school in the H-DNL and one of the biggest, and it was played in front of a large crowd at CR.

“Ferndale came to play,” said Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza, who added “Ferndale was physical and we love to match that energy.”

Arcata led by 11 at halftime (33-22) and would pull away further in the third quarter, stretching the advantage to 17 going into the fourth.

The Wolford sisters, Tae and Mae, were once again hugely influential in the win, as was teammate Addison Wingate.

Tae Wolford scored a team-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and also had seven rebounds, while Wingate finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

Mae Wolford had 15 points and four steals, while Mayleah Jackson dished out a team-high five assists.

“We emphasized pushing the tempo and I thought we did alright at times with that,” Espinoza said. “I know we are always capable of playing faster.”

The Arcata coach also praised the play of Wingate.

“Addy was big today, finding her spots and getting to the hoop,” Espinoza said.

Michaela Ellsmore had a huge game for the Wildcats and scored a game-high 21 points, including six 3s.

“I thought she passed the ball well, she ran the floor well and she hit her spots,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said of the junior standout.

A poor start to the second half, however, proved costly for the Little 4 girls, who were held without a basket for the opening five minutes.

“I think the third quarter killed us,” the Ferndale coach added. “Not scoring like that, you can’t do that against a good team.

“But I thought we played good ‘D’. We didn’t back down. They just made more buckets than we did.”

Mia Cueto added six points for the Tigers.

“I’m super proud of our team effort and how our girls came off the bench and helped impact this win,” Espinoza said. “We are excited to match up with St. Bernard’s tomorrow. We’ve been waiting for that matchup since March 6 of last year.”

Tinnley Pidgeon also impressed for Ferndale and finished with 11 points, while Clara Albee chipped in four points.

Ardrey coached the Arcata JVs before taking over at Ferndale last year and has worked closely with the Wolford sisters and Wingate.

“I with them all the best,” he said.

The Wildcats will now turn their attention to next week’s North Coast Section playoffs, with the brackets and seeds set to be announced on Sunday.