Laila Florvilus named MVP of the Little 4 for the third straight year

By barstoolfanatics on March 13, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Laila Florvilus

By Ray Hamill — It has been a remarkable run for St. Bernard’s senior Laila Florvilus as she gets set for the next step in her impressive career.

The Crusaders standout, who was named CalHiSports Division-4 State Player of the Year as a junior, has been named MVP of the Little 4 in girls basketball for the third straight year, the league announced on Thursday morning.

Florvilus certainly has left her mark at St. Bernard’s, where she recently closed out her high school career with 1,903 points, having led the team to an incredible 59 wins in the last two season, including a first-ever Dick Niclai tournament championship this season.

And St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin believes the award was well deserved for a player who contributed in just about every aspect of the game.

“Laila Florvilus is not only a deserving MVP of the Little 4 conference, but she was the best player in the H-DNL,” he said. “She dominated games with scoring, defense, rebounding and anywhere else our team needed her.”

Florvilus’ legacy at St. Bernard’s will be hard to top.

Along with her co-conference MVP for the past two seasons, Madelyn Shanahan, Florvilus played a key role in leading the Crusaders to a first-ever state championship for the H-DNL a year ago.

She continued to grow as a player this season, leading the Crusaders to a perfect 12-0 record against H-DNL teams.

In her final high school campaign, Florvilus averaged 19.6 points on 47 percent shooting, as well as 8.8 rebounds and a remarkable 5.2 steals.

She will be hard to replace.

“Laila is a state champion, state player of the year, state player of the week and is the greatest player in St. Bernard’s girls basketball history,” Tomlin said.

Florvilus is one of six SB players to receive all-league recognition, and judging by the selections the future appears bright for the program.

Sophomore Samantha Sundberg and freshman Carli Baum each also were named to the Little 4 All-League Team after big seasons for both players, and either or both could be ready for MVP honors a year or two from now.

Seniors Aliyah Vigil and Jocelyn Sundberg each also received an all-league honorable mention along with sophomore CJ Figas.

Carli Baum

Samantha Sundberg

The Crusaders closed out the season with a record of 29-3 and made it all the way to the Division-3 NorCal playoffs.

The Ferndale Wildcats and Hoopa Warriors tied for second in this year’s Little 4 and each have two players named to the all-league team.

For the Ferndale girls, who won a fifth all-time North Coast Section championship this winter, outstanding juniors Tinnley Pidgeon and Michaela Ellsmore were both included.

Both players should only continue to get better next season.

A pair of seniors were named all-league for the Hoopa girls, who hosted a playoff game for the first time in 16 years and made it to the second round of the NCS postseason.

Ivy Lamebear and Harmony Nelson each played a pivotal role for the team as they closed out their high school careers in style.

Rounding out this year’s all-league first-team selections is South Fork’s Raevyn Reveles, who played a key role on a very young Cubs team.