Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Laila Florvilus is the 2024/25 Humboldt Sports Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

By Ray Hamill — Laila Florvilus is a three-time Little 4 MVP and now a two-time Humboldt Sports Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

The St. Bernard’s senior closed out her high school career in dynamic fashion this past winter, leading her team to a conference championship and a first-ever Dick Niclai tournament title.

She was the heartbeat of a dominating SB team that got the better of every other H-DNL team this season and was 12-0 against league opponents.

She finishes her career with a remarkable 1,903 points and her impact with the program cannot be overstated.

Florvilus contributed in just about every aspect of the game and St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin described her as “the best player in the H-DNL.” 

“She dominated games with scoring, defense, rebounding and anywhere else our team needed her,” Tomlin said after Florvilus was named MVP of the Little 4 for the third straight year last month.

Indeed, her legacy at St. Bernard’s will be hard to top.

In her final season with the team, Florvilus averaged 19.6 points on 47 percent shooting, as well as 8.8 rebounds and a remarkable 5.2 steals.

But the impressive stats only tell half the story.

It was her performances at crucial times of pivotal games that really set her apart, including huge nights in the Dick Niclai semifinal and championship games, where she carried her team over the finish line with incredible second-half performances.

Adding to her legacy, Florvilus also led the Crusaders to a state championship as a junior — the first ever in basketball for an H-DNL team, boys or girls — and was also named the CalHiSports Division-4 State Player of the Year last year, as well as earning state player of the week honors this season.

“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 added.

The impressive Florvilus, naturally, has received plenty of collegiate interest and is still weighing her options.

No doubt she will continue to impress on the college courts wherever she ends up.

For good measure, Florvilus also is one of the best track and field athletes in the H-DNL and has the talents to compete in that sport in college as well, if she chooses to.

She has already received multiple Division-I scholarship offers to compete in track in college and is receiving interest to compete in both sports from multiple other schools.

The SB senior beat out a talented group of finalists for the Humboldt Sports player of the year award, a group that also included McKinleyville’s Tatum Fisher, Eureka’s Tiara Maualuga, Arcata’s Mayleah Jackson, Tae Wolford and Mae Wolford and Hoopa’s Ivy Lamebear.

Congratulations to Laila Florvilus for being named the Humboldt Sports Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.