Basketball

Local rivals join forces to lead Wild All-Stars in tournament play

Submitted photo

Some of the best high school basketball players from around the North Coast and beyond joined forces over the weekend at the Best of the West tournament in Sacramento.

The Humboldt Wild Senior All-Stars traveled to compete in the tournament and made it all the way to the championship game, with big performances from several of the players.

Head coach Matt Tomlin described the weekend performance as “epic” as his players jelled and won all three pool games on their way to the final, including a couple of clutch victories on day one.

“I’m so proud of these amazing young ladies,” Tomlin said of his roster, a group that included 2025 Humboldt Sports Player of the Year Laila Florvilus of St. Bernard’s and 2025 Lake County Player of the Year Mia Hoogendoorn of Middletown.

The Wild All-Stars opened tournament play with a 52-47 win over the East Bay Lady Legends on Saturday.

They trailed by one going into the final minute but closed out strong to take the win, with Del Norte’s Brooklyn Carter hitting a big-time late 3-pointer to help her team over the finish line.

The Del Norte Warriors were one of five H-DNL programs represented on the nine-player roster, along with St. Bernard’s, Eureka, Fortuna and Ferndale.

Eureka’s Samara Gaither led the Wild in scoring against the Lady Legends, finishing with 13 points while Carter had 10 points, Florvilus eight and Hoogendoorn seven in a balanced team performance.

The Wild girls kept the momentum going with a 42-40 win over the Bay City Select All-Stars later in the day, and once again they came form behind late to secure another clutch victory.

They trailed by five in the final minute, but closed out with a 7-0 run to clinch the win.

The ever-dangerous Carter again hit a big 3 to key the late rally, with Florvilus also hitting a big late basket and Hoogendoorn scoring the winning bucket with just 13 seconds on the clock.

On Sunday morning, the Wild continued to roll with a 53-42 win over the Sacramento Lady All-Stars to top their pool and qualify for the championship game.

Florvilus led the team with 17 points, while Carter continued to impress with 14 points and Hoogendoorn chipped in nine points.

The Wild players, according to their coach, ran out of gas in the championship game, falling 57-37 to Central California Elite later on Sunday, but it was a memorable trip nonetheless.

Hoogendoorn led the team with eight points in the final, while St. Bernard’s freshman Carli Baum had a good game as she continues to flourish and finished with seven points and five assists.

The all-star roster also includes Fortuna’s Macee Marquez, Ferndale’s Emily Sauers, St. Bernard’s Aliyah Vigil and Peityn Erlenbush out of Churchill High in Eugene, as well as assistant coach Oriana Tomlin.

Categories: Basketball

Tagged as:

Leave a Reply