Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Friday night was a busy one for the local contingent of girls teams, with the Little 4 schools tipping off conference play and a big showdown in the Big 5.

Defending L4 champs St. Bernard’s began conference play with an important 55-45 win over Ferndale in Eureka, while the Warriors welcomed South Fork to the Hoopa Valley and tipped off conference play with a dominating 46-8 win.

In the Big 5, the Arcata girls took over sole possession of top spot in the standings with a statement 64-34 win at Fortuna, while in non-conference action the Eureka girls traveled to Redding to play University Prep and won 45-29.

Junior CJ Figas had a huge all-around game for St. Bernard’s, as the Crusaders pulled away in the second half against a Ferndale team that is expected to be their biggest challengers for this year’s Little 4 championship.

The team captain finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

“CJ Figas had another monster game and seemed to hit a big shot every time we needed it,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said of the junior, who also had four steals and three assists.

Despite the loss, it was a much-improved performance by the visitors, who were held to a season-low in points in a 45-30 defeat to Fortuna earlier in the week.

Head coach Chris Ardrey was looking for a good response from his players and he got it, especially in the opening half when the Wildcats came out fired up.

“I thought we out-played them in the first half,” said Ardrey, whose team trailed 24-19 at the break. “We missed eight layups and were 10-of-17 from the (free-throw line). I felt like we should have been up five instead of down five at halftime, and that changed everything.”

The Crusaders, however, began to take control in the third quarter, stretching the advantage to as many as 10 midway through the period.

They led by eight going into the fourth and comfortably kept the Wildcats at bay the remainder of the night.

Samantha Sundberg also impressed for the Crusaders and finished with 14 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists, while impressive freshman Macie Wantt played one of her best games of the season, contributing 13 points and six boards off the bench.

“I am super proud of the team tonight,” Tomlin said. “The girls played tough defense and they shared the ball on offense.

“Freshman Macie Wantt had a big-time performance off the bench … while playing outstanding defense on one of Ferndale’s top players.”

Sophomore point guard Carli Baum also was hugely influential in the win, finishing with five points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists, while also playing well on defense and holding Ferndale’s leading scorer Michaela Ellsmore to six points.

According to Tomlin, it was a “super defensive performance” by the young player.

“I was proud of her effort,” the SB coach said.

Tinnley Pidgeon scored a team-high 12 points for the Cats, who dropped to 0-1 in the Little 4 and 11-7 overall.

Madison Gossi added 11 points for the visitors, while Dahlia Cantù-Mendez chipped in six points and continued to battle hard all night.

“After the Tuesday game (against Fortuna), I’m proud of the kids,” Ardrey said. “We basically stripped everything down and started from scratch and the girls responded.”

Gossi, who has established herself as one of Ferndale’s most important players, continued to impress in the loss, while teammate Gianna Regli also had a good night.

The Cats will not play again until next Friday when they host Hoopa in a key conference showdown.

“We’ve got four good days of practice ahead of us,” Ardrey said. “And we’re looking forward to it.”

Hoopa 46, South Fork 8

A very young Hoopa girls team featured an even younger lineup for their conference opener against the Cubs, but the players stepped up to the challenge and secured a big win.

Team leader Wau’Kel Blake missed the game for personal reasons, and the Warriors played with eight freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors.

And several of the young players impressed for the home team.

Jessie Moon led the way and finished with 15 points, while teammate Vuunsip E-Kor added 12 points.

Luella Cosce also had five points for the Hoopa girls, while Honey Inong, Alyse Kelley and Shiah Murphy each added four points and Cameron Pratt chipped in two points.

With the win, the Warriors improved to 1-0 in the Little 4 and 7-11 overall. 

Arcata 64, Fortuna 34

The defending Big 5 champs continued to roll with a dominating win at Fortuna in a game between the two highest-ranked H-DNL teams in the North Coast Section.

The loss ended a seven-game winning streak for the hosts, who dropped to 0-1 in the Big 5 and 13-4 overall, while the defending conference champion Tigers improved to 2-0 in the Big 5 and 9-3 overall.

The game started out competitive with just one point separating the two teams after the opening quarter and the Tigers holding a slender 11-10 advantage.

But the visitors began to take control after that.

“Great team win in another rowdy environment in Fortuna,” said Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza, whose team also won at Del Norte on Wednesday. 

Sisters Tae and Mae Wolford were instrumental in the win once again.

Tae posted an impressive double-double, finishing with 18 points and 10 steals, while also pulling down six rebounds.

Mae also had a double-double, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.

“All-around great team win,” Espinoza added. “We are happy with the outcome, getting these two big road games out of the way.”

It was a disappointing team performance for the Huskies.

“We could not make an open shot tonight,” Fortuna head coach Tom Chapman said. “We had several layups and put-backs that would not go in. Turnovers and poor shooting doomed us.”

Tatiana Olson scored a team-high 15 points for the Huskies, while teammate Macee Marquez added 11 points.

Mia Cueto also had seven points for the Tigers, but her contributions went well beyond that.

“(Mia) has been playing phenomenal on-ball defense,” Espinoza said. “She’s really brought it this year on the defensive end.”

Colby Eisner also impressed in the win and added seven rebounds and six points, while teammate Kyla Kinyon chipped in six boards and five points.

What started as a good competitive game quickly got away from the home team in the second quarter.

“Early foul trouble and bad passing let Arcata go on a big run that we could not handle,” Chapman said. “It’s important we learn from the losses and keep working to get better.”

The Huskies will try to bounce back when they play at McKinleyville on Wednesday night, while the Tigers will have a mid-week bye in conference play before hosting McKinleyville next Friday.

And Espinoza is hoping for a big home crowd in what will be his team’s first home conference game.

“Fortuna and Del Norte raised the bar for fans at women’s basketball games and I want to challenge our student body and Arcata community members to come out and match that energy,” he said.

Eureka 45, U Prep 29

The Eureka Loggers were held to just eight points in each of the first two quarters and trailed by two at halftime, but picked up the level of their game after the interval on the way to a 16-point win.

Tiarah Maualuga led Eureka in scoring and finished with nine points, while teammates Violla Kingsang and Bella Hunt each added eight points.

Alena Battle also had a big night in the win.

“The second half we did better at finishing and playing together,” head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “We made the extra pass for a score.”

According to the coach, multiple players contributed to the win, including Battle.

“Alena Battle had her best game this year protecting the basket, and Violla Kingsang pressured their guards all over the place,” Napoleon said. 

Hunt also made some key baskets, while Nashya Williams chipped in seven points despite being in foul trouble for much of the opening half.

“When we have a team that contributes like that I think we’ll be tough,” the coach added.

The opening half, however, was a different story as the Loggers missed six layups in the second quarter alone and squandered too many opportunities.

“If we want to become a good team in the league, we can’t leave points on the table,” Napoleon said.

With the win, the Eureka girls improved to 11-4.

The Loggers will continue their two-game weekend road trip when they play at Shasta on Saturday afternoon at 3.