Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Thursday’s game at St. Bernard’s.

St. Bernard’s and Ferndale honored standout senior classes on Thursday night before closing out conference play with big wins.

The Crusaders hosted Hoopa and won 77-36, completing a perfect Little 4 campaign and securing a fourth straight 20-win regular season, while the Wildcats topped South Fork 61-17 to go to 4-2 in the Little 4 and 16-8 overall.

The SB and Ferndale girls will now turn their attention toward next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.

As conference champs, the Crusaders (20-6 overall) have earned a No. 1 seed and opening-round bye and will begin tournament play next Thursday in the semifinals at College of the Redwoods.

As the Little 4’s No. 2 seed, the Wildcats will tip off the tournament at home against Hoopa on Monday night.

“For this program to win 20 regular-season games for four straight years is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all the amazing young ladies that have played in our program,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “I can’t thank every player and the assistant coaches enough for this amazing accomplishment.”

Making that accomplishment even more impressive is the fact the Crusaders have just two seniors on a young roster this winter.

But both seniors — Alyssa Boham and Kayla Maples — have played big roles for the team in their time as Crusaders and that continued to be the case on Thursday.

Maples finished with 11 points in the win, while Boham added eight points.

“Both ladies have meant a lot to this program for the past four years,” Tomlin added. “They both contributed to leading the team to 20 wins in the regular season for the fourth straight year.

“I am so proud of both Alyssa and Kayla and am honored to have had the opportunity to coach them.”

Several of their teammates also impressed in Thursday’s win, including the tenacious Carli Baum and sharpshooter Samantha Sundberg.

Both finished with a team-high 13 points, while CJ Figas also had a good night and added 11 points.

Macie Wantt also impressed and finished with 10 points, while Sariah Vainuku had five points, Baylee Dalby-Edwards had four points and Kyna Tupua two.

No stats were immediately available for Hoopa, which dropped to 2-4 in conference and 8-16 overall.

At Ferndale, meanwhile, the Wildcats honored a senior class that has not only impressed this year but also helped lead the program to a North Coast Section title as juniors 12 months ago.

The class includes Madison Gossi, Tinnley Pidgeon, Michaela Ellsmore, Quinn Stokesberry and Becky Gallardo.

All five had good nights in the win, no one more so than Pidgeon, who reached a career milestone with her 900th point.

“It was an emotional night,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said. “I love these kids, I love these seniors. And we’re hoping to continue it on. We want to keep playing as long as possible.”

Judging by the way this team is playing right now, they appear far from done.

The win was their third straight and fifth in six games, which will give the Cats plenty of momentum heading into next week’s big tournament.

Ellsmore led the way offensively in Thursday’s win and finished with a team-high 13 points, while Gossi added 12 points and Stokesberry had 10 points.

Junior Gianna Regli, who also has been playing at a high level for the Ferndale girls, had 10 points, while Pidgeon finished with nine points on her milestone night.

Gallardo had two points in her final regular-season game.

The team defense, which has been the Cats’ strength for much of the year, continued to impress.

“Our defense again set the tone,” Ardrey said. 

But the night belonged to the seniors.

“I just thought it was all about the seniors tonight,” Ardrey added. “It was just a good game. I’m glad to be a part of their ride.”