Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Monday’s Niclai tournament game at Eureka High.

By Ray Hamill — It was a good night for the No. 2 seeds in the girls bracket in the opening round of the Dick Niclai Tournament on Monday.

Big 5 runners-up Eureka entertained Del Norte and limited the visitors with their defense for much of the night on the way to a 48-31 win.

The victory sets up a semifinal showdown against Little 4 champs St. Bernard’s on Thursday night at College of the Redwoods.

In the other opening-round game on Monday, Little 4 runners-up Ferndale got the better of conference rival Hoopa 56-35 at Ferndale.

The Wildcats will play Big 5 champs Arcata in Thursday’s semifinal, also at CR.

The Loggers were ready to go from the opening tip of their game and quickly control, opening up a 12-0 lead and hold the visiting Warriors scoreless until the final minute of the opening quarter.

“Played great team defense tonight,” Eureka head coach Cliff Napoleon said. “We limited Del Norte’s penetrations, contested shots and rebounds.

“Multiple girls were in there battling for position, which limited Del Norte’s second-chance points.”

The Loggers led 27-11 at halftime.

“Congratulations to the Eureka players and coaches on their win,” Del Norte head coach Nick Perez said. “They came out with determination, making things challenging for us every step of the way.”

Tiarah Maualuga got the tournament off to an impressive start and led the Loggers with 16 points, as well as seven rebounds and two assists.

Check out some highlights of the Eureka/Del Norte game below …

Jocilyn O’Donnell also impressed in the win and added eight points, three rebounds and a pair of assists, while teammate Nashya Williams had a big all-around night, finishing with seven points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

Madelyn Fazio and Olivanna Millender each also had seven rebounds for Eureka, which improved to 17-8 on the season.

Freshman Josephine Abntonetti had a good game in her Dick Niclai debut and finished with a team-high 10 points for Del Norte, while teammate Jaylee Keeling added eight points and Avery Ritter chipped in five.

With the loss, the Del Norte girls dropped to 11-11 on the season, as they get set for next week’s North Coast Section playoffs.

“This week our priority is getting healthy, as several players have been under the weather,” Perez said. “We’er feeling optimistic about our chances for a strong playoff run ahead.”

The NCS brackets and seeds will be announced on Sunday.

Thursday’s semifinal between Eureka and St. Bernard’s begins at 6 p.m.

Ferndale 56, Hoopa 35

Defense was the name of the game for the Wildcats, who comfortably took care of business against their Little 4 rivals, defeating Hoopa for a third time this season.

The win sets up a challenging semifinal showdown against the Big 5 champs, but the Ferndale players and coaches will be eager for an upset.

“We’re gonna have to ramp it up a bit for Thursday’s game,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said. “But we’re just happy to get over the first hurdle. It’s pretty tough to beat a team three times. Hoopa’s a good team.”

So too are the Wildcats, who have now won four straight and six of their last seven.

And a big part of that has been the play of the team defense.

“Again it was good defense,” Ardrey said of Monday’s performance. “Everybody got in the game and shared the ball well. The girls did well.”

Senior Tinnley Pidgeon led the impressive defense with a big night guarding Hoopa standout Wau-Kel Blake.

Pidgeon also impressed on the other end of the floor, finishing with a co-team high 12 points.

Michaela Ellsmore also scored 12 points in the win, while freshman Abagail Gossi had seven points, as did her older sister, senior Madison Gossi.

The Ferndale coaches and players are looking forward to the challenge of facing Arcata on Thursday night.

“I’m excited,” Ardrey said. “The girls are excited. We’ll see what happens.”

That game tips off at 7:30 p.m. after the Eureka/St. Bernard’s semifinal.