Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The Dick Niclai Tournament rarely disappoints and it certainly didn’t this year.

On Friday night, the Arcata Tigers capped two big days in tournament play with a gutsy performance in the championship showdown against Big 5 rival Eureka, becoming the third different tournament champion in three years. 

The Tigers had to dig deep in the second half, but responded to the challenge, overcoming an eight-point deficit on the way to a 64-60 win.

The tournament championship is the program’s record 12th all-time, but its first since 2018, and it was particularly sweet for a team that lost last year’s final in heartbreaking fashion against St. Bernard’s.

Many of the players from that team were back on hand this year, including three-year varsity players, Tae Wolford, Mae Wolford and Mia Cueto.

Those three Arcata players had witnessed plenty of big-game heartbreak along the way, including a NorCal championship game loss to St. Bernard’s two years ago as well as the Niclai final loss to the Crusaders 12 months ago.

But this year, they would not be denied, securing the title with a big second half that included a game-changing 17-1 run to close out the third quarter.

The final, which was played in front of a large crowd at Lumberjack Arena, capped a week of exciting tournament action that also included two entertaining semifinals at College of the Redwoods on Thursday night.

And, as always, there were several standout performances all week, which leads us to the 2026 Humboldt Sports All-Tournament Team and tournament MVP.

Humboldt Sports Dick Niclai All-Tournament Girls Team

Carli Baum 

St. Bernard’s, Sophomore

I’m not sure if there’s a more exciting player to watch in the H-DNL right now, and Baum was outstanding once again in her team’s lone tournament game this week, a 54-53 loss to Eureka in the semifinal.

The sensational sophomore plays as hard as anyone in the league and she impressed down the stretch of Thursday’s game, helping to keep her team in the game just when the Eureka 3-point shooters were getting hot at an opportune time.

Baum finished with a team-high 16 points in the loss, while inspiring her teammates with her hustle and tenacity.

Violla Kingsang 

Eureka, Junior

The junior guard could be the most improved player in the H-DNL over the second half of the season and turned in another inspirational performance in Friday night’s championship game when her team needed someone to step up.

A playmaker at both ends of the court, few players can spark a team like Kingsang, whose performance on Friday night earned her the respect of the Arcata head coach Charlie Espinoza.

“Violla, I got so much respect for her,” he said of Kingsang. “She is a basketball player, downhill she’s sneaky, she gets through the cracks, she finishes tough buckets. She is a tough girl to plan for because you really don’t know what you get from her.”

Kingsang finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two steals against St. Bernard’s and followed that with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in the final.

Tiarah Maualuga 

Eureka, Junior

The junior center has been one of the best players in the H-DNL since she broke into the Eureka team as a freshman two years ago, and her game has continued to evolve since then.

But this year, she has really established herself as a team leader, with her play and her words.

Maualuga enjoyed a huge week, particularly in the semifinal win, when she finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, five steals and four blocks.

Over the three tournament games, she averaged 16 points and almost 10 rebounds a game.

Tinnley Pidgeon

Ferndale, Senior 

The Wildcats comfortably took care of business in their tournament opener against Hoopa and followed that with a huge performance against Arcata in the semifinal, playing the eventual champs as close as Eureka did.

And no one played a bigger role for the team than Pidgeon, who inspired her teammates with her hustle and determination and caused the Tigers problems all night.

Known more for her stellar defense, Pidgeon outscored everyone on the court in the semifinal with a game-high 26 points, three days after finishing with 12 points against Hoopa.

Mae Wolford 

Arcata, Senior

No one deserved to win this year’s Niclai championship more than Mae and her twin sister Tae, who have been thrilling North Coast fans with their stellar play for the past three seasons.

The ever-consistent Mae was as good as advertised this week, helping to lead her team to victories in challenging matchups against both Ferndale and Eureka.

The senior standout had a double-double in the semifinal, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds, to go with seven steals, and she followed that with another big performance in the final, finishing with 17 points.

Tae Wolford 

Arcata, Senior

Tae was phenomenal in both of her team’s games this week, particularly in the final, when she scored a game-high 32 points.

And she raised her game just when her team needed it the most, scoring 16 of her points in the third quarter, when the Tigers faced an eight-point deficit as the game began to slip away from them.

Described by Espinoza as “the best leader that I’ve ever had as a coach,” Tae inspired her teammates with her play and her words.

The senior also had 24 points, eight steals, four rebounds and three assists against Ferndale.

It’s been fun to watch both of the Wolfords evolve on the court over the past few years and both appear to have a bright future in the college game.

TOURNAMENT MVP — Tae Wolford

Honorable Mention — Mae Wolford