By Ray Hamill — Wednesday night was a good one for the Ferndale Wildcats in more ways than one.

The Cats welcomed Sacramento Adventist to Ferndale High School for their NorCal Division-6 opener and won a tight game 50-41 to advance to the weekend semifinals.

And in doing so they became the third H-DNL team to win their NorCal opener in 24 hours, following the Eureka boys and St. Bernard’s girls, who each also won their NorCal games on Tuesday night.

But that wasn’t the only reason Wednesday was special for the Ferndale girls.

Midway through the second quarter, senior Tinnley Pidgeon hit a pair of free throws to give her 1000 career points, a milestone she achieved in essentially three years of high school ball.

“It was special for Tinnley tonight,” Ferndale head coach Chris Ardrey said. “I was glad to be a part of her career. She’s a great kid in the gym and an even better human out of it.”

Pidgeon played a big role in leading the Cats to the victory, one year after their season ended at the same hurdle.

This time, however, there would be no letdown, and the Wildcats can thank their three captains — Pidgeon, Michaela Ellsmore and Madison Gossi — for helping them over the finish line.

Ellsmore had a big night from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 17 points, while Pidgeon added 10 points and Gossi had nine points.

“Our captains came through, and that’s why their my captains,” Ardrey said.

Ellsmore hit four key 3-pointers in the first half, while Gossi came up big on the boards in the fourth quarter just when her team needed her to.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The visiting Capitals did a good job frustrating the home team in the paint for much of the night in what was a back-and-forth game, with both teams enjoying some good spells and neither really able to take control.

But the visitors opened up a five-point advantage early in the fourth, their biggest lead of the night, and it appeared as if the game was getting away from Ferndale.

But Ardrey and his players made some adjustments and the Cats went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead.

They never trailed again.

“Sac Adventist, they dared us to shoot and it was nice to see (Ellsmore) get her stroke back,” Ardrey said. “It was good to see those four 3s go down in the first half.

“Overall, we gutted it out for the win. We didn’t quit when we were down five. Whether it was pretty or not, it’s a win.”

And it extends the Cats’ season, as the H-DNL went three-for-three in NorCal play over the two days.

It didn’t help matters that senior Quinn Stokesberry was battling sickness, but she did her best to contribute in one of her team’s biggest games of the season.

The Cats made 15 of 24 free-throw attempts.

Defensively, they held the visitors without a field goal for the second quarter and to just three baskets over the second and third quarters combined.

The Capitals, however, made up for that lack of production with a busy night at the charity stripe, making 16 of 23 attempts in the middle two quarters to keep them in contention.

Their lack of production from the field, however, caught up with them late in the game, and making just four baskets over the final three quarters ultimately cost them.

The win sets up a rematch for Ferndale with Cornerstone Christian on Saturday night, one week after a tough loss to the Cougars in the D-6 North Coast Section championship game.

That means another weekend trip to Antioch.

The Cougars, who are the top seeds in the eight-team bracket, defeated Weed 58-47 in their NorCal opener, also on Wednesday.