Eureka outlasts St. Bernard's
Loggers edge crosstown rival to secure Niclai crown
Just one mile separates Eureka High School and St. Bernard's Academy, and in Friday night's Dick Niclai Tournament championship game, just three points would separate the two schools with Eureka holding on to edge out crosstown rival 45-42.
It was a fitting end to the girl's Niclai tournament with both the Little 4 and the Big 5 league winners going blow-for-blow. While Eureka led for much of Friday's game, it was St. Bernard's who held a lead late after Crusaders sophomore Sahara Tupua scored in the final minutes.
Eureka's senior Isis Poteet tied the game back up with a free throw; the Loggers then took the lead on a basket by junior Samara Gaither. Gaither was sent to the line and knocked down two crunch time free throws to extend the Eureka lead to four.
A turnover by the Crusaders forced them to foul senior Kaitlin Giacone who split a pair at the line, giving the Loggers a fivepoint lead with only 15.1 seconds remaining. St. Bernard's cut it to a two-point deficit on a made three by junior Laila Florvilus. St. Bernard's then fouled Giacone with only 1.1 seconds left, Giacone again split the two free throws. The Crusaders, down three, were out of timeouts needing to go the length of the court in just over a second; their heave to Florvilus down the court was broken up by Gaither to clinch Eureka their fourth straight Niclai title.
“I saw the potential for this team and I told them, `I don't think we're going to lose a game in league, we're playing that well where I don't think any team can beat us right now,' and sure enough it happened and we're
just getting better and better,” Eureka's head coach Cliff Napoleon said after Friday's win. “It's always tough to play against St. Bernard's, they always bring it, they're fundamentally sound and they're just a great program.”
Neither St. Bernard's nor Eureka lost a league game, but the two teams did face off last month where St. Bernard's defeated the Loggers at home 47-42 for one of the four Logger losses so far this season, but Eureka didn't let it happen a second time, even if it took all 32 minutes Friday night.
Gaither and Poteet scored 17 apiece for Eureka to lead the team, with the game-changing Florvilus leading the way for SB with 19 and Crusader senior Madelyn Shanahan added timely buckets and stellar defense. The two teams left little doubt that this was a bout between the county's top two teams, with St. Bernard's forcing the Loggers to sweat out their fourth straight Niclai win.
Missing their starting point guard Oliviana Millender due to an injury, Napoleon moved Giacone, last year's Big 5 MVP, to point guard for Friday's championship game. While the two lategame free throws were her only points, Giacone did everything that Napoleon hoped from her.
“She kind of keeps us together, she didn't score tonight but that wasn't her job, her job was not to score, her job was to run the offense and she did awesome at it.” Napoleon said of Giacone, who he referred to as “the MVP” of the team. “That's what you won't see in the paper, you won't see her scoring points, you didn't see her assists, all her steals, all her rebounds. I don't want her to get overlooked because with our point guard out, she took over the team.”
Along with Giacone, Napoleon credits the seniors, Poteet and Maia Hales for their leadership and for getting the rest of the roster ready for games like Friday's.
“I wasn't sure what to expect this year,” Napoleon said. “Those three kept the ship straight. They carried us on how we're supposed to practice, how we're supposed to react, how we're supposed to play, the mindset. Those three were the key to this year's team, by example, they led the rest of the girl's.”
Both teams will find out what's next for them on Sunday for North Coast Section playoffs, with impressive seasons for each team. The win brings Eureka's record to 22-4, while the loss makes St. Bernard's 23-4.