St. Bernard's sweep
Crusaders clean up as Florvilus, Shanahan, Burriss and Dyer earn honors
Little 4 girls
Less than a week after the St. Bernard's Crusaders girls team wrapped up the local high school basketball season, the HumboldtDel Norte League announced their 2023-24 all-league teams that featured a pair of Crusaders from their CIF state champion team as co-MVPs of the girls Little 4.
The Crusaders pairing of junior Laila Florvilus and senior Madelyn Shanahan were named coMVPs after their historic 30-5 season culminating with a win over Grossmont in the state championship game. Florvilus averaged 19.3 points per game while Shanahan averaged 11.1 points while working as a deterrent at the rim for the Crusaders' defense.
Joining Florvilus and Shanahan on the all-league team for St. Bernard's is junior guard Aliyah Vigil who served as a crucial defender for the Crusaders throughout the course of the season and helped lead SB to an undefeated conference record.
The two teams who finished second in the Little 4, Hoopa Valley and Ferndale, each had two players named all-league, with senior Tashee Tracy and junior Ivy Lamebear for the Warriors, while sophomore Tinnley Pidgeon and Reghan Langer got the nods for the Wildcats.
Tracy poured in over 18 points a game for Hoopa in her senior season, including scoring 21 on the road against Ferndale to advance in the Dick Niclai Tournament last month. Lamebear worked as the lead guard for the Warriors, contributing 11.7 points a game.
Pidgeon led Ferndale in scoring with an average of 11.5 points per game, while Langer was third for the Wildcats at 8.1 both helping Ferndale finish their season at 13-8.
South Fork's lone representative was senior Caidence Young who helped the Cubs go 7-5 in the preseason before struggling and being held without a win in Little 4 play.
Little 4 boys
The boy's Little 4 MVPs also went to a pair of Crusaders, with seniors Aaiden Burriss and Seth
Dyer taking home co-MVP honors as they helped lead St. Bernard's to a 6-0 league record. Burriss' three-point shooting was remarkable all season, including a game against South Fork where he made six threes to help clinch the league for the Crusaders. Dyer was a calm presence all season but in a game without Burriss, Dyer dropped 34 to get an overtime win over Shasta in the Logger Classic back in December.
The duo helped St. Bernard's finish the season at 21-5 and nearly winning the Niclai Tournament, falling just short to Arcata 64-60. Seth won't be the only Dyer on the all-league, with younger brother Liam Dyer joining the duo on the all-conference team. The sophomore proved comfortable facilitating the offense and knocking down big shots for the Crusaders.
The South Fork Cubs, which finished 4-2 in the Little 4, had two players named all-conference with seniors Tommy Rotbergs and Shevy Bero-Van Meter. The pairing helped the Cubs reach the Division 6 North Coast Section championship game, before falling 74-57 to Cornerstone Christian to cap off their high school basketball careers.
Hoopa Valley's sophomore Neil Moon and junior Lyle Mckinnon were the Warriors named All-Little 4. Moon kept the Warriors close against Arcata in the Niclai Tournament, scoring 20 points before the Tigers pulled away. Mckinnon led Hoopa in scoring with 11.7 a game for the Warriors in their 8-13 season.
Two Ferndale Wildcats were also named with sophomore Prescott Langer and senior Thomas Fergison, they were the two Ferndale players to finish the season averaging double-digits in scoring with the Wildcats going 1-5 in the Little 4.