Archbishop Mitty girls basketball, without McKenna Woliczko, lost its fourth straight CIF Open Division girls basketball championship game on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Archbishop Mitty girls basketball, without McKenna Woliczko, lost its fourth straight CIF Open Division girls basketball championship game on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
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SACRAMENTO — Sometimes, the little engine that could runs out of gas.
Or it just runs into a bigger engine. That’s what happened to Archbishop Mitty girls basketball in the CIF Open Division championship game on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Monarchs, playing without superstar forward McKenna Woliczko, lost 75-59 to powerhouse Etiwanda of Rancho Cucamonga. Mitty’s magic without Woliczko, which had carried it back to its fourth consecutive state title game, wore off against a healthier, superior Eagles team.
It marked the Monarchs’ four straight loss in the state championship matchup, and though Mitty was without Woliczko, that didn’t make it much easier to absorb.
“It’s difficult to articulate how painful it is to yet again come up short in this situation,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said. “Nevertheless, it certainly wasn’t our night, and some of that is a credit to Etiwanda. But we just struggled defending.”
Though Woliczko is expected to return fully healthy for her senior year next season, this Monarchs group met the end of the line without its full arsenal.
Ze’Ni Patterson scored a team-high 17 points for Mitty, with Maliya Hunter and Emma Cook each scoring 10.
But the Monarchs (27-4) couldn’t go bucket for bucket with Etiwanda (28-5), which received scoring contributions from up and down the lineup.
Arynn Finley scored 21 points for the Eagles, while Shaena Brew and Chastity Rice each scored 13. Cal commit Puff Morris scored 12 for Etiwanda, and LSU commit Grace Knox scored 10 points and added 10 rebounds.
“They got to the rim at will, and then found some cutters,” Phillips said.
Mitty kept it close early on. The Monarchs were down just 19-15 after a quarter and 37-31 at the half.
But Etiwanda spread its wings in the third quarter. The Eagles stretched their lead to a maximum of 20 points and 17 by the end of the penultimate frame.
At that point, it was going to take a miracle for superstar-less Mitty to come back. This version of the Monarchs couldn’t find a transcendent final eight minutes and met the same fate as the previous three iterations.
“I’m very proud of this team,” Morris said. “We struggled at the beginning of the season, but I think once we got the hang of everything, things got better. I know what this team is capable of. I see it every day in practice. Everyone on this team is capable of doing whatever they want to do.”
Though the end of this season is a bitter pill for Mitty to swallow, the Monarchs will return nearly every major contributor next year. And Woliczko should be back at some point.
But in her stead, Mitty’s remaining players developed skills and resolve they might not have otherwise. That could serve the Monarchs well come playoff time next year.
“I’m incredibly proud and pleased of the growth and development of this group,” Phillips said. Today, we got in our emotions a little bit. And it got in our heads a little bit, which then impacted our ability in some stretches. You can’t afford it against a team like that. So we need to mature a little bit emotionally.”
Patterson, a sophomore who was an individual standout on a night where Mitty struggled to match Etiwanda’s collective excellence, felt there was a lot that the Monarchs could build upon in the offseason.
“All the hard work we put in, on the field, on the track, on the basketball court, makes me excited for next year,” Patterson said. “We get another chance to do this. It’s exciting how we’ve grown, how much we’ve gotten better. It makes me excited for the upcoming years.”
A trying season for Mitty, to be sure. But one that, if channeled effectively, could lead the Monarchs somewhere they have never been before.
An Open Division state championship.
“If you asked me at the end of December, I thought we would be on the winning side,” Phillips said. “And then there’s an injury (to Woliczko). So you can never take things for granted. And yet, we were still here today with the opportunity to potentially win this game. So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board, put back in our work, and hopefully we get another shot.
“I know that before I’m done, we will get one of these done.”
