Junior McKenna Woliczko earns back-to-back MVP honors with a 25-point performance.
In addition to the back-to-back championships, five-star junior
McKenna Woliczko was named tournament MVP for the second straight time after pouring in a game-high 25 points. She joins
Katie Lou Samuelson of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) as the only two-time MVPs in the event's 27-year history. Samuelson shared the award with sister Karlie in 2012 and won it outright in 2013 and 2014.
The much-hyped No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown never really materialized as Mitty's defensive pressure was too much for a talented but young Ontario Christian squad.
The two are set to meet Jan. 4 at the SI20 Showcase in Northern California and could meet against in the Open Division state championship game.
On Saturday, Woliczko set the tone on offense early with eight first-quarter points while the defense pestered the Knights into 3 of 10 shooting in the first eight minutes.
No. 2 Archbishop Mitty beat No. 1 Ontario Christian 59-34 on Saturday to win its second straight Nike Tournament of Champions title. Junior McKenna Woliczko earned tournament MVP honors after pouring in 25 on Saturday. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
"First and foremost Mitty is a great team, a well-coached team.
Let's not slight them or disrespect them in any regard. They were
prepared," Ontario Christian head coach Aundre Cummings said. "A lot of times because we're so talented, so young they haven't seen this kind of machine come at them."
The Knights start two freshmen in
Sydney Douglas and
Tatianna Griffin and last year's MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year
Kaleena Smith. She hit a NBA-range 3-pointer five minutes into the game to trim Mitty's lead to 12-10 but would be held without a field goal for the next 24 minutes.
"I felt good about our ability to maintain 32 minutes of physical
basketball," Archbishop Mitty head coach Sue Phillips said. "We knew we were going against a formidable opponent so we
had to pick our spots when we were going to rebound and run. They are an
incredibly explosive team and we caught them on an off night and that's
not to discredit how well our kids played and fought on the boards."
After Smith's trey,
Emma Cook provided a spark for Mitty with a tough and-one to bump the lead to 15-10 before the Monarchs ended the quarter up 19-12.
"Emma is a glue kid," Phillips said. "Emma is one of those people who gives us a shot in the arm."
Ontario Christian's Tatianna Griffin drives against Mitty's McKenna Woliczko on Saturday. Griffin finished with a team-high 12 points for the Knights. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Archbishop Mitty extended its lead to 33-18 at half as
Tiera McCarthy hit a tear-drop floater, Wolcizko cleaned up a miss,
Ze'Ni Patterson buried a triple in the corner and Woliczko finished off the half with five straight points.
Not to be outdone, the Monarchs opened the second half with a 9-0 run over the first three minutes, capped by Cook's two free throws to give Mitty a 42-18 lead and the feeling that it was headed toward another TOC title.
"We want to move the needle forward on our improvement because we want to
win the last game," said Phillips, who has led the Monarchs to the past three Open Division finals without bringing home a title. "That's the game that matters most to us."
Cook, who finished with 14, earned all-tournament honors along with McCarthy who had nine points.
Griffin finished with 12 points and Smith added 11. Both were chosen to the all-tournament team.
"It helps us more than it hurts us and I'm happy it happened at this
time, in a championship moment," Cummings said of falling short to Mitty. "That's what creates champions, learning
from losing experience. So we'll get better."
Archbishop Mitty and Ontario Christian are schedule to meet on Jan. 4 in the second round of what could become a three-round battle culminating in the Open Division final. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
