Mitty (7-0) stepped up on defense on the game's final possession, forcing a desperation shot by
Syla Swords of Long Island Lutheran (9-1) that fell short.
"I thought we did a good job continuing to respond offensively," Archbishop Mitty head coach Sue Phillips said. "Then we had two great defensive stops at the end."
Archbishop Mitty jumped out to a 21-19 lead after the first quarter and 42-39 at the half.
Archbishop Mitty's McKenna Woliczko goes up for two of her game-high 19 in the Nike TOC finals as the No. 3 Monarchs beat No. 1 Long Island Lutheran 73-72. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Long Island Lutheran, the defending Nike TOC champion, wrestled the lead back after three, 54-51, setting up a thrilling final eight minutes that featured five lead changes.
After Woliczko hit a shot in the paint, Syla Swords answered with a straight-on 3-pointer for a 64-62 LuHi lead with 3:49 left. Cheli then hit one of two free throws before Weisman canned a triple for a 66-64 edge with 2:28 left.
"We preach the importance of team, from 1 to 12," Phillips said of contributions from Weisman,
Belle Bramer and
Emma Cook among others.
The Swords sisters each hit triples for a 70-68 lead with 1:18 left before Weisman's and-one gave Mitty a 71-70 lead with 50 seconds left. After a Syla Swords bucket, Cheli was fouled down low with 16.4 left and gave Mitty its final lead of the night with two freebies.
LuHi had two final shots at the end, but Swann got tied up for a jump ball. On the inbounds, Heckel swiped the ball in the backcourt with 3.2 seconds left. After a timeout, a last gasp fell short and the Monarchs rushed the court celebrating their fourth TOC title.
Archbishop Mitty players celebrate their 73-72 Nike TOC championship win over No. 1 Long Island Lutheran on Thursday. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
UConn commit Morgan Cheli brings the ball up against LuHi's Syla Swords on Thursday in the Nike TOC championship game. Cheli had 17 for Mitty in their 73-72 win while Swords had 14 for LuHi. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Crestwood Prep 64, No. 8 Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) 58
The Lions held off a fourth-quarter charge from the Mustangs after entering the quarter up 16.
Post
LaNae' Corbett was strong down the stretch for Bishop McNamara with eight points in the final quarter, including two old-fashioned 3-pointers.
Corbett's first and-one with 4:44 left pulled McNamara within nine at 57-46. After a
Vanessa Harris mid-range jumper, Corbett again was fouled with the bucket and Crestwood's lead shrunk to 59-54 with 2:02 to play.
It became a one-possession game after
Madisen McDaniel's steal and coast-to-coast bucket, but Duke commit Toby Fournier finished on the fast break and then hit one of two free throws before Agot Makeer iced the game with a pair of freebies with less than 10 second to play.
Bishop McNamara led 18-3 early in the first quarter before Crestwood Prep stormed back with a 20-5 run and then added to the edge with a 22-7 third-quarter advantage.
Corbett led Bishop McNamara with 19 points while McDaniel added 11.
Crestwood was led by Fournier's 20 points while Ava Porter added 17 with five 3-pointers and Makeer chipped in 15. McDaniel and Fournier were named to the all-tournament team.
