Golden 1 Center in Sacramento will play host to the fourth installment of this budding rivalry at 6 p.m. Saturday.
How to watchDate: Saturday, March 14
Location: Golden 1 Center – Sacramento
Tip: 6 p.m. PT
Streaming: NFHS Network
"In order to have a rivalry, you have to have a win and contests that
were tightly fought," Archbishop Mitty coach Sue Phillips said.
Ontario Christian beat Mitty 96-87 on Jan. 10 in a double-overtime thriller in the inaugural MaxPreps Game of the Week. Prior to that, the teams split meetings last season with Mitty winning the Nike Tournament of Champions final and Ontario Christian beating the Monarchs two weeks later in a game marred by the season-ending ACL injury of Iowa commit
McKenna Woliczko.
Archbishop Mitty opened the season as the top-ranked team and Ontario Christian spent time at No. 1 earlier in the year before climbing back to that spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 this week.
The Monarchs are in the Open Division final for the fourth straight season but looking for their first victory in the state's premiere classification. The Knights are playing in their first state championship game after grabbing their first section title a few weeks back.
"McKenna and Kaleena are two of the best players regardless of class," Ontario Christian coach Aundre Cummings said. "I haven't coached against a player as hard to defend as McKenna. There's no way to match up against her will to win."
Woliczko, who returned from the ACL injury in January, is averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 72 percent from the field despite playing an average of 16 minutes per game. Smith is among the national scoring leaders averaging 31.7 points per game to go along with 6.9 assists, 4.6 steals and 3.7 rebounds.
Phillips was equally complimentary of the duo.
"McKenna affects the game in so many ways. When Kaleena gets going it's problematic because you know it's going on," Phillips said. "She's got the full package and she's shown she's competitive and wants the ball."
And while the programs differ in pedigree — Mitty is a six-time state champion while Ontario Christian looks for its first — both coaches relish the chance to be state, and ultimately, national champion.
"It was never the goal to get here," Cummings said. "It was to be successful when we got here."
Phillips acknowledged it's hard to get to four final games and not cash in.
"I hate to lose more than I love to win," Phillips said. "It doesn't matter where we play, if it's the park across the street from Archbishop Mitty or Golden 1, we want to win. The kids want to win. I want to win."
Players to watch
Ontario Christian
Tatianna Griffin | 6-0 | Soph. | Guard — 21.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game
Dani Robinson | 5-10 | Jr. | Guard — 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists
Chloe Jenkins | 6-0 | Fr. | Guard — 14.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.1 assist
Archbishop Mitty
Emma Cook | 5-10 | Sr. | Guard — 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds
Maliya Hunter | 6-2 | Soph. | Forward — 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds
