SACRAMENTO — No. 1
Ontario Christian (Ontario) beat No. 2
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 56-49 on Saturday in California's Open Division state championship game at Golden 1 Center. The victory ensures the Knights will be crowned MaxPreps National Champion when the final rankings are released later this month.
"Hearing that (MaxPreps National Champion) sounds surreal," Ontario Christian coach Aundre Cummings said. "I'm glad we were able to live up to the expectations."
The game featured two finalists for MaxPreps National Player of the Year.
Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian and and Iowa commit
McKenna Woliczko of Archbishop Mitty didn't disappoint.
The first state title for No. 1 Ontario Christian brings joyous emotions as the Knights celebrate their CIF Open Division crown. (PHOTO: David Steutel)
Smith was sensational down the stretch, scoring seven of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Knights turned a tie at 39 into the seven-point victory. Woliczko led the Monarchs with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"This (game) was just about winning," Cummings said. "And we got the job done."
"I would like to congratulate Ontario Christian, they've had a tremendous year and they played a perfect game," Mitty head coach Sue Phillips said. "Kaleena, again, was the difference maker."
After scoring 50 points in her team's first meeting with Archbishop Mitty this season, Kaleena Smith was the difference once again Saturday in Sacramento. The star junior guard scored 24 points to give Ontario Christian its first state title. (PHOTO: David Steutel)
It was the fifth straight Open Division loss for the Monarchs, who fell to
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) in 2021 and then the past three seasons to
Etiwanda.
Archbishop Mitty opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run on buckets by
Emma Cook and
Devin Cosgriff and a pair of Woliczko field goals. But Griffin stopped the run and then Smith got cooking with seven straight as the Knights entered the half up 28-27.
Neither team was unable to separate in the third period as Mitty took a 35-34 lead on a Woliczko baseline jumper and the Monarchs added two more buckets. But Smith completed a 3-point play and Griffin hit from down low as they squared up again heading into the final eight minutes.
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 Woliczko.
Iowa-bound McKenna Woliczko led Mitty with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Monarchs fell short of a state title for the fifth straight season. (PHOTO: David Steutel)
