No. 5 Archbishop Mitty, No. 6 Etiwanda advance to California Open Division final for third straight year

For the third straight season No. 5 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) and No. 6 Etiwanda will battle for the California Open Division title.

The Monarchs beat No. 19 Clovis West (Fresno) 64-60 on Tuesday in the Northern California regional final while the Eagles upset No. 1 Ontario Christian (Ontario) 67-62 in the SoCal regional final.

The third round of the Etiwanda-Mitty trilogy happens at 6 p.m. Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

It wasn't easy for either squad to get back to the final as Clovis West went toe-to-toe with Mitty from the opening tip. But head coach Sue Phillips' squad got huge 3-pointers from Ze'Ni Patterson and Devin Cosgriff in the fourth quarter as the Monarchs turned a 46-45 deficit to start the period into a 62-56 lead with 70 seconds left.

Freshman Maliya Hunter had a team-high 17 points for the Monarchs. Mitty spent time a chunk of the season at No. 1 before a season-ending knee injury to MaxPreps All-American McKenna Woliczko in a January game against Ontario Christian. The Monarchs lost that game and two more at the Hoophall Classic, but found their stride down the stretch in order to make their fifth straight Open Division final appearance. In Southern California, Etiwanda led for much of the game with a 37-28 halftime edge and a 52-47 lead entering the final eight minutes.

But the top-ranked Knights took their first lead, 57-56, on a Tati Griffin bucket with just over 4:30 to play. Etiwanda responded as Aliyahna Morris, Chasity Rice, Grace Knox and Arynn Finley all hit clutch shots down the stretch. 

Head coach Stan Delus' team looks for an unprecedented third Open Division crown in Sacramento.

Morris finished with a team-high 19 while Finley had 16 and Rice added 11. Ontario Christian's Kaleena Smith led the Knights with 22 in the loss. Griffin had 16 and Alanna Neale added 10.