MESA, Ariz. — The stage is set for the top two teams in high school girls basketball to meet in the final of the Nike Tournament of Champions. Top-ranked
Ontario Christian (Ontario, Calif.) and No. 2
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) each took care of business in the semifinals Friday to set up the showdown between California powerhouses.
Archbishop Mitty downed No. 11
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 59-42 in the first semifinal of the night while Ontario Christian pulled away in the second half from scrappy
Bullis (Potomac, Md.) for a 73-65 victory.
Saturday's showdown could be the opening salvo of a three-round battle royale as the two teams will meet Jan. 4 in Northern California and both have eyes on the Open Division state championship game in March.
"We wouldn't have it any other way," Ontario Christian head coach Aundre Cummings said. "We feel like ultimately we wanted Mitty.
When we saw it could possibly happen, we just had to make sure we took
care of business tonight."
It's the second straight year No. 1 and No. 2 in the MaxPreps Top 25 will meet in the Nike TOC final. Mitty is looking for its second-straight championship after beating then-No. 1
Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) 73-72 last year.
Archbishop Mitty sophomore point guard Tiera McCarthy helped the Monarchs to a 59-42 win over Mater Dei in one Nike TOC semifinal. Mitty now gets top-ranked Ontario Christian in Saturday's final. (Photo: Steve Paynter)
After dropping 38 points in the Mitty's quarterfinal win over No. 17
Clackamas (Ore.), five-star
McKenna Woliczkoo was held to 18 tough points as Mater Dei smothered her with a packed-in zone and two-player bracket for much of the first half.
"We knew they were going to pack it in on McKenna, so we knew we'd have
to hit the three," Archbishop Mitty head coach Sue Phillips said. "Our kids made some great adjustments after half time. We
moved McKenna away from the basket, getting her on the move and that
really helped. It was a great team win."
Mitty led 15-10 after one quarter and 27-18 at intermission. Mater Dei cut the lead to 27-23 midway through the third before Mitty used an 16-6 run with triples by James and Hunter along with two buckets from Woliczko, a McCarthy basket and a pair of free throws from Cosgriff.
"Going in we thought we had the advantage with our depth and knew we needed to utilize our fresh bodies as well as attack them with our full complement of players," Phillips said. "I knew Malia would be a contributor. She played significant minutes defensively on
Kaeli Wynn. T (Tiera McCarthy) as a sophomore being able to direct the team with her understanding of the game. There wasn't a senior in that mix, which says something about the future."
In addition to Woliczko's 18, Cosgriff had 11 and McCarthy added seven. Mater Dei was led by 17 from
Amaya Williams and 15 from Wynn.
In the nightcap, Bullis, which came back from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit against No. 9
Purcell Marian (Cincinnati, Ohio) in the quarterfinals, again showed that grit against Ontario Christian. The Bulldogs played to a 22-all tie after the first quarter as Georgia commit
Meghan Yarnevich had seven
Ivanna Manyacka hit a pair of 3-pointers.
But well-rounded Ontario Christian opened a 42-36 halftime lead and then used a 7-0 run midway through the third to provide cushion.
"Give a lot of credit to Bullis," Cummings said. "They're a tough team, a good team with a lot of resilience. I knew they would stick around."
The Ontario Christian burst was fueled by Smith, who found Douglas on a fast break and then hit a bucket of her own. Douglas was fouled cleaning up a miss, hitting one of two free throws and then Smith again was smooth in transition for an easy layup.
The Knights opened up a 15-point lead near the start of the fourth that Bullis was able to chip to eight with four minutes to play but couldn't get closer.
Manyacka had 17 for Bullis while Yarnevich added 16 and
Sanai Troutman chipped in 12.
Cummings said the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 will be ready for Saturday's showdown.
"You want to play them now anyway and see things they do win or lose," Cummings said of the matchup. "I respect them, but we'll be ready."
Kaleena Smith poured in 26 points in a 73-65 Ontario Christian win on Friday over Bullis. The No. 1 Knights look to stay unbeaten in Saturday's Nike TOC final against No. 2 Archbishop Mitty. (Photo: Louis Lopez)
