It has taken more than three months to get here, three-plus months of practice, games, sweat, emotion and everything in between.
Now, for the 24 teams still playing, they are 32 minutes from a cherished prize in California high school basketball.
A state championship.
Seven teams from the Bay Area News Group’s coverage area have advanced to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento this weekend.
The list includes the best of the best – the Archbishop Mitty girls and Salesian boys.
Two very good teams – the San Ramon Valley boys and Bishop O’Dowd girls.
Oakland’s regional champions – the Oakland Tech boys and Oakland girls.
And a small private school from Danville – the Athenian boys.
They all won Northern California championships on Tuesday to secure their spot in a California Interscholastic Federation state final.
Archbishop Mitty’s Morgan Cheli (33) celebrates with Archbishop Mitty’s McKenna Woliczko (20) against Clovis West in the CIF NorCal Open Division championship on Tuesday. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
The Mitty girls are the cream of the crop, having captured six state championships in 15 previous appearances. But the Monarchs are 0-3 in Open Division finals, the elite classification the CIF added in 2013 and Mitty will aim to conquer on Saturday.
The San Jose powerhouse was close to the top prize last season, losing to Etiwanda on a shot at the buzzer.
“I’m not sure if you ever get over it,” Mitty’s Morgan Cheli, a UConn-bound McDonald’s All-American, said after her team’s 71-34 rout of Clovis West on Tuesday. “For me, I just continue to use it as fuel. Coming into this season, obviously we wanted to get back there.
“We’re going to come ready to go and leave it all out on the floor.”
If Mitty is to win its first Open title on Saturday, it will have to beat the defending champion. Etiwanda won the Southern California regional title with a 54-51 victory over Sierra Canyon.
Mitty is No. 1 in ESPN’s SCNext Top 25 national rankings. Etiwanda, led by McDonald’s All-American Kennedy Smith, is No. 3.
The teams have not played one another this season but were among the participants in an Oregon showcase over the holidays.
“From what I saw in December, they are really great defensively and can score at all three levels,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said. “You’re going to have to pick your poison in terms of what you want to try to take away. You’re going to have to score because limiting them will be incredibly difficult.”
If Mitty (30-0) prevails, it will be the first girls Open Division state champion to finish undefeated.
Salesian’s Alvin Loving (1) celebrates with teammate Isaiah Davis (5) after defeating Archbishop Riordan during their CIF NorCal Open Division championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Salesian defeated Archbishop Riordan 49-44. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Salesian boys entered the NorCal regionals having never won an Open game in five appearances. They won two in four days to reach Sacramento, beating perennial contender Modesto Christian in the regional semifinals and Archbishop Riordan in the final.
The Pride (31-1) have won 19 in a row since their only loss, 68-66 in overtime to St. John Bosco-Bellflower over the holidays, but will face a tall task on Saturday night.
They will close out the high school season in the Open final against defending champion Harvard-Westlake, which features McDonald’s All-American Trent Perry, a 6-4 guard bound for USC.
“It’s not going to be easy and that’s OK,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. “We’re just going to come in, have fun and give it our best shot.”
The San Ramon Valley Wolves bench anticipates a 3-point basket against the Granada Matadors during the fourth quarter of a NorCal Division I boys’ high school basketball game, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Dublin, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Area News Group)
The San Ramon Valley boys are returning to a state final for the first time since they beat Chino Hills — then led by two-thirds of the Ball brothers, Lonzo and LiAngelo — in double overtime for the Division I title in 2015 at Cal.
The Wolves will play St. John Bosco for the Division I crown on Friday night.
San Ramon Valley will bring an experienced group to Sacramento, one whose highlights include winning a top division at a prestigious Southern California holiday tournament and a road victory over De La Salle in the East Bay Athletic League final. The Wolves also beat Archbishop Mitty and defending NorCal Division I champion Granada to make it to Golden 1 Center.
The Bishop O’Dowd girls are making their sixth trip to the state championships. The Oakland school won the Open Division in 2013 and Division III in 2012 and 2015, all under longtime coach Malik McCord. The Dragons reached the D-I state final in 2020 but the game was canceled because of the pandemic.
They will play Bishop Montgomery-Torrance for the Division I championship on Friday night.
OAKLAND — Oakland Tech guard ArDarius Grayson (0) shoots a jump shot in the first half. Oakland Tech defeated Oakland 73-66 in the CIF Division II NorCal title game at Oakland Tech High School on March 5, 2024 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland Tech’s boys team, fresh off defeating rival Oakland in a regional final, will try to carry the momentum into the Division II state title game on Saturday against Centennial-Bakersfield. Tech missed out on the state championships last season, losing to Oakland in the D-III NorCal final. Oakland then won the D-III state crown.
“We’ve been holding onto this feeling for 365 days,” Tech coach Karega Hart said. “It feels good to get the monkey off our back, but we’ve still got more work to do.”
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Tech has appeared in two previous state finals, losing to Westchester-Los Angeles for the D-I championship in 2002 and 2003.
The Oakland girls will tip off state championship weekend at 10 a.m. Friday when they play Montgomery-San Diego for the Division V title. Oakland was dropped down to D-V this season despite having won the Division III state championship five years ago.
The Athenian boys will follow the Oakland girls on the championship card. The top-seeded Danville school won three regional games after losing to league rival Head-Royce in a sectional final.
Athenian will face Verdugo Hills-Tujunga in the D-V final at noon Friday.
Joseph Dycus and Nathan Canilao contributed to this report.