SAN JOSE — The Archbishop Mitty girls basketball team is learning how to survive and succeed minus their star player.
It was reasonable to question what Mitty’s ceiling would be after McKenna Woliczko, one of the best high school girls basketball players in the nation, went down with a season-ending knee injury.
But if Saturday’s 71-48 demolition of visiting McClatchy in the CIF Open Division Northern regional semifinals was any indication, the Monarchs could very well still be the best team in Northern California. And, who knows, capturing the program’s first state Open Division crown is not beyond the realm of possibility.
“No question, this group is playing its best basketball right now,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said. “And that’s what you hope to do, peak in March.”
It was a 10-point game at halftime with Mitty up 36-26. The Monarchs put their foot down in the second half and steadily pulled away.
“They just wore us down,” McClatchy coach Jeff Ito said. “I saw their bodies compared to our bodies and I’m going, ‘this is going to be a monumental task.’ I saw hours of videos on them and you can watch all the video you want, but when you see them in person it’s a little different.”
Devin Cosgriff, a transfer from Bishop O’Dowd, led the way with 24 points.
“Cosgriff is definitely getting more comfortable in the flow of the game and understanding philosophically what we’re trying to do,” Phillips said. “When she gets to her spots on the floor she’s virtually unstoppable.”
Emma Cook scored 13 and Tiera McCarthy had 12. McCarthy got Mitty’s second-half into high gear early in the third quarter with three transition buckets.
“What a tremendous point guard as a sophomore,” Phillips said of McCarthy. “Did a phenomenal job of having a balance, playing both sides of the ball.”
Woliczko was averaging nearly 25 points and 15 rebounds per game at the time of her injury. Now the team has started to get over the shock of losing her and is adapting to her absence.
“Yes, definitely,” Cosgriff said. “McKenna is such a big part of our team with her scoring and rebounding, so we all had to figure out how to add our own little piece to the team, whether it’s scoring or rebounding or playing great defense.”
No. 1 seed Mitty (26-3) will host No. 2 Clovis West (33-0) on Tuesday for the NorCal Open championship. Clovis West advanced with a 69-62 win over San Ramon Valley.
“For the next 12 hours I’m going to enjoy this win and then start burning the midnight oil, watching film,” Phillips said.