Mitty girls basketball jumps to No. 1 after epic championship win
Archbishop Mitty, which entered the season as the unquestioned best girls basketball program in the Bay Area, is now considered the top team in America according to MaxPreps, jumping from No. 3 to first after sweeping the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions.
The San Jose private school was expected to take the top spot after slipping past previous No. 1 Long Island Lutheran in a 73-72 thriller on national television.
Led by 17 points and 10 assists by UConn commit Morgan Cheli, and a team-high 22 points from five-star sophomore McKenna Woliczko, Mitty took the lead with 16 seconds left in the game.
“Technically we had nothing to lose, but for us, we all had the mindset we were going to win anyway,” Woliczko told the Bay Area News Group after the game.
The Monarchs (7-0) also beat Miami Country Day, Xavier College Prep and Crestwood-Canada by double-digits to reach the championship showdown.
Long Island Lutheran dropped to No. 2, and Montverde, IMG Academy and Sidwell Friends now round out the top five.
Mitty’s next test will start Thursday when the Monarchs take a trip up to Portland to play in the Holiday Classic against powerhouses DeSoto-Texas, Camas-Washington and Clackamas-Oregon over three days.
West Coast Jamboree
The No. 1 girls basketball prospect in the class of 2026 will be in the Bay Area for the West Coast Jamboree.
Jerzy Robinson, who joined Woliczko on the USA’s gold medal-winning FIBA U-16 team earlier this year, is the star for Sierra Canyon.
Oakland Tech, Salesian, Moreau Catholic, Miramonte and Evergreen Valley are among the teams participating in the jamboree.
Boys basketball notes
Several top Bay Area boys basketball programs are making the trip down to southern California to play in winter tournaments.
De La Salle and Salesian will play in the top bracket of the Classic at Damien in La Verne, while Dublin, San Ramon Valley, and Alameda will play in lower brackets.
The Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, played near San Diego, will feature Archbishop Mitty, Acalanes, Bellarmine, Berkeley, Bishop O’Dowd, Clayton Valley Charter, Dougherty Valley, Liberty, Monte Vista, Northgate and St. Francis.