Clovis West overtakes Mitty to capture Open championship
SACRAMENTO — Up 37-30 early in the fourth quarter, Mitty’s hopes for a mythical national championship — at the very least a state Open Division title — looked extremely bright.
Haley Jones drilled a jumper with 5:42 remaining for the Monarchs, Clovis West hadn’t scored a bucket in six minutes, and Mitty was in a nice flow.
Then came some nerves, some lockdown Clovis West defense and then, the ultimate.
“A lid,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said. “It just looked like there was a lid on our basket.”
Mitty would make just three free throws the rest of the way, Sarah Bates caught fire and Clovis West pulled off a stunning 44-40 victory at Golden 1 Center.
Mitty came into the game ranked No. 1 in the country by the MaxPreps computer rankings and Clovis West was No. 2.
“We had chances we normally make,” Phillips said. “I’d say some of those looks we’d make 10 out of 10 times. But give Clovis West credit. They grinded it out on defense.”
And Bates, who had one point entering the fourth quarter, got going.
The 5-foot-9 UC Santa Barbara-bound standout scored 11 consecutive points starting with a three-point play off a long inbounds pass.
“Sometimes you just need a basket to get you going,” Bates said.
She followed up with two straight three-pointers and then a deuce after another long inbounds pass. Suddenly, Clovis West (34-2) was up 41-37 with 1:42 to play.
Mitty (28-3) made three free throws down the stretch and Tess Amundsen made one for Clovis West. Two free throws by Danae Marquez with 5.4 seconds left clinched it for the Golden Eagles, who won in their first state final and got payback for an earlier loss to the Monarchs.
Bates finished with a teamhigh 12 points for Clovis West, which made just 15 of 51 shots and turned the ball over 23 times.
“If you told me we’d shoot 29 percent against Mitty, I would have thought we’d lose by 17,” Clovis West coach Craig Campbell said.
But Clovis West stifled Mitty, especially down the stretch, limiting the Monarchs to 17of-49 shooting. Maddy Holland led the way for the Monarchs with 11 points, and Jones had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“This is definitely a tough pill to swallow,” Phillips said. “Kudos to Clovis West, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us.” Vanden-Fairfield 64, Mater Dei-Santa Ana 61: In Division 3, Julia Blackshell-Fair had 20 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists and five steals to lift Vanden to its first state title. West Campus-Sacramento 63, Los Osos-Rancho Cucamonga 55: In Division 4, Kiara Jefferson had 24 points to lead West Campus (30-4) to its first state championship.