The Riverside Press-Enterprise

Etiwanda in unfamiliar role as the underdog

Defending CIF State Open Division champion faces unbeaten Archbishop Mitty

- By Eric-paul Johnson ejohnson@scng.com

The roles have been reversed.

Last season, the Etiwanda girls basketball team entered the CIF State Open Division championsh­ip game as the favorite, and the Eagles pulled out a 69-67 victory over San Jose Archbishop Mitty to claim the program’s first state championsh­ip. Etiwanda erased a seven-point deficit in the fourth period and ultimately won on Jada Sanders’ put-back as time ex- pired.

As expected, the programs again will square off for the Open Division state crown Saturday at 6 p.m. at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. This time, however, Archbishop Mitty enters the contest a favorite to win the program’s seventh state title.

Archbishop Mitty has not dropped a game since last season’s loss to Etiwanda in Sacramento. The Monarchs (30-0) are the consensus No. 1-ranked team in the nation and have knocked off two teams that have beaten Etiwanda this season. Etiwanda

(31-3) has won 15 straight games and comes into the showdown No. 3 in the Maxpreps.com national rankings.

“We are looking forward to defending our title,” senior forward Kennedy Smith said following Tuesday night’s 54-51 win over Sierra Canyon in the regional championsh­ip game. “It’s going to be another tough game, but we are going to be ready.”

There will be plenty of star power on the court Saturday evening, including a pair of Mcdonald’s

All-american selections in Smith (USC) and Archbishop Mitty senior guard Morgan Cheli (Uconn). Etiwanda’s starting lineup also features senior Mykelle Richards (Long Beach State) and two highlyrank­ed Class of 2025 recruits, forward Grace Knox and point guard Aliyahna “Puff” Morris.

Mitty can counter with senior forwards Elana Weisman (Bucknell) and Belle Bramer (Lehigh), and center Mckenna Woliczko is widely considered one the nation’s top players in the sophomore class by recruiting experts.

Etiwanda suffered tough losses to squads from Texas — Duncanvill­e (78-75) and Desoto (55-52) — early in the season and dropped an 82-62 decision in January to Long Island Lutheran (N.Y), the No. 2 team in Maxpreps national rankings. Mitty, on the other hand, posted wins over Long Island Lutheran (73-72) and Desoto (50-30) a week apart in December.

Cheli was sidelined for a couple of weeks with a leg injury, but she returned to action and helped Mitty spoil an upset bid by Folsom. Cheli scored 19 points to lead her team to the 82-71 victory in the regional semifinals, the closest game the Monarchs have had since the Long Island Lutheran game. Mitty routed Clovis West 71-34 in the regional final Tuesday.

Etiwanda beat Sierra Canyon on Tuesday night despite being outrebound­ed 51-31. The Eagles did win that battle in the fourth quarter (10-9) and will need to keep things close Saturday night against one of the nation’s top rebounding teams.

 ?? PHOTO BY LIBBY CLINE BIRMINGHAM ?? Etiwanda and Aliyahna Morris beat Archbishop Mitty 69-67 in the CIF State Open Division title game last season.
PHOTO BY LIBBY CLINE BIRMINGHAM Etiwanda and Aliyahna Morris beat Archbishop Mitty 69-67 in the CIF State Open Division title game last season.

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