SAN JOSE — Anyone sitting in the home stands at Fien Gymnasium saw two things that stood out like a sore thumb.
The first being the bright gold balloons behind Archbishop Mitty’s bench to commemorate senior night. The second being Mitty’s two leading scorers wearing sweat suits instead of the Monarchs’ white Nike home jerseys.
Mitty has trounced its opponents almost every game this season and Tuesday was no different. This time it was a 76-20 win over Valley Christian in the regular-season finale to improve to 24-0. The Monarchs, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will be the top seed in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs when the brackets are unveiled Wednesday.
The win was even more impressive considering both sophomore sensation McKenna Woliczko and UConn-bound senior Morgan Cheli — the Monarchs’ top two players — did not play Tuesday.
Even down two stars, there was no drop off in play. The Monarchs looked just as dominant as they do when Woliczko and Cheli are on the floor. Senior Belle Bramer and sophomore Emma Cook each had 16 points.
But as the competition stiffens in the later rounds of the playoffs, particularly if Mitty reaches the Open Division state final, the Monarchs will need all of their stars.
Cheli has been dealing with an undisclosed injury for the last two weeks. She has missed four consecutive games. Coach Sue Phillips said Cheli’s status is day-to-day with no timetable for return.
“I’m definitely inching to get back out there,” Cheli said.
The good news for Mitty is that Woliczko is slated to return for the team’s first-round CCS game on Friday after dealing with the flu the past few days.
Neither star was needed Tuesday. Mitty went into a 2-2-1 trapping press early and built a 21-3 after the first quarter. At halftime, Mitty led by 29 points and Phillips cleared her bench early in the third quarter.
Games like this one against Valley Christian have become the norm for the Monarchs this season. Tuesday’s result was Mitty’s 14th straight victory by 20 or more points and its ninth victory by 50 or more points.
But as Phillips let some of her younger players get time on the floor, she had a plan. Throughout the second half, the Monarchs moved the ball around with an intent to get other players involved who wouldn’t normally see the floor.
Six or more players scored eight points or more and all but two players scored a basket in the second half.
“Anytime your team could distribute the load differently amongst the team, you’re going to see more growth,” Phillips said about the team playing without Cheli and Woliczko. “As a coach you look at it as an opportunity for some of the other players to be put in positions to have to execute and communicate. It was good for our young players for sure.”
Mitty got contributions from underclassmen Tee McCarthy, Janaya Williams and Cook, who combined to score 30 points off the bench.
When Cheli does return, Phillips said fitting her back into the lineup won’t be too difficult even if other players might have to sacrifice some of the offensive load.
“The great thing about Morgan is she’s so versatile,” Phillips said. “She can essentially play every position.”
That said, the Monarchs believe there was a positive in playing without Woliczko and Cheli for the past week.
“Other players just have had to step up,” Bramer said. “We’ve been doing that the past couple of games, but we do miss McKenna and Morgan a lot.”
Cheli added, “I know me and McKenna want to be out there, so it’s always hard. But to be able to watch and help our team out … when we come back, I think will be a benefit to all of us.”
