SAN JOSE – Senior Night at Archbishop Mitty began and ended the same way on Friday night.
No. 1 Siena Guttadauro, No. 3 Sheen Zutshi, No. 5 Noemie Bariteau, No. 10 Natalie Anderson and No. 20 Makayla Moore were on the court together for both the opening tip and final buzzer of a 62-44 victory over St. Ignatius that clinched an outright West Catholic Athletic League title for the Monarchs.
“It was a great moment,” Bariteau said. “I love the seniors, I love every player on our team. And it’s great to start with them and end with them. It was awesome.”
Mitty (23-1, 10-0 WCAL) closed out its regular season in style behind a third-quarter blitzkrieg that erased a halftime deficit to the upset-minded Wildcats, who could have claimed a share of the league crown.
“Those players and coaches that have been or are in the WCAL understand how truly difficult it is to win a WCAL title,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said, “let alone to go undefeated.”
St. Ignatius (16-6, 7-2), which still must play Valley Christian at home on Monday in a game originally postponed due to COVID, understood the odds weren’t in its favor, considering only two players were available off the bench.
That allowed the Monarchs, ranked No. 3 in the latest Bay Area News Group Top 20, to deploy their depth and turn up the full-court press.
“That’s what Mitty does to you,” S.I. coach Maya Fok said. “We’ve seen it before. Mitty wears you down. We knew that coming in and we didn’t have enough gas in the end, but it was a good fight.”
In a matter of eight minutes, Mitty managed to not only erase a 27-24 deficit but took a commanding 45-31 lead into the fourth quarter against the No. 4-ranked team by this publication.
“They deserved to be up in the first half,” Phillips said of her opponent. “We talked about some of the adjustments we needed to make in the second half, namely our ability to attack offensively. We got some points off our defense, we got on the glass, we shot the ball a lot better in the second half and we had a more balanced offensive attack.”
While sophomore Morgan Cheli led the Monarchs with a game-high 16 points, her backcourt tandem of seniors – Bariteau and Guttadauro – played prominent roles.
Guttadauro, who cracked double digits with 10 points, drained a pair of 3-pointers during a stagnant first half, while Bariteau continually pushed the pace with 10 of her 13 points after intermission.
“In the second half we flew around on defense and we just made our shots,” Bariteau said. “We just hustled around the whole game, so that’s what helped.”
Last year’s senior class at Mitty included seven Division I-bound players, and Phillips felt a need to play the veterans who stuck around during a campaign truncated due to COVID at the expense of underclassmen.
Friday night, it was their turn in the public eye.
“This is their opportunity to really be in that moment to shine,” Phillips said. “And I couldn’t be more proud of those seniors and these kids who have stepped into that spotlight and really flourished.”
The Monarchs will enjoy a week off before opening the Central Coast Section playoffs as a No. 1 seed in a revamped Open Division format.
“It’s funny,” Phillips said. “We’ve been talking with all the coaches, ‘What are the matchups? What is the first game on Friday? … Who do you play? It’s kind of exciting and fun. … At this point you kind of guess who the top 8 are, but you’re not going to reinvent the wheel. You’re just trying to fine-tune what you do and get in some scouting work a few days before the game and go from there.”
The CCS brackets will be announced Wednesday.
St. Ignatius, which was led by seniors Sabrina Ma and Claire Untalan with 13 and 12 points, respectively, can bolster its playoff résumé next week.
“I think we’re right where we want to be,” Fok said. “I think we’re getting better collectively as a team.”
She added: “(Tonight) there were a few mental lapses. I think my girls got a little bit tired in spurts in the second half and we couldn’t recover. But overall I’m very, very proud of my team. I think we fought hard, we battled and I’m really excited to finish the season strong heading into that CCS seeding meeting.”
No. 14 Heritage 68, Liberty 42
The Patriots advanced to the Bay Valley Athletic League title game with a comfortable victory in the semifinals. Heritage, which is 16-5 overall, was once again led by junior Amanda Muse (14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks), while teammate Caitlynn Smith contributed nine points, three assists and five steals. The Patriots travel to Freedom for a 2 p.m. final.
Half Moon Bay 54, Terra Nova 31
The Cougars, who went into halftime with a comfortable 36-23 edge, took care of business on Senior Night against their rival. HMB, which improved to 18-4 overall, is undefeated at 10-0 in the Peninsula Athletic League North Division and closes its regular season on Saturday at home against Westmoor.
Boys basketball
Mountain View 42, Cupertino 36
The Spartans claimed at least a share of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza title with a hard-fought victory on Senior Night. Mountain View closes out the regular season at 18-4 overall and 10-2 in the league – ahead of rival No. 15 Los Altos (18-4, 8-2) and Palo Alto (14-7, 7-2).
Los Gatos 51, Lynbrook 47
In the lower SCVAL El Camino, the Wildcats completed the regular season with a nail-biter that guaranteed at least a share of the league title. Arya Emarlou led the way for Los Gatos with a game-high 20 points to push the team’s record to 14-10 overall, 9-3 SCVAL El Camino. Lynbrook, which fell to 16-7, 7-4, nearly got a double-double from Nikhil Narasimhan (18 points, 8 rebounds).
Leland 39, Pioneer 37
Even though the Chargers couldn’t climb in the standings of the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division, the regular season ended with a mild upset of the outright league champions on the road. Leland, which finished 18-4 overall, 6-4 in the league, was led by Jacob Kuverji’s 21 points, while Kevin Gui added 10 points. Pioneer sits at 16-7, 7-3, with a nonleague contest left on the schedule.
Source: www.mercurynews.com