High School

Ontario Christian pays back MItty with Sabrina Ionescu Showcase girls high school victory

Win somewhat overshadowed by game-ending injury to Mitty's 5-star junior Mckenna Woliczko, but Knights earn triumph behind MVP performance from 5-star sophomore Kaleena Smith; Injury update on Woliczko

Mitch Stephens

Game MVP Kaleena Smith reacts to an AND ONE layup and free throw as part of a 21-4 run to end the Ontario Christian's 61-44 victory over Archbishop Mitty Saturday at the 4th Sabrina Ionescu Showcase at Carondelet High School in Concord, Calif. The victory avenged a 25-point loss two weeks ago to Mitty, which lost its 5-star recruit McKenna Woliczko late in the second quarter to a knee injury. She never returned.
Game MVP Kaleena Smith reacts to an AND ONE layup and free throw as part of a 21-4 run to end the Ontario Christian's 61-44 victory over Archbishop Mitty Saturday at the 4th Sabrina Ionescu Showcase at Carondelet High School in Concord, Calif. The victory avenged a 25-point loss two weeks ago to Mitty, which lost its 5-star recruit McKenna Woliczko late in the second quarter to a knee injury. She never returned. / Photo: Dennis Lee

CONCORD, Calif. — During most injury delays, opposing coaches will huddle their squad to get organized. Talk strategy. Offer inspiration.

But Ontario Christian girls basketball coach Aundre Cummings had more important matters. His only directive for his team at Saturday’s premier game of the 24-team, two-day Sabrina Ionescu SI20 Showcase against national No. 1 Archbishop Mitty was to take a knee and pray. 

No, this wasn’t anything catastrophic. With a little more than two minutes left in the first half and his team down 19-17, there was a knee injury to an opposing player, but not any player.

High school girls basketball
Sabrina Ionescu poses with Ontario Christian sophomore Kaleena Smith, the game's MVP after she scored 23 points in a 61-44 win over Mitty on Jan. 4 at Carondelet High School in Concord, Calif. / Photo: Dennis Lee

It was Mitty’s best player, one of the nation’s finest, and a very popular one at that — junior forward McKenna Woliczko, who brought a packed — and we do mean packed — Carondelet High to a stone cold silence. 

The only thing to be heard was the teen crying in pain. For so many reasons, it was hard to hear and witness. 

high school girls basketball
The tall interior defense of Ontario Christian dwarfed Mitty 6-2 freshman Maliya Hunter in Saturday's game at the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase at Carondelet. / Photo: Dennis Lee

After 3-4 minutes Woliczko, one of six players selected to the SBLive/High School on SI All-American team, was helped to her feet. A medic on site had poked around where the pain was and Woliczko grimaced when the poke reached her right inner knee. 

She never returned and eventually was taken to a South San Francisco emergency room where her father Aaron, the Senior Associate Commissioner of Men’s Basketball and Sport Administration at the West Coast Conference sought the best orthopedic doctors around, including the Golden State Warriors’, Dr. Christopher Lehman (see his update below). 

All of it tarnished an otherwise resounding 61-44 Ontario Christian victory, one that was supposed to avenge an even more resounding 59-34 defeat to Mitty two weeks earlier at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. Indeed the victory accomplished that.

But even Cummings, humble, gracious and honest in his response to Woliczko’s injury, admitted the win was a little hollow. 

Girls high school basketball
Mitty 6-2 junior McKenna Woliczko writhes in pain after a non-contact knee injury late in the first half of her team's 61-44 defeat to Ontario Christian in the 4th Sabrina Ionescu Showcase at Carondelet High School in Concord. / Photo: Dennis Lee

“The game is precious but we always hope that no one gets injured,” he said after the game. “I hope she’s OK — that’s bigger than the win for sure.” 

The game’s star — who else but the nation’s top 2027 recruit Kaleena Smith?s — echoed Cummings’ sentiments. 

Despite her 23 points, a 21-4 run to end the game, and an overall stellar team effort to improve her team’s record to 20-1, she first had wishes for the fallen standout who was the SBLive Freshman (2022-23) and Sophomore (2023-24) of the Year the last two seasons. 

Girls high school basketball
Ontario Christian's Tati Griffin (12) and Dani Robinson enjoy a moment during their team's 61-44 win over Archbishop Mitty in the 4th Sabrina Ionecus Showcase in Concord / Photo: Dennis Lee

Smith, by the way, was the 2023-24 Freshman of the Year. She and Wolcizco were also teammates at the USA Trials and Nike Hoop Summit. 

“I know my first concern wasn’t the game at that point but her health,” Smith said. “She’s a really good person and we bonded as teammates. Even though we’re on opposite sides in high school, you hate to see anyone in pain like that. It was definitely hard to focus after that. But we got there.” 

Cummings admitted “when it (the injury) happened it didn’t feel the same coaching. So I found myself shrinking. I wanted her to play, we wanted her to play because we are such competitors.” 

High school girls basketball
In early play before she was injured, Woliczko, the Nike TOC MVP, was constantly harassed by good interior OC defense. / Photo: Dennis Lee

When Smith and freshman Tati Griffin (14 points, eight rebounds) and Sydney Douglas (nine points, 10 rebounds) helped build a 38-28 lead by the middle of the third, this one looked over. 

Mitty Hall of Fame coach Sue Phillips tried to put her team back together both physically and emotionally after losing their team leader in both capacities. Making it doubly difficult was the fact Ontario Christian, with three starters pointed to the game's loftiest destination, had a point to prove from the team’s only loss just two weeks earlier. 

“It’s difficult in that situation to compartmentalize and focus on the task at hand, which is competing against a really good Ontario Christian team we beat two weeks ago and knew were going to come in with fresh legs and a renewed sense of purpose and they played like it,” Phillips said. 

The harder part may have just been emotionally engaging in winning a basketball game. Teammates were literally crying on the bench having to watch their leader writhing in pain on the court.  

High school girls basketball
Ontario Christian freshman Tati Griffin drives hard to the basket en route to two of her 14 points, helping the Knights beat Archbishop Mitty 61-44 in the premier game of the 4th Sabrina Ionescu Classic in Concord 1/4/2025 / Photo: Dennis Lee

“When you see your teammate in pain and you know she’s not going to be on the sideline with you, that’s difficult,” Phillips said. 

But somehow the Monarchs found a way, either channeling Woliczko, or probably, realizing they’re very capable on their own. Plus almost the entire 1,200 or more jammed into the tiny gym, were pleading to make it a game.

Sophomore Ze’Ni Patterson, a 5-9 shooting guard, was terrific with 14 points, while 6-2 freshman post Maliya Hunter, dwarfed by the 6-7 Douglas, added nine points and eight rebounds.  "(Patterson and Hunter) are great basketball players, and we see that every day in practice," Phillips said. "They are going to find their footing in this program and on this stage."

Suddenly a 10-point deficit disappeared and when Devin Cosgriff hit a tough baseline jumper, the Monarchs had finished off a 12-0 run to take their first lead 40-38 since Woliczko's injury. 

“It was really hard,” Patterson said. “You just got to keep playing and pushing and pushing and pushing, just keep playing. I feel like as a team, we played really well just trying to push through our feelings and emotions of losing McKenna.” 

That’s about the time Cummings was nudged by his assistants to start coaching. “You gotta still coach. They’re really good.” 

It helped to have Smith, who immediately responded with a quick dribble drive and hoop followed by a nice feed to Dani Robinson, who drilled an outside jumper to take back a 42-40 lead, one it would never relinquish. Robinson was stout throughout and scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter.

Cummings said Robinson was her team's unsung hero.

“We had some great spurts but obviously missing a huge component, trying to find our way, we did at times,” Phillips said. “We did a terrific job of competing and fighting.” 

But the Knights had a little more, despite four fouls each by Griffin and Douglas. A team without much depth — only two percent of its points come from the bench on the season — found enough strength. The Monarchs, frankly, looked like they ran out of gas, perhaps more emotionally than physically.

High school girls basketball
Kaleena Smith goes long range to score game-high honors 23 points. / Photo: Dennis Lee

"I'll take the win, but I hope and pray that we see them at state if we can get there and to see them at full strength," Cummings said. "Nothing would make me happier than to play them with their very best players."

Said Smith: "I think we learned a lot of things from the last time we played them. We're a young team and we need a lot more to get back up here (for the state finals). If we do, I hope it's against (Mitty) and they're 100 percent healthy."

UPDATE ON MCKENNA WOLICZKO

From Woliczko’s father Aaron, who refers to her as “Mc:” “Tonight’s update: She got out of ER and x-Rays looked good from a “nothing broken” perspective, Mc has an MRI scheduled for 8:15 pm Monday night, which is about the quickest turnaround we can ask for. 

“Based on X-Ray and pain in medial (inside), the doctor in the ER said there is “something” with the MCL but is hopeful that it could be (best case scenario) a grade 1 sprain. He’s hopeful for her because her swelling isn’t extreme like a full knee blowout or even torn ACL symptoms. 

“We are thankful he was so positive about this!

“The injury occurred in a non contact situation, so that is always scary to start. She felt/heard “pop” obviously for her initial reaction plus immediate pain on the medial and lateral side. Her right leg was straight when she tried to plant and her knee gave out inwards. That is what I initially saw in real time and from slowing down video.

“Thanks to some great relationships, we did secure an appointment with Dr. Lehman who is one of the best orthopedic knee doctors/surgeons around and works with the Warriors. He worked with Mc last spring when she had a sliding softball knee injury that thankfully was a bad hematoma. 

“His first available appointment is Thursday. “We are all very thankful to all for their concern and thinking the best in a scary moment. We will share updates as we know more.”

Another positive sign from her dad: She was laughing from her room, icing her knee (again), playing video games with her younger brother and watching cat videos.

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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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