With a 66-54 win over Pinewood, the Archbishop Mitty Women’s Basketball team took home yet another CCS title. Now it’s on to NorCal and, if all goes well, State for the Monarchs.

The team finished its regular season in style behind a 62-44 win over St. Ignatius of San Francisco, clinching sole rights to the WCAL title for the seventh year in a row. The Monarchs posted a regular season record of 23-1, and are currently ranked as the #1 team in California according to Max Preps. Now, they move into ahead in the postseason.

Each year, eight teams from the Central Coast Section are selected to participate in the most competitive division—the open division. Created ten years ago, the open division features top teams from public and private schools of all sizes, making the winner undoubtedly the best team in the area. 

For the past six years, the Monarchs have been the top-seeded team in the open division, and this year was no different. Their only loss was to a team outside the Central Coast Section. 

While the CCS playoffs are an important part of the postseason, the true determinate of postseason success lies in a team’s performance at the Norcal Playoffs. Similar to the section playoffs, the Norcal Playoffs also feature an open division, where the best of the best compete to determine the #1 team in Northern California. The winner of the Norcal Playoffs will then compete against the winner of the Socal Playoffs in the coveted state championship game, where only the winner is granted the holy grail of high school women’s basketball: the Open Division State Title. 

The Monarchs made an incredible run to the Open Division State Championship game in 2020, but it was devastatingly cancelled just days before due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Now, it’s time for redemption.

The Monarchs are currently riding a long win streak, making them a strong candidate for the Open Division Title, but it certainly will not come easily. The Monarchs must defeat numerous Norcal powerhouses including St. Mary’s Stockton, Salesian College Preparatory, and Carondelet—the team that handed Mitty it’s only loss—to even reach the championship game, where they will encounter Socal’s nationally ranked teams with countless division one recruits. 

Nonetheless, this close-knit group of girls know that their training has prepared them for this highly anticipated postseason. 

“This years team is special because we have chemistry on and off the court; battling through COVID was a real struggle for everyone and getting through it together gave us an unbreakable bond,” says junior forward Maya Hernandez. 

None of the current Monarchs have experienced a state championship game, but this year might change that. This group has spent months preparing for the postseason, and their hard work and dedication will be on display for the next few weeks, as they attempt to achieve a dream no other Mitty women’s basketball team was able to accomplish: win an Open Division State Title.