McKenna Woliczko closed out her stellar prep career with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Mitty’s 56-49 loss to Ontario Christian in the state Open Division title game.
Eric Taylor
The aftermath of the state championship basketball games at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento during formal news conferences, are almost as stirring as the games just played. Some reveal stories not possibly noticed during 32-minute games played between the lines.
Mitty coach Sue Phillips, inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame two years ago, lost her 98-year-old father John Philips last month. Trying to navigate that as well as care for her 90-year-old mom, Victoria, has been a personal challenge. Losing another state title game, the Monarchs’ fifth straight in the Open Division, didn’t help. “It’s been a rough go, to say the least,” Phillips said.
On Saturday, Phillips was asked for some perspective just moments after a 56-49 loss to Ontario Christian.
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“It’s not for a lack of effort or dedication by this group,” she said. “They’re champions in my eyes because they walk the talk and have a winner’s mentality.”
Phillips was then asked to sum up the career of McDonald’s All-American McKenna Woliczko, who will go down with Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Paris, Jayne Appel, Brittany Boyd and Haley Jones as one of the greatest players in Bay Area history.
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“Unbelievable basketball player, but even a better human being,” Phillips said. “She just has a really kind and empathetic heart, who walks through life with incredible grace, confidence and humility. … I’m privileged to have coached McKenna. It’s been an honor, and I’m really happy for her and her future. But this is a bittersweet moment for me.”
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BOYS
Rk.
School
W-L
Prev.
1.
Salesian
29-4
2
2.
Riordan
28-2
1
3.
St. Ignatius
25-5
3
4.
De La Salle
24-8
7
5.
Oakland
25-8
8
6.
Dougherty Valley
23-11
16
7.
Clayton Valley
27-5
5
8.
Moreau Catholic
23-6
4
9.
Marin Catholic
24-5
6
10.
Bishop O’Dowd
23-8
10
11
The King’s Academy
26-5
13
12.
Oakland Tech
23-11
NR
13.
Cornerstone Christian
29-8
NR
14.
Liberty
25-5
9
15.
University
28-6
14
16.
Bellarmine
17-11
11
17.
Mitty
17-11
12
18.
Amador Valley
21-13
20
19.
Milpitas
26-2
15
20.
Granada
21-9
17
GIRLS
Rk.
School
W-L
Prev.
1.
Mitty
28-3
1
2.
San Ramon Valley
26-5
2
3.
Carondelet
25-6
3
4.
Priory
23-7
4
5.
Oakland Tech
23-11
12
6.
Piedmont
22-5
5
7.
Pinewood
21-7
7
8.
Clayton Valley Charter
23-10
14
9.
Bishop O’Dowd
17-11
11
10.
Riordan
18-9
10
11.
St. Ignatius
20-9
8
12.
St. Francis
22-8
9
13.
Salesian
23-11
13
14.
Redwood
25-7
16
15.
Acalanes
22-10
15
16.
Cardinal Newman
21-10
6
17.
Moreau Catholic
23-8
17
18.
Dublin
21-8
18
19.
Menlo-Atherton
24-6
20
20.
Valley Christian
16-16
NR
When called upon to reflect on her four-year career, the future Iowa Hawkeye paused before speaking, but she didn’t crack.
“It’s been a long but such a fun four years,” Woliczko said. “These teammates and coaches will be my friends for the rest of my life. And Coach Phillips has helped set me up to play in college. She does that for so many people. It’s definitely a very hard loss and hard situation to end your awesome four years. But I’m just so grateful to have these girls at my back and all the coaching staff, too.”
The San Marin-Novato boys finished off a Cinderella story, winning the Division 5 championship after finishing tied for fourth in their league, then losing a coin flip to even reach the league playoff. The team never lost focus, but some deeply personal news from 73-year-old coach Chris Lavdiotis united the group more than ever.
Earlier this year, doctors found a cancerous tumor near the salivary gland of his 31-year-old daughter, Sofia, who had beaten Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 19. “She’s been cancer-free for 12 years, has three beautiful children and is a picture of health,” Lavdiotis said.
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Lavdiotis, who never takes calls during practice, did so during the 12-day layoff before North Coast Section playoffs to deal with an insurance issue concerning the surgery. “At that point I let the team know about Sofia,” Lavdiotis said.
Before San Marin’s NorCal title game against host Mission San Jose, Sofia, who lives in North Las Vegas, surprised her dad by showing up. “Sheer tears of joy,” Lavdiotis said. “I don’t think I’ve hugged her tighter.”
The Mustangs pulled out a 56-46 win, then played their best game of the season in an 89-64 win over Sylmar at Golden 1.
Sofia is scheduled for surgery Thursday to remove the tumor in Los Angeles.
San Marin point guard Grant Means — one of eight seniors on the team, many of whom had played together as early as the third grade — said: “We’ve had a lot of tragedy on our campus,” he said, recalling a 2022 car accident that took the life of Zach Wilhelm, whose twin brother Grant was in the program. Rio Seiler, on the Mustangs last season, is still in a coma after a terrible fall nine months ago. The Mustangs broke every huddle and practice this season with “For Rio.”
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“It pushed us all the way to this NBA arena and to win a state championship,” Means said. “It’s all sorta surreal.”
Soccer time: The first state soccer championships finished up in Sacramento at Natomas High School on Friday and Saturday and Metro teams finished 5-1 with San Ramon Valley-Danville winning boys and girls D2 championships.
The Lowell girls (15-2), behind two goals from Kelilah Spirn and one each from Agnus Zhu and Simone Becker and two assists from Sophia Sempere, won the D5 championship 4-0 over Coastal Academy-Oceanside.
Aiden DePaco scored three goals leading San Ramon Valley boys (21-5-5), the eighth seed in Northern California, to a 4-1 win over Mira Monte-Bakersfield, while the SRV girls (17-3-2), seeded seventh, beat Westlake-Westlake Village 1-0 on a goal in overtime by freshman Morgan Van Puffelen. She also scored the only goal in the NorCal regional final over Mitty.
The Branson-Ross boys (14-6-3) and Marin Catholic-Kentfield girls (13-7-5) also won titles. Jonah Sher and Larry Calle LaBou scored goals for Branson in a 2-0 win over Garfield-Los Angeles, while Siena White scored twice and Milagros Gamboa and Nora Snearly added single tallies for Marin Catholic in a 4-1 win over Coachella Valley.
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The Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland girls (19-1) lost in the D1 finals to Mater Dei-Santa Ana, 2-0.
Briefly: The Dublin Distance Fiesta, perhaps the largest high school running event in the country, takes place Friday and Saturday at Dublin High. More than 240 schools and 4,000 athletes are scheduled to partake in the 17th annual gathering, which features just five events: the open 800 meters, 1,600 and 3,200 for individuals, along with 4×800 and 4,000 relays (also known as the distance medley). … Former King’s Academy head football coach Dante Perez has been named to the same position at Valley Christian, his alma mater, replacing Mike Machado, who stepped down after the 2025 season. Perez was replaced at King’s Academy by former Leland-San Jose coach Anthony Herrera. … The San Francisco City All-Star Basketball Games are scheduled for Friday at CCSF, starting at 5:45 with the girls 3-point contest. The girls game follows at 6, a boys dunk contest at 7:15, the boys game (7:30), and the boys 3-point contest (8:45).
Freelance writer Mitch Stephens has covered high school sports for the Chronicle since 2001. Email: mitch@scorebooklive.com