The Archbishop Mitty girls basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the state. Pinewood is ranked No. 4. They are the highest ranked teams in the Bay Area, according to MaxPreps.
Friday night, the collision course they’ve been on seemingly all winter will become reality.
For the second year in a row, Mitty and Pinewood will play at Santa Clara University for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship. They reached the title game with impressive victories Tuesday night at Piedmont Hills High.
Pinewood, seeded third behind Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral, showed that it was substantially superior than a No. 3 seed, pounding second-seeded SHC 84-66 as four Panthers reached double figures in scoring.
Mitty followed with a 79-41 victory over Valley Christian as sophomore Haley Jones again led the way, finishing 16 points for a team that improved to 24-2 and ran its winning streak to 18 games.
Pinewood, also 24-2, stretched its win streak to 20 games behind sophomores Klara Astrom (24 points) and Hannah Jump (18 points), junior Brianna Claros (15 points) and senior Akayla Hackson (12 points).
Now, the stage is set for an epic final.
For longtime Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler — who has had many great teams and won many big games through the years, including a regional semifinal shocker over national No. 1 St. Mary’s-Stockton last March — this season has been pure bliss.
“Going to practice is like walking into basketball heaven,” he said Wednesday. “Great girls. Great coaches. Great atmosphere. Everybody working together. Everybody loving each other. It’s really a true family, and I don’t use that term loosely from a standpoint of our team. They really do have genuine affection for each other — no jealousy, no pettiness, no cliques. I wish it will never end.”
Mitty is a special group, too, a talented and deep team that has had only one scare since December.
The Monarchs trailed St. Francis by 11 points late in the third quarter Feb. 10 before rallying to win by six. Mitty hoped that would serve as a wake-up call, and clearly it has as the Monarchs have won their past three games by 122 points, including an 89-34 win over St. Francis to open the playoffs.
Mitty coach Sue Phillips, who like Scheppler has a resume loaded with success, recently noted the tight bond her players share.
“It’s really a sisterhood among this group,” said Phillips, whose team defeated Pinewood 79-60 in the CCS Open final last season. “There is genuine enthusiasm and excitement when their teammates have success. It’s a pretty cool environment.”
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It takes sacrifice to reach this level, Scheppler said, adding, “This is why you work so hard in the off season. You lift your weights. You do your conditioning. You do your skill work. You practice hard. You don’t go to ski-week vacation. You don’t go on Christmas vacation. Thanksgiving week, we’re practicing.
“That’s the cost of playing in this game. The game is the profit. There’s your profit. There’s your joy. A lot of teams don’t want to pay the price of getting to that game. The Mitty team is the same exact situation. They’ve worked really hard. They’re terrifically coached. They’re great athletes. The two best teams in the section are squaring off Friday. We’re going to be ready to go.”
For more on high school sports, including schedules and results, visit bayareapreps.com.
