Ontario Christian head coach Aundre Cummings hoists CIF Open Division trophy as players and other coaches whoop it up right around him. Photo: Isai Gutierrez / Cal-Hi Sports.
With junior sensation Kaleena Smith leading the way, Ontario Christian completes its remarkable build from small school to CIF Open Division state champion with victory in long-anticipated matchup over Archbishop Mitty of San Jose. Sierra Pacific also wins All-Central Section D2 title and Faith Christian wins D4 title in last game of record-breaking career of Lauren Harris.
Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. Next week’s final state rankings in all divisions boys and girls, expanded overall final rankings and some of our exclusive upcoming all-state teams (including juniors, sophomores and frosh) will be for Gold Club members only. Sign up today for our Gold Club for $4.99 per month or as low as $2.08 per month for a yearly subscription. For details, CLICK HERE.
Note: Our lead girls basketball analyst, Harold Abend, did the breakdowns for Open girls & D2 girls. Editor and publisher Mark Tennis did D4 girls.
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The 2026 CIF Open Division state championship game played on Saturday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento was supposed to be a matchup between two high-powered offenses.
Ontario Christian came into the contest averaging 90.7 points a game and having gone over 100 points on nine different occasions, both records according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book in the respective categories. Archbishop Mitty entered the matchup averaging 74.2 points per contest. One would have thought this title-game tilt was going to be an offensive barrage. That’s also what it was when the two teams staged a matchup back in January with the Knights handing the Monarchs a 96-87 double-overtime loss.
And while there was a good amount of offense, mostly between junior superstar Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian and Mitty’s amazing Iowa-bound senior McKenna Woliczko, the game boiled down to defense versus defense. The bottom line was it was the defense of offensive machine Ontario Christian that got it done in a 56-49 victory to claim a first CIF state championship for Ontario Christian in its first-ever state championship title game appearance.
Mitty’s Tee McCarthy looks to the basket as Ontario Christian’s Dani Robinson provides the tough defense. Photo: Isai Gutierrez / Cal-Hi Sports.
“Today’s game was a special ending to a special season,” Ontario Christian second-year head coach Aundre Cummings remarked. “To sum it up in one word, consistency. Playing a national schedule and inspiring these young ladies to be better at their craft was the ultimate goal.”
The end result was the consistency and the inspiration of the coaching staff resulted in the ultimate goal of a CIF Open Division state championship, but it was anything but easy.
Offensively, Smith led all scorers with 24 points, plus three rebounds and five assists, but it was her ability to be able to drive through and around the triple-teaming defense of the Mitty defense that made her live up to her nickname of “Special K.” Woliczko had a double-double 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“Kaleena was the difference maker,” said Mitty head coach Sue Phillips. “She’s incredibly shifty, really very dynamic and makes the big shots at critical moments.”
Ontario Christian (34-2) scored the game’s first six points on a three-pointer by junior Dani Robinson (six points) and a basket by junior Skylar Archer (14 points and eight rebounds), who was starting in place of freshman phenom Chloe Jenkins, who was held out after suffering a concussion in practice earlier in the week.
From there, however, the Mitty press began to take its toll and the Monarchs went on a 15-5 run before Ontario Christian scored the final two points of the first quarter to tie things at 15-all after the first. Another 8-0 run by Mitty gave it the biggest lead of the game by eight at 23-15 but a 10-2 run by the Knights, including an NBA-range three-pointer and two straight baskets by Smith, gave Ontario Christian a 28-27 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair and heading to the fourth quarter it was a 39-39 tie.
Three straight turnovers by Mitty caused by the Ontario Christian defense hurt the Monarchs but they hung tough and it was still tied at 41-41, but another long three-pointer by Smith and a basket by sophomore Tati Griffin (12 points) at around the six-minute mark seemed to break the back of Mitty and gave Ontario Christian a lead it never relinquished until the final buzzer.
“We built that early lead because we were getting stops,” Philips said. “But in the end we didn’t create a lot of turnovers and for them to hold us to 49 points was a bit perplexing.”
Even though Mitty held Ontario Christian to its second-lowest point total of the season after what was scored in their 57-55 loss to Maryland Bishop McNamara, it wasn’t enough. In the end the difference was Smith, like Philips said, who dazzled the crowd with her moves and the ability to break down the triple team of Mitty.
“She’s the best player and the best point guard in the nation, and not even a triple-team can stop her,” said sophomore Griffin, who also had nine rebounds to go with her 12 points while defending Woliczko, and admitted to playing the entire season with the leg/ankle injuries she suffered last summer. “Yes, I fought through all my injuries, but I’d put my life on the line for my teammates.”
Besides Smith’s heroics, it was still the Ontario defense that got it done in the end.
“I said it at halftime and I said it all week. We’re one of the strongest offensive teams ever in the history of the game for the girls, but this game wasn’t about that,” said Cummings, whose team bounced back in the SoCal regional playoffs after being upset by Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final. “It was about winning and just the buy in of preventing people to score was ultimately what we wanted to do, and we got the job done.”
Mitty wanted to win, and, for Woliczko, and particularly for Phillips.
“It’s been a long but a great four years, and Coach Phillips and what’s she done for me to mentor and mold me is the reason I came to Mitty, and it’s definitely a hard loss to the end of my career,” Woliczko said. “It’s a real hard loss but everyone has to move on in the future.”
For Phillips, who may have had her best team ever in all her years of coaching that has produced six state championships in a record 17 appearances, it was a tough loss as well, particularly when word came down that Ontario Christian would be short-handed with Jennings out. It’s also the fifth straight year that that the Monarchs have fallen in the Open Division, but besides Kaleena Smith other elite players that they’ve had to deal with have included Sierra Canyon’s JuJu Watkins plus Etiwanda’s Kennedy Smith and Puff Morris.
“We lost our chance,” whispered Phillips in my ear as we embraced at the end of the press conference. Even so, Phillips will ultimately go down as one of the greatest coaches all-time in girls basketball.
Ontario Christian junior Kaleena Smith gets into the lane as Archbishop Mitty’s Devin Cosgriff (left) and McKenna Woliczko (right) provide defense. Photo: Isai Gutierrez.
Smith took the Mitty defense in her stride.
“I’ve been double and triple-teamed the last two years so some time I have to be finding the open player and not force any shots or make a turnover,” Smith remarked. “I feel that at my size I have to be able to read the defense and take the open lane when I have it, but doubled and tripled is nothing new for me.”
Smith’s scoring, shiftiness and long-range shooting adds to her ability to assist others as her statistics show, and she certainly showed that on the biggest stage for California girls basketball against the No. 2 team in the state and national power Mitty.
“That Archbishop Mitty team is a great team and in my opinion coached by one of the greatest coaches in girls basketball history by far in Sue (Phillips),” said Cummings. “For me, it was challenging being a second-year coach having to challenge myself against her and took consistency.”
One thing that is certain in after winning the state CIF Open Division title Ontario Christian will be the 2026 State Team of the Year for girls basketball. It will be officially announced on Monday.
D2 Girls
Sierra Pacific (Hanford) 56,
St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 47
The CIF Division II girls basketball championship pitted two teams on the bubble of the Cal-Hi Sports TOP 30 rankings in the first matchup ever between two team from the CIF Central Section.
It was a matchup that never could have happened had not the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County teams joined the Central Section for the 2018-2019 season after having been in the CIF Southern Section prior to that time. In fact, the girls game was the first of two historical matchup of Central Section teams with the boys Division II title game between Bakersfield Christian and San Joaquin Memorial immediately following the D2 girls contest.
In the end, it was Sierra Pacific, representing the Northern Region, outlasting Southern Region representative St. Joseph.
Sierra Pacific is now 2-0 in CIF state title games having won the Division V title in 2018. St. Joseph dropped to 2-2, with wins in Division IV in 1991 and 2011 and a runner-up finish in 1990 in Division IV.
Twin sisters Nyang Ayuen (left) and Apojok Ayuen (right) are shown with younger sister, Ayak, after their team at Sierra Pacific won CIF D2 state title over St. Joseph of Santa Maria. Photo: Harold Abend / Cal-Hi Sports.
Sierra Pacific (25-11) gave up a three-point shot to start by Skylar Moscardi of St. Joseph, but Lylah Love of Sierra Pacific answered back with trey of her own to key a 15-0 run and 15-3 lead the Golden Bears stretched to 20-6 for the biggest lead of the game before settling in for a 20-9 lead after one quarter.
St. Joseph then went on a 21-9 run to close 29-27 at the half, and after a basket to open the second quarter the Knights drew even at 29-29, but Sierra Pacific retook the lead on a basket by senior Nyang Ayuen and then got it to 36-30. St. Joseph fought back after completing a 25-16 run and got it to 36-33 near the end of the quarter. But the Knights would get no closer.
Sierra Pacifc led 39-33 at the end of three, and then after an 11-5 run mostly on baskets by senior Apojok Ayuen and her sophomore sister Ayak Ayuen the Golden Bears stretched the lead to 50-38 midway through the fourth quarter and pretty much coasted home from there.
All three Ayuen sisters hit for double-figure scoring. Apojok had 15 points plus seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals, twin sister Ayak added 13 points with seven rebounds, and Nyang (the younger sophomore) had 11 points with seven rebounds plus five assists. Love was a fourth double-figure scorer after finishing with 13 points.
St. Joseph (17-16) was led by Annalyssa Cota with 15 points and eight rebounds. Allie Mayes added a double-double 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Maava Sat had nine points and a whopping 17 rebounds.
“It didn’t come out our way but these guys are as tough as nails and it didn’t take away from the season we had,” said first-year St. Joseph head coach Danielle Morgan fighting back tears. “We came out a little flat but fought back, but we ran out of time.”
St. Joseph ran out of time because the Ayuen sisters and company squelched the comeback effort.
“I have 10 amazing athletes that have proven me wrong,” Sierra Pacific head coach Victor Chavarin remarked. “We have the ability to fight back.”
Indeed the Golden Bears certainly did that after a schedule to start the season any Open Division team would have found difficult.
After starting the season 0-6 with losses to Clovis West, Clovis, Sierra Canyon, Clovis North, Moreno Valley and Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in a 66-52 loss, and then finally winning against Moreno Valley and then losing to Windward at Mater Dei to start 1-7 at a game we announced, Chavarin was still hopeful. At the time, he said after the game he had scheduled that tough to prepare his team for the future. Indeed, he was correct.
“At that point when we played Mater Dei and held our own, I felt we had what it took,” Chavarin said.
Over the next month plus, Sierra Pacific began to find its stride and went 11-4 still playing some out of state tournament teams and higher division teams. However, after after a second loss to Division I Immanuel of Reedley on January 28, Chavarin and his Golden Bear girls did not lose again, winning 13 straight games culminating in the D2 state championship. It sure looked like they were going to lose, down by 14 points in the second half to five-time CIF state champion Oakland Tech in the NorCal final, but Chaverin’s girls came back for an overtime victory.
Now, Sierra Pacific is bringing home another state championship for the town of Hanford to add to the one it won in 2018 and the one earned by Hanford High in 2001 in Division II.
D4 Girls
Faith Christian (Yuba City) 51,
Palisades (Pacific Palisades) 37
Either team that won in the first game of Saturday’s CIF state finals schedule was going to have a great story to tell.
For the victorious Lions, it was their move up from NorCal D6 from last year to D4 from this year and in the final game of the record-breaking career of senior Lauren Harris. For the Dolphins, it was their advancement to a CIF state final just a little over a year after the devastating wildfire wrecked their school and destroyed the homes of one starting player and other coaches/JV players.
Lauren Harris (middle) holds CIF D4 girls state title trophy with sister Audrey on her right and her dad Jeff on her left. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
Harris connected for a half-court buzzer-beater to end the first quarter, but was held below her season average and finished with 26 points. She also had 16 rebounds and five assists. Still, her teammates came through, especially fellow senior Presley Berry with 18 points, as the Lions did indeed complete their trek through the playoffs for the D4 state crown.
“I just don’t think it could have been a better ending,” said Faith Christian head coach Jeff Harris, whose team finished 34-1, will have the best record (boys or girls) in the state this season and will get a state record listing for most wins (season). “I’m just so proud of everyone, how we’ve grown together, what we accomplished together.”
Coach Harris’ daughter sure accomplished a lot and credited her teammates and her sister when asked to talk about her career, which began as a freshman and sophomore playing alongside her older sister Audrey. In Lauren’s freshman year, Audrey averaged a state record 46.3 ppg, including games of 63 and 65 points.
“My sister has been my biggest inspiration and because of her I wouldn’t be here,” Lauren said. “I never would have thought something like this could happen. Right now, I’d like to say I couldn’t do it without teammates, work hard and trust God.”
Lauren’s 26 points put her final career total at 3,578 points, which is a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and NorCal record. She’ll go on at No. 3 on the all-time state list, trailing only Destiny Littleton of La Jolla Bishop’s (4,300) and San Diego High’s Charde Houston (3,837). She only made three 3-pointers but her final national record and state record for career 3-pointers will be stopped at 742 (no other girl in state history has more than 500).
Lauren needed to score 40 points in her final game to push her final career average to 28.507 and higher than Audrey’s final career average of 28.506. The two instead will be listed in the record book at 28.5 and 28.4 and right next to each other.
“She’s been amazing,” Coach Harris said of his daughter Lauren as Audrey was inside the press room as well shooting pictures. “She’s been under so much pressure. She wanted to make sure to work hard without letting anyone down.”
Although the final margin was 14 points, Palisades only trailed 29-26 at halftime and it would have been tied without Lauren’s half-court shot going in. The Dolphins did a good job getting second chances off of offensive rebounds, but in the second half too many shots just fell off the rim.
Harris hit a fall-away jumper for a 38-29 lead to end the third quarter and the lead continued to grow early in the fourth quarter to 43-29, 45-30 and 36-32.
“Congrats to this group for pushing through lots of adversity,” said Palisades head coach Lebre Merritt. “We just returned to campus and our gym on January 26. And today it was more of the same as our bus broke down on the way here. We still found a way to compete at a high level.”
Senior Ayla Teegardin, who played 27 minutes in the state final, talked about how playing basketball and how her teammates helped her cope with being one of the many Palisades students to lose their home in the fire.
“I was living im a hotel for three months and struggled with a lot of misery,” Teegardin said. “The only thing that didn’t change was being on this team. I really appreciate how the team helped me out.”
Palisades fell to 0-2 in state finals with the 2020 team not getting a chance due to COVID wiping out the finals after the team had won a SoCal D2 title.
Elly Tierney, also a key player in last year’s run to the D3 South regional semifinals, led the Dolphins with 15 points. They not only out-rebounded Faith Christian, but made one more three-pointer (four to three).
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
