SAN JOSE — After almost a full calendar year out with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Archbishop Mitty five-star forward McKenna Woliczko returned to the court on Friday in San Jose, closing out a long and painful chapter of recovery while opening a new one of promise.
It took just 22 seconds for her to make an impact out on the floor.
Winning the opening tap against Clovis, Woliczko got on the scoreboard on Mitty’s first possession, putting back a missed shot to give the Monarchs the early lead.
She finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in three quarters of play, leading Mitty to a breezy 82-44 win.
The Monarchs (10-1) put the game out of reach with a 29-0 run that spanned the end of the second quarter and most of the third. The dominant stretch turned a game that started out in a bit of a nervous fashion into a comfortable welcome-back party for the senior superstar.
“I was very nervous, but I’m always nervous,” Woliczko said. “I’ve been so excited. I mean, it’s been almost a year. This is the first game I was able to play, and I’m so glad to play it with my teammates. I’m so proud.”
Woliczko didn’t seem particularly nervous out on the court, but she did look cautious a time or two. She’s still adjusting mentally to being back on the floor and fully trusting her surgically repaired knee.
She did clear a big hurdle when she went down hard on a foul in the first quarter, falling to the floor after a contested layup at the rim.
Woliczko bounced right back up, sticking the landing after busting through the mental barrier.
“It was actually good that she took a hard foul so that she could experience that, because that’s part of the process of her knowing that she’s ready to take those kinds of hits,” Mitty coach Sue Philips said. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been cleared and she wouldn’t have been out there. It’s incredibly exciting for our team, but I’m really happy for McKenna.”
Though Mitty says Woliczko is playing without a minutes restriction, the Monarchs did not play her much on Friday. She played roughly half of each of the first three quarters, then sat for the entire final period.
She’ll have one more chance to get her rhythm back against Valley Christian on Tuesday before Mitty travels down to Southern California for the Kay Yow Showcase, where the Monarchs will face top SoCal programs Fairmont Prep and Ontario Christian.
The latter is ranked the No. 1 team in the country by MaxPreps. It’s a mantle Ontario Christian snatched from Mitty last season in the game when Woliczko tore her ACL.
“It’s gonna be a very tough game,” Woliczko said. “But it’s kind of nice to be able to play them in a tournament setting. That way, if we were to play them in state, or whoever it is we play in state, I already got my injury game out of the way.”
Mitty will likely lean harder on Woliczko in those games, especially the showcase matchup with Ontario Christian, which indeed could be a preview of this year’s CIF Open Division state championship game.
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The home bleachers at Mitty were packed, an unusual sight for a sleepy 3 p.m. Friday afternoon nonleague matchup. But this was not your typical holiday weekend basketball game.
“Don’t get me wrong, I was very nervous, maybe even cried a little bit, just because that’s how I handle my emotions,” Woliczko said. “But there’s nothing wrong with that, and that’s how I’ve been able to deal with my emotions in the past. So it was nothing new today. Not too different.
“I’ve had a lot of time to process. A lot of people here today, and I’m just so grateful that this many people came out to support us and me. It was so awesome.”
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