When star Archbishop Mitty forward McKenna Woliczko fell to the ground and clutched her right knee with 5:30 left in the second quarter of the Monarchs’ game against Ontario Christian on Saturday afternoon, the packed gym at Carondelet went silent.

After being examined by medical personnel for several minutes, the best girls basketball player in the Bay Area was helped off the court by her father, Aaron, and did not reappear on the sidelines at any point in the second half of Mitty’s 61-44 loss in the marquee matchup of the Sabrina Ionescu showcase in Concord.

The severity of the injury is unknown.

Longtime Mitty coach Sue Phillips said her team is still coming to grips with the junior’s injury.

“There were a lot of tears on the bench.” Phillips said.

Mitty, which had not lost a regular-season game since December 2022, had started the season 9-0. The Monarchs routed Ontario Christian, then No. 1 nationally, two weeks ago in a tournament championship game in Arizona.

A fourth consecutive berth in the state Open Division title game as NorCal’s unquestioned top team appeared to be a certainty.

But without Woliczko, the two-time Bay Area News Group player of the year, for the majority of the game and most likely for the foreseeable future, Phillips said other players will need to step up if the Monarchs are to stay on course.

Mitty entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 1 in the nation, Ontario Christian No. 2.

Ze’Ni Patterson, a sophomore transfer from Heritage in Brentwood, shouldered a larger responsibility after Woliczko’s injury. She scored a team-high 14 points.

“Prayers up for McKenna,” Patterson said. “I feel like our team played well just trying to push through our feelings and emotions.”

How Mitty, which still features other high-level talent such as Devin Cosgriff and Tee McCarthy, will play going forward is yet to be determined, according to Phillips.

“We don’t know (yet), but we just know we’ve got to look at the film and figure out where we need to specifically shore up some things,” Phillips said.

Despite losing an irreplaceable talent like Woliczko, the Monarchs stayed competitive into the second half even after the forward went down with the San Jose private school held a 19-17 lead.

On the Ontario Christian side, top-ranked sophomore Kaleena Smith scored a game-high 23 points on an array of dizzying dribble-drives and difficult jump shots. Freshman Tati Griffin had 14 and 6-foot-7 freshman center Sydney Douglas scored nine points and blocked a handful of shots.

Mitty stayed in the game until the final period. The Monarchs trailed just 42-40 after three quarters as freshman forward Maliya Hunter made two three-pointers and Cosgriff and Emma Cook each had five points.

But the Monarchs couldn’t keep Ontario at bay forever, and missing Woliczko’s unstoppable mid-post and interior bucket-getting, the Monarchs couldn’t keep up and scored just four fourth quarter points.

“We had great spurts, but obviously we were missing a huge component to our team as we were trying to find out way, and we did at times,” Phillips said. “We did a terrific job of competing and fighting back. We just couldn’t sustain it.”

Archbishop Mitty plays at Valley Christian on Tuesday as it opens West Catholic Athletic League play.

Future Cal star

When Aliyahna “Puff” Morris drove into the lane against host Carondelet on Friday, the short Etiwanda guard often disappeared among the taller players crowding the paint.

But almost every time, the five-star Cal signee would emerge from the traffic, and often complete the foray with a tough layup or finish for two hard-earned points. They were the kind of plays that the Golden Bears and coach Charmin Smith hope she can replicate at the collegiate level later this year.

Morris poured in a game-high 38 points in Etiwanda’s 79-56 victory over the Cougars in the Ionescu showcase.

“I’ve seen a lot of Cal gear just walking around here,” Morris said. “I’m really excited to get to work with coach Charmin and everything. It feels like a great community to be a part of.”

After going down 11-0 to start the game, Carondelet fought back against the reigning back-to-back CIF Open Division state champions.

The Concord program trailed just 15-12 after the first quarter and kept the score respectable throughout. The Cougars got 12 points from Niylah Christopher, 13 points from Layla Dixon and nine from Sophia Ross.

Carondelet flashed the form that could make it dangerous in NorCal play, and got to test itself against one of the state’s best programs.

“We’re not going to see anyone like that in our section, and that’s no fault to anyone in our section,” Carondelet coach Kelly Sopak said. “They are legit. They can defend, they can shoot. It was a challenge, it was tough to keep it the way it was, and I love they kept it on us for 32 minutes.”

Piedmont 61, Clayton Valley Charter 52, OT >> Freshmen led the way for Piedmont in its overtime victory on Friday over a spirited Clayton Valley Charter squad at the Ionescu showcase. Andrea Martin scored 23 points and was a force on the offensive boards, and first-year guard Jenelle Solis scored a modest five points, but set up Martin and other teammates with a high volume of pinpoint passes.

Sophomore Taylor White scored 12 and senior Briana Webb had 13 points for Piedmont as the Highlanders improved to 10-1. Sophomore guard Deoujenea Clay put in a team-high 21 points for Clayton Valley Charter.