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FULLERTON — Aaliyah Mack might be a freshman but she didn’t play like one Friday as Fairmont Prep’s girls basketball team encountered yet another national powerhouse.
Mack faced off against Iowa-bound senior McKenna Woliczko and Archbishop Mitty of San Jose on Day 1 of the Kay Yow Showcase at Rosary.
Archbishop Mitty used an aggressive, full-court press and 10 3-pointers to sprint past Fairmont Prep 80-45 but Mack held her ground to deliver several of the Huskies’ highlights.
The 6-foot-3 center scored 11 points and had a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. One of the blocks came against Woliczko early in the opening quarter.
“She’s up for the battle,” Fairmont Prep coach Josh Lozano said of Mack. “She’s gone against the big from Sierra Canyon, the bigs at (Long Island Lutheran in New York). She’s gone against the best bigs in the country all season long. Now, it’s building a habit of her showing up like that every game.”
“Her goal is to be the best,” the coach added.
Mack said she knew that 6-foot-2 Woliczko was a highly-regarded player but wasn’t discouraged.
“I knew she was good but I wasn’t really intimated,” Mack said of Woliczko, ESPN’s No. 6-rated senior in the nation who recently returned from a knee injury. “I think I have my days. Today it really showed. I am confident.”
Fairmont Prep scored the first five points in the first quarter before Archbishop Mitty answered with a 17-0 run to take control. Mack ended the surge with a basket with 1:54 left in the frame.
The Monarchs sank five of their 3-pointers in the first quarter to lead 26-9.
They scored the first nine points of the second period and raced to a 46-16 lead at halftime.
Ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps, Archbishop Mitty (12-1) looked primed for its showdown against No. 1 Ontario Christian (19-0) on Saturday at Mater Dei at noon.
For Fairmont Prep, the stiff competition was nothing new.
The Huskies, ranked No. 2 in Orange County to JSerra, have faced Ontario Christian once and play host to the Knights on Jan. 23.
Fairmont Prep also played in the top division at the Nike Tournament of Champions and SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
“I’m not here to rack up a million wins,” Lozano said of the schedule. “I’m here to get the kids better and ready for the next level.”
Mack, who moved from Arizona to attend Fairmont Prep, said she is adjusting to high school competition.
“It was definitely very hard in the beginning because I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “But throughout the season, I’m really getting the feel of it.”
Lesina Afu paced Fairmont Prep with 16 points, including two 3-pointers. Adyra Rajan and Sarah Aldeguer, committed to Harvard and Princeton, respectively, each added nine.
Fairmont Prep played without Columbia commit Mathis Dritz (ankle).
“Right now, we’re working on playing together,” Mack said, “and really using our pieces.”
Woliczko scored 14 points, including nine in an impressive burst in the third, and had eight rebounds and a block.
Ze’ni Patterson also had 14 points for Archbishop Mitty. The Monarchs’ bench outscored the Huskies’ reserves 29-0.
In other Kay Yow games Friday:
Rosary 53, King/Drew 44: Kate Duarte had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Royals (13-4).
Mater Dei 56, Caruthers 40: Marissa Bishop scored 16 points off the bench and Harmony Golightly had 15 points to lead the Monarchs (13-4).
Etiwanda 69, Villa Park 49: Olivia Sturdivant scored 16 points and Sabina Patel had 10 as the Spartans (16-4) fell to the three-time defending state Open Division champion Eagles. Etiwanda (16-2), ranked No. 6 in the nation, led 37-20 at half. “(Our) girls fight,” Villa Park coach Brad Willis said. “When they see Etiwanda on the schedule, its ‘OK, that’s a challenge. Let’s step up to the challenge’ and for the most part, they did.”