But Sidwell had not gained the ISL tournament title in additional than 15 years. After the Quakers’ 70-36 win over No. 13 Maret in Northwest Washington, Sidwell gamers had achieved the purpose they’d set after they started taking part in for the D.C. non-public faculty.
“Obviously, No. 1 is a nice number to have in front of your name, especially in national rankings,” junior guard Jadyn Donovan mentioned. “But this means a lot to us because that was our original goal. We knew we wanted to be ISL champions from the beginning.”
Sidwell’s ascent started in 2018, when guard Kiki Rice began highschool and helped remodel the Quakers (26-0) into an ISL contender. At the time, Sidwell had no nationwide ambitions; it simply needed to compete in its league.
The subsequent season, Sidwell posted the ISL’s greatest common season file. Sidwell had crushed Georgetown Visitation twice through the common season, however the Cubs dethroned the Quakers within the league semifinals en path to profitable their 14th consecutive title.
In the locker room after that sport, Sidwell gamers promised one another they’d by no means underestimate one other opponent.
That mind-set has been essential this season as Sidwell, after including one other handful of prime prospects, has balanced its native and nationwide schedules. Before each sport, Dudley asks her gamers to ship the identical power no matter their opponent. The Quakers adopted that recommendation towards Maret (17-8), receiving a standing ovation after main 54-12 at halftime.
“If you asked me my freshman year, I definitely wouldn’t have said this is how it would’ve gone,” mentioned Rice, the McDonald’s all-American, who scored a game-high 17 factors Sunday. “It’s not something that was unimaginable, but it’s crazy it happened so fast.”
After her group’s celebrations, Dudley folded the banner as she and her gamers waved to the group on the best way to their locker room. The Quakers had achieved one other milestone, and their ultimate native take a look at awaits them this week after they compete for their first D.C. State Athletic Association championship.
“We remember where we started and to not take the small victories for granted,” Donovan mentioned. “Even though we’re No. 1 nationally, we still take pride in being No. 1 locally.”
Potomac School wins division A
Earlier Sunday, Potomac School beat Georgetown Day, 60-42, for the ISL division A crown. The No. 18 Panthers (21-1), who final gained the ISL division A title in 2018, misplaced to the Grasshoppers (20-3) in time beyond regulation on Feb. 10.
“The pain we felt after that game, I know it sounds silly, but it was a really hard loss,” mentioned Potomac guard Catherine LeTendre, who scored a team-high 15 factors. “It made us realize how much this meant to us, and then we we’re like: ‘We set out to do this, we have to do this and we’re going to do this. No questions asked.’ ”