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Monday’s victory closed a hellacious holiday weekend for the No. 1 Quakers, who traveled up and down the East Coast to face two of the best high school teams in the country in a three-day stretch.
On Saturday, Sidwell faced California’s Sierra Canyon as part of the prestigious Hoophall Classic event in Springfield, Mass. The Quakers lost to the undefeated Trailblazers, who are ranked No. 2 in the country by MaxPreps, 67-55. Still recovering from their second loss since the end of the 2019-2020 season, they flew back to D.C. on Sunday and held a late-afternoon practice.
Monday’s game against Montverde, also undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country, was played as part of the St. James MLK Classic, a three-day boys’ and girls’ showcase event held at the sprawling fitness complex in Springfield, Va.
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I made the schedule,” Quakers Coach Tamika Dudley said after Monday’s win. “It’s been a crazy weekend.
This ambitious and often arduous schedule is the byproduct of Sidwell’s 2021-22 season, when they went undefeated en route to three postseason championships and a national No. 1 ranking. That level of success comes with consequences, as the program found itself invited to a bevy of showcases.
“These big games can be nerve-racking, but last year prepared us for what we were going to get into this year,” junior guard Leah Harmon said. “I’ve actually come to really like playing in big games like this.”
On Monday, the Quakers (10-2) played in a pristine facility in front of a crowd that included women’s basketball coaches Brenda Frese (Maryland), Kara Lawson (Duke) and Dawn Staley (South Carolina). It was a sparkling stage, one that few teams could ever truly grow accustomed to. But Sidwell looked comfortable from the tip, holding the Eagles to just seven first-quarter points as it built an early lead that would last the entire game.
Junior forward Kendall Dudley led the way with 20 points while Harmon added 16 and eight assists as the Quakers controlled the tempo and led by double digits most of the afternoon.
“Our standard is to try and bring energy every single game, if it’s the best team in the country or the worst,” Kendall Dudley said. “We want to always display what we believe our team to be all about.”
The grind does not stop anytime soon for the Quakers. They will squeeze in two Independent School League games on Tuesday and Wednesday and then, over the weekend, the school will host the second annual Geico Girls Basketball Invitational, a four-team tournament featuring Sidwell and nationally ranked programs from Arizona, California and Tennessee.
“The goal is to go undefeated down the stretch,” Donovan said. “I don’t want to lose again. Didn’t like that at all.”
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