The Sidwell Friends School’s girls basketball team can add another championship to their collection after winning the 2022 Girls Basketball Invitational on Saturday evening.
Ranked as the top team in the nation, the Quakers continued their undefeated season (11-0), earning a 60-55 win over No. 2 DeSoto High School from Texas. Junior Jadyn Donovan scored a team-high 25 points in the final to keep its ranking intact.
Sidwell Friends’ success in the tournament is extra special, considering the competition involved. The Girls Basketball Invitational brought together the top four elite high school programs in the nation — Sidwell Friends, DeSoto, Hopkins High School in Minnesota and Grandview High School in Colorado — to compete in front of a national audience.
Donovan, considered the No. 10 ranked junior in the country, told ESPN that the hard-fought victory in the final felt good as the team recovered from a less-than-stellar showing ahead of halftime.
“Honestly, I’m just proud we pulled it through,” she said.
🏀 Champs! 🦊 🏆 #GoQuakers #CultureWins #Team pic.twitter.com/fU3IhzfkhQ
— Sidwell Friends Athletics (@SFSQuakers) Jan. 23, 2022
The team’s head coach Tamika Dudley added to the celebration, saying that she didn’t have the words for what she was feeling. However, she was thankful for the team’s support here in the District from hundreds of miles away.
“Our path was not easy,” Dudley wrote. “To beat the amazingly talented #3 team on their home court. Then to turn around and play #2 …”
In the first game of the two-day showcase, point guard and UCLA recruit Kiki Rice scored 21 points to help Sidwell Friends earn a 67-55 victory over Hopkins. Four players finished in double-figures in the Quakers’ win.
See highlights from the championship game below:
