The Georgia 5A championship game was already out of hand, and so with the Forest Park defense running back in transition, Woodward Academy star Sydney Bowles made a decision.

“It’s showtime,” she said to herself.

Bowles passed the ball behind her back to the trailing MacKenzie Moring, who finished the layup to the delight of the War Eagles’ fans in attendance at the Macon Centreplex last Thursday. Bowles looked at the crowd, and then the Woodward bench, and shook her head. It was all too easy for the University of Georgia commit, who scored 19 points and recorded seven rebounds and six assists in the War Eagles’ 72-44 victory.

Bowles’ performance helped Woodward (College Park, Ga.) claim its second straight state title and earned her JWS Player of the Week honors.

“That was our goal from the beginning of the year,” she said.

From the first practice of the season, War Eagles coach Kim Lawrence preached a guiding maxim. “This is another day on our road to Macon,” she’d say, referencing the site of the championship game.

The message stuck. Woodward romped through the regular season, recording just two losses, including a 74-70 defeat to Lake Highland (Fla.) on Jan. 8. The War Eagles could have a chance for revenge, as both programs earned bids to the State Champions Invitational.

When she reached the state title game, Bowles, a four-star recruit per ESPN, said she felt not nervous but calm. The lights had been brighter last season, she said, and besides, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude for the trajectory of her high school career.

Since her freshman season, she had taken it upon herself to become a leader. It was then, Bowles said, that Lawrence challenged her to be a more effective communicator. She recalled one day in practice when she became frustrated by teammates who kept missing layups and started barking at them. Lawrence told her all players respond differently to criticism.

“Some people you can really get on,” Bowles said. “Some people you need to really lift up while saying other things. You should say one encouraging thing, but also, ‘Make sure you’re working on this, too.’”

The plan worked, and that was never more clear than in the title game. The War Eagles led just 18-17 with 5:06 left in the first half, but then Bowles knocked down a 3-pointer to ignite a 20-point run to end the half.

The stretch turned the final two quarters into a formality, and gave Bowles the space to put on a show.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

The Hopkins girls’ basketball team is more than a one-woman show.

Maya Nnaji, the 6-foot-4 forward bound for Arizona, is no doubt the Royals’ crown jewel. But in Hopkins’ 66-43 win over Lakeville North on Wednesday in the Minnesota Class AAAA quarterfinals, Nnaji received plenty of help.

Sophomore guard Liv McGill took over for a stretch late in the first half. Junior forward Taylor Woodson was a menace on the offensive glass. And junior guard Kelly Boyle knocked down a pair of clutch 3-pointers off the bench.

It was a team effort, and the Royals — the alma mater of UConn star Paige Bueckers — will look to bring that same energy into Thursday’s semifinal matchup against either White Bear Lake or Rosemount. Hopkins has sat behind No. 1 Sidwell Friends at No. 2 in our top 25 all season long, including in last week’s rankings.

1. Sidwell Friends (D.C.), 27-0

After winning the D.C. State Athletic Association (DCSAA) championship, the Quakers accepted a bid to the inaugural State Champions Invitational.

2. Hopkins (Minn.), 23-1

The Royals will play either White Bear Lake or Rosemount in the AAAA state semifinal.

3. DeSoto (Texas), 33-2

The Eagles completed their “legacy tour” with a 40-23 win over South Grand Prairie and a second consecutive 6A state championship.

4. Classen SAS (Okla.), 23-1

The Comets won the school’s first ever state championship in any sport with a 55-22 win over Tuttle in the 4A state finals.

5. St. John Vianney (N.J.), 30-1

The Lancers defeated Immaculate Heart 74-36 to claim the Non-Public A state championship.

6. Sierra Canyon (Calif.), 29-2

The Trailblazers rolled Archbishop Mitty, 85-61, to claim their second straight CIF Open Division state crown.

7. New Hope (Md.), 27-2

The Tigers earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye at GEICO Nationals.

8. Cedar Park (Texas), 36-0

Gisella Maul scored 27 points as the Timberwolves earned their second straight 5A state championship with a 45-40 win over Memorial.

9. Incarnate Word (Mo.), 27-0

The undefeated Red Knights play St. Joseph’s on Thursday in the Class 6 state semifinals.

10. Etiwanda (Calif.), 28-1

Despite their loss to Sierra Canyon in the state semifinal, the Eagles put together a season worth remembering.

11. Montverde (Fla.), 18-3

The Tigers earned the No. 3 seed in the GEICO Nationals tournament and will play No. 2 seed DME in the semifinals.

12. Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 23-4

The Highlanders were one of four teams selected to the State Champions Invitational.

13. La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 24-3

The Torreys’ season came to a heartbreaking end last weekend in the form a 63-62 defeat to Sierra Canyon in the CIF open division region semifinal.

14. Hazel Green (Ala.), 33-0

The Trojans defeated Oxford 55-38 in the 6A championship game for their fifth straight state title.

15. Johnston (Iowa), 26-0

The Dragons beat Waterloo West 51-31 to claim the 5A state title one year after losing in the championship game.

16. Woodward Academy (Ga.), 28-2

After routing Forest Park, 72-44, in the AAAAA state final, the War Eagles move on to the State Champions Invitational.

17. Lone Peak (Utah), 23-0

The Knights beat Fremont in the 6A state championship to cap a perfect season.

18. DME (Fla.), 21-3

DME was awarded the No. 2 seed at GEICO Nationals.

19. IMG (Fla.), 11-4

After a long hiatus, the No. 4 seed Ascenders will play Bishop McNamara in the GEICO Nationals semifinals.

20. Noblesville (Ind.), 25-4

The Millers beat Franklin Community 76-52 to claim the 4A state title, the program’s second state crown and first since 1987.

21. South Bend Washington (Ind.), 27-3

The Panthers annihilated Silver Creek 93-35 in the 3A state championship game last weekend.

22. Bishop McNamara (Md.), 20-5

Despite falling to St. John’s in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) finals, the Mustangs earned a GEICO Nationals bid.

23. Centennial (Nev.), 17-3

The Bulldogs were named to the State Champions Invitational.

24. Fremont (Utah), 24-3

The Timberwolves fell to Lone Peak in the 6A state final.

25. Duncanville (Texas), 34-7

The Pantherettes’ season came to an end Feb. 26 with a loss to DeSoto in the 6A Region II final.

 Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

 

Donny Ott is a “gum guy.” The Cedar Park High School girls’ basketball coach always has a pack on him, he said, and last season his players often took to asking him for pieces.

So early this season, in an effort to assuage the gum gauging before it started, Ott gifted his star guard, Gisella Maul, a pack of Dentyne Ice. But that was back in November.

“I didn’t get her any for the state tournament,” Ott said. “Maybe that’s why she was playing so mad.”

Whatever the reason, Maul’s aggression reached a crescendo when it mattered most for the No. 9 Timberwolves. After Cedar Park and Memorial were tied at the end of regulation in Saturday’s 5A Texas state championship game, Maul scored 10 of her 27 points in the two overtime periods to lead the Timberwolves to a 45-40 victory and their second consecutive state title.

The junior also recorded 19 rebounds in a dominant performance that helped her earn JWS Player of the Week honors. Noblesville High School’s (Ind.) Ashlynn Shade claimed the distinction last week.

Maul, the 2022 Gatorade Texas State Player of the Year, averaged 25.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 steals per game this season. The 5-foot-10 sharpshooter shone brightest in the state championship, especially once Memorial switched one of its smaller guards onto her late in the second overtime.

With the contest knotted at 40, Maul received a pass in the post, collapsing the defense inward. She kicked the ball out, and when she got it back, she took the ball to the baseline and finished with her left hand, earning the and-1 call.

“When I made that (free-throw) shot, I knew this was our game, we’re taking it home,” Maul said.

Afterwards, Maul’s father, Mike, gifted her a pair of custom-made sneakers emblazoned with a “state champs” logo, just like he did after Cedar Park beat Frisco Liberty in the 5A final last year. Maul has about 30 pairs of sneakers, and the custom pairs made before championship games are a testament to her father’s confidence, she said.

“He feels like we are one, we are together as one,” Maul said of her father. “When I feel like we’re going to win, he feels like we’re going to win.”

That’s good news for Cedar Park and Ott, who has Maul for one more season. A four-star recruit, per ESPN, Maul has yet to make a college decision but has fielded interest from several Division I powers, including the University of Texas.

She proved on Saturday why college coaches are watching. Ott was asked afterwards if he was surprised by Maul’s performance.

“I was like, ‘No,'” Ott said. “I see her do it everyday.”

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

The Incarnate Word (St. Louis, Mo.) girls’ basketball team is not used to losing in March.

The Red Knights won state titles every season from 2017-19, and again in 2021. They had been on their way to a championship in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the season.

Behind star players Saniah Tyler, Natalie Potts and Olivia Hahn, Incarnate Word appears primed for more greatness this season, bringing a 29-0 record into their matchup Saturday against Troy-Buchanon (Troy, Mo.) in the Class 6 state quarterfinals.

The Red Knights’ dominant play in recent weeks — they beat Howell Central (St. Charles, Mo.) 79-32 in the District 3 championship — has pushed them to No. 10 in this week’s rankings, which experienced a lot of turbulence but is still led by Sidwell Friends. (You can find last week’s rankings here).

1. Sidwell Friends (D.C.), 27-0

The Quakers added more hardware to their collection this weekend with a D.C. State Athletic Association (DCSAA) championship.

2. Hopkins (Minn.), 21-1

The Royals kicked off the 6AAAA postseason this weekend with two wins.

3. DeSoto (Texas), 33-2

The Eagles completed their “legacy tour” with a 40-23 win over South Grand Prairie and a second consecutive 6A state championship.

4. Classen SAS (Okla.), 21-1

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting as the Comets beat Blanchard 53-24 in the 4A state quarterfinals Tuesday.

5. St. John Vianney (N.J.), 29-1

The Lancers clinched a berth in the state championship with a 69-50 win over Paul VI on Wednesday in the South Jersey Non-Public A final.

6. Sierra Canyon (Calif.), 28-2

The Trailblazers beat Sierra Canyon 60-51 on Tuesday in the Open Division regional final, avenging their loss from Feb. 26.

7. Etiwanda (Calif.), 28-1

The Eagles’ loss to Sierra Canyon was their first of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

8. New Hope (Md.), 27-2

The Tigers are waiting to see if they’ll get a bid to GEICO Nationals.

9. Cedar Park (Texas), 36-0

Gisella Maul scored 27 points as the Timberwolves earned their second straight 5A state championship with a 45-40 win over Memorial.

10. Incarnate Word (Mo.), 26-0

The Red Knights have beaten each of their previous three opponents by an average of 47 points.

11. La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 24-3

The Torreys’ season came to a heartbreaking end Saturday in the form a 63-62 defeat to Sierra Canyon in the CIF open division region semifinal.

12. Montverde (Fla.), 18-3

With their season over, the Tigers are awaiting a potential bid to GEICO Nationals.

13. Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 23-4

After winning the 4A state championship, the Highlanders hope to earn a GEICO Nationals bid.

14. Hazel Green (Ala.), 33-0

The Trojans defeated Oxford 55-38 in the 6A championship game for their fifth straight state title.

15. Johnston (Iowa), 26-0

The Dragons beat Waterloo West 51-31 to claim the 5A state title one year after losing in the championship game.

16. Woodward Academy (Ga.), 27-2

After beating Warner Robbins by 22 points, the War Eagles challenge Forest Park on Thursday in the AAAAA state final.

17. Lone Peak (Utah), 23-0

The Knight beat Fremont in the 6A state championship to cap a perfect season.

18. DME (Fla.), 21-3

DME is in practice mode, waiting for a potential bid to GEICO Nationals.

19. IMG (Fla.), 11-4

Like Montverde and DME, the Ascenders have shut things down in hopes of earning a spot at GEICO Nationals.

20. Noblesville (Ind.), 25-4

The Millers beat Franklin Community 76-52 to claim the 4A state title, the program’s second state crown and first since 1987.

21. South Bend Washington (Ind.), 27-3

The Panthers annihilated Silver Creek 93-35 in the 3A state championship game last weekend.

22. Fremont (Utah), 24-3

The Timberwolves fell to Lone Peak in the 6A state final.

23. Conway (Ark.). 28-2

The Wampus Cats were stunned in the second round of the 6A playoffs, falling to Central 66-60.

24. Duncanville (Texas), 34-7

The Pantherettes’ season came to an end Feb. 26 with a loss to DeSoto in the 6A Region II final.

25. St. John’s (D.C.), 19-5

The Cadets’ momentum from winning the WCAC conference championship ended with a defeat to Georgetown Visitation in the DCSAA semifinal.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

Tamika Dudley was fed up with the rumors, and so on Dec. 30, the Sidwell Friends girls’ basketball coach took to Twitter to quash the scuttlebutt.

“I have NO intention on leaving Sidwell after Kendall graduates,” Dudley wrote, referencing her daughter, a star sophomore guard for the Quakers. “I have been coaching for 15+ years and Kendall has only played for me for two of them.”

Those two years, though, have raised the profile of mother and daughter, who’ve helped lead the Sidwell Friends program to its greatest heights in more than a decade: The top-ranked Quakers have so far won conference and D.C. State Athletic Association championships, have beaten top teams from across the country and are the favorites to be the last team standing at GEICO Nationals in April.

There is no uncertainty attached to Kendall’s future: The 6-foot-1 wing is the No. 4 player in the country for the class of 2024, per ESPN, and will have her pick of Division I programs pining for her services.

But there is less of a clear path for elite high school coaches, some of whom do have dreams of reaching the next level. And then there are those like Tamika, who told Just Women’s Sports she has no intention of leaving Sidwell Friends anytime soon. The Naismith High School Girls’ Basketball Coach is proud of the program she’s helped build and feels at home in the community.

She knows that as long as Sidwell Friends’ success continues, though, those rumors will keep surfacing. Tamika said she’d heard this latest gossip came from local coaches trying to turn prospective players away from the Quakers.

“I don’t know if it’s a thing where people feel threatened,” Tamika said. “I thought it was best (if) something was said in the open.”

Tamika, to be fair, did get her coaching start at the college level, when she worked as an assistant at UNC-Wilmington after wrapping up her playing career at LIU-Brooklyn in 2004. She found the position to be emotionally draining, and derived more purpose from her job as an assistant at Potomac High School (Dumfries, Va.). She left the sideline after three seasons when she gave birth to Kendall and didn’t intend to return.

Then George Washington, her old coach at Woodbridge High School (Va.), called with an offer. He wanted Tamika, his former point guard, in the coaches’ room.

“I told her, ‘You need this as much as it needs you,’” said Washington.

Part of Washington’s pitch was that Tamika, a single mother, could bring Kendall along to practice and teach her the game. Indeed, some of Kendall’s earliest memories are in the Woodbridge gym, where Tamika, her players and even Washington introduced her to the intricacies of basketball. Washington often picked Kendall up from school or daycare to bring her to practice.

The trio became even closer through tragedy. Kendall was 4 when Washington suffered a cardiac event on the sideline and Tamika performed CPR on him before the paramedics arrived. Washington made a full recovery, but retired from coaching and handed the program off to Tamika. She led Woodbridge to a Class 6 state title in 2019 and earned USA Today Coach of the Year honors.

That’s when she caught the attention of the Sidwell Friends administration, and when she took the Quakers’ job, she brought Kendall with her. Even if mother and daughter already had a strong basketball foundation — Kendall often watched Woodbridge game tape with Tamika in the living room — it would be the first time they’d share a bench.

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Kendall grew up around the game of basketball thanks to her mom. (Courtesy of Tamika Dudley)

The relationship has borne fruit this season for the Quakers, who are also led by senior point guard Kiki Rice, a UCLA commit and arguably the top player in the country, and junior guard Jadyn Donovan, also a five-star recruit.

The group has elevated Sidwell to a status in the area normally reserved for teams in the more prestigious Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, like St. John’s, Paul IV and Bishop McNamara. Tamika isn’t surprised the success has led to some hearsay about her future, though she hypothesized there might be deeper reasons for the rumors.

“My first year coaching in this league, in general, there were situations with officials. And I was like, ‘Is it because I’m female and Black?’” said Tamika, whose mother is white and father is Black. “I hate to take it there. I normally don’t even go there.

“It’s definitely tougher for me to deal with male coaches than it is female coaches.”

Kendall, meanwhile, doesn’t pay much attention to the discourse surrounding Tamika’s future. But she does wish more people would recognize her mother’s success.

“You can’t stop people from talking,” Kendall said, “but you can always make an effort to show them what’s wrong about what they’re saying.”

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

A pair of incidents of “blatantly racist” heckling during a California postseason high school soccer game on Saturday night left players, coaches and administrators furious and searching for answers, per reporting from The Sacramento Bee.

After more than 95 minutes of soccer between Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) and Buchanan (Clovis) in the Division I Northern California championship game, and with the penalty shootout tied at 1, Buchanan’s Daisy Torres stepped to the line. Torres, who is Hispanic, was met with what seemed to be dog-barking noises from the crowd.

After Torres missed her kick, her teammate Ciara Wilson, who is Black, stepped to the line to the sound of gorilla noises. Wilson, a Fresno State commit, converted her kick and immediately pointed the officials to the Oak Ridge stands.

“When a quiet stadium is suddenly filled with gorilla noises made toward an African-American student, I don’t know that you get any more blatantly racist,” Buchanan coach Jasara Gillette told the Bee. “It changed the atmosphere of everything. My players after that moment were visibly emotional. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

Oak Ridge went on to win, 4-2, in the penalty shootout, but the moment was tainted by what had happened in the bleachers. Oak Ridge head coach Rino Chimienti told the Bee his players approached the Buchanan players after the game to offer support.

Oak Ridge principal Aaron Palm said he was “heartbroken” by the incidents and planned to launch an investigation to get to “the bottom of this.” He said there were too many students in the bleachers Saturday to make a determination on who committed the heckling.

“One incident doesn’t define a school, but when something like this happens, it does,” Palm told the Bee. “The words that come to mind are: Disgusted, embarrassed, saddened. We’re confident with a full investigation that we’ll be able to determine who it was. We’ll call every student that was in that section into the office, one at a time, and get to the bottom of this and hold them accountable.”

Gillette was disappointed the Oak Hill administration did not take swifter action in the moment.

“If they’re not going to identify the student, the stands should have been cleared,” Gillette told the Bee. “The administration let the team, the players and their families down. By not taking a stand, by not doing anything, it said that continuing this game is more important.. It felt like when they did nothing and didn’t come check on us, our team should’ve walked away. We should’ve made a stand right there.”

Sky Brown is most comfortable with the wind in her hair and a skateboard at her feet. In those moments, when Brown leaves ground level, she transcends what humans think they know about age and gravity.

“She is fearless in a way that is scary if you’re an outsider,” said Tony Hawk, who mentors Brown.

Brown, 13, became the youngest Great Britain athlete to win an Olympic medal when she took bronze in the women’s park skateboarding event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but her thirst for challenging norms remains unquenched. Brown plans to compete not only in skateboarding at the 2024 Games in Paris, but also in surfing, her other passion.

“That sounds like a hard thing, but yeah, I’m going to try,” Brown said. “(That’s) my best dream right now.”

Brown spoke with a group of reporters last week after being nominated for the 2022 Laureus World Comeback Athlete of the Year award, along with gymnast Simone Biles, diver Tom Daley (Great Britain), cyclist Mark Cavendish (Great Britain), cyclist Annemiek Van Vleuten (Netherlands) and motorcycle racer Marc Marquez (Spain).

Brown has a compelling case for the award. In June 2020, the then-11-year-old prodigy was hospitalized with a skull fracture, a broken wrist, a broken hand and a black eye suffered on a gnarly skateboarding fall from high in the air.

When she woke up in the hospital, Brown was not focused on her pain or her bruises, but her future: She wanted to get back to the skatepark.

“It was actually hard for my parents to let me get back on my board,” Brown said. “My dad saw it in real life, and my mom was sleeping in the car when it happened. (My brother) was watching from behind. It was a super hard time for my family, but for me, I was just so excited to get back.”

Brown does not have much practice in sitting still. Her mornings start on the water, where she surfs for two to five hours per day, depending on the quality of waves. Then, after going to school and finishing her homework, Brown, who is of British and Japanese ancestry and lives in Southern California, will hit a local skatepark with some friends.

She was fully healed by the Tokyo Games, and since coming home with the medal, she’s often swarmed by fans in public. For an athlete focused on empowering even younger girls, the attention is encouraging and validating.

“Her future,” said Hawk, “is very bright.”

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Brown’s post-Olympics life is that not much has changed. Her parents still implore her to clean her room and limit her screen time, and her mother hides vegetables in her dinner. She often giggles when she speaks and is extra polite to adults.

To the untrained eye, she might look like a typical 13-year-old girl, hanging with her friends at the beach or the skatepark. But then Sky Brown will lift off, with her feet firmly on a board, her hair blowing in the wind and her body painting a picture in the sky.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

Ashlynn Shade, the 5-foot-9 pride of Noblesville High School (Ind.), was already on “cloud nine” Saturday night when the tweet hit her newsfeed. 

Shade had just scored 31 points, tied for a 4A state title game record, to lead the No. 21 Millers to a 76-52 win over Franklin Community in the championship game, and the basketball world had taken notice — including Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers’ newest acquisition.

“Seeing that,” Shade said, “(put me) on another level.”

Shade’s performance in front of thousands of fans at Gainbridge Field House — Haliburton’s new home court — helped her earn JWS Player of the Week honors, but it was hardly out of character for the guard.

The UConn commit is a 5-star recruit, per ESPN, and the No. 5-ranked player in the Class of 2023. She finished the season averaging 20.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals per game, but her impact goes far beyond the box score.

Shade has helped create unprecedented excitement around girls’ basketball at Noblesville. Within minutes of tickets going on sale for the championship game, coach Donna Buckley said the Millers’ student section had sold out and fans were searching for ways to buy seats in other teams’ sections.

Shade is the kind of player best experienced in person, with her singular combination of speed, ferocity and agility.

“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime kid,” Buckley said.

Her father, Matt, is a personal trainer, and from a young age she was in the gym working on functional movements like squat jumps, push-ups and pull-ups. Her athleticism allows her to score from anywhere on the court, but it’s her mid-range game that gives her the most pride.

“In today’s game, it’s a lot of layups and 3s,” Shade said. “My mid-range game separates me.”

Buckley often positions Shade on the block, and that’s exactly where she was at the start of the fourth quarter to kill Franklin Community’s momentum. The Grizzly Cubs had cut the Millers’ lead to 10, but Shade made sure the run ended there, scoring amid fierce defensive pressure and drawing the foul. Once she converted the and-1, Buckley said it felt like Shade had “stolen Franklin’s soul.”

That was a common feeling among Noblesville’s opponents this season. The Millers were the only team to defeat Homestead, the Fort Wayne, Ind. power led by senior Ayanna Patterson, a McDonald’s All-American and Shade’s future UConn teammate. Noblesville won both games by 21 points, including the teams’ playoff bout on Feb. 12.

While Patterson heads off to Connecticut soon, Shade will get one more season to leave her mark at the high school level. She is on pace to score more than 2,300 points in her career, and Buckley feels fortunate to be along for the ride.

“I’ve never,” Buckley said, “seen anyone quite like her.”

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

The New Hope basketball team had one final chance to make its case for GEICO Nationals last Friday, and the team did not disappoint.

Coach Sam Caldwell’s team crushed Virginia Academy, 81-46, in the National Association of Christian Athletes Division I championship game and placed three players on the All-Tournament team: Jalyn Brown (Louisville commit), Kennedy Fauntleroy (Georgetown commit) and Alphonsia Eleko.

Whether or not New Hope’s season continues is out of its control, but there’s no doubt the team has made one final push, and that’s why it moved up one spot in this week’s high school basketball rankings. If New Hope does make it to Nationals, it might very well have to play No. 1 Sidwell Friends, which has led our rankings all five weeks.

1. Sidwell Friends (D.C.), 25-0

The Quakers thrashed Maret, 70-36, to claim their first ISL conference championship in more than 15 years.

2. Hopkins (Minn.), 19-1

The Royals crushed Buffalo, 74-31, in their regular season finale.

3. DeSoto (Tex.), 31-2

The Eagles beat Tomball Memorial and then Duncanville to advance to the 6A state semifinals.

4. Etiwanda (Calif.), 27-0

The Eagles overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to down Sierra Canyon, 69-57, in the CIF Southern Section title game.

5. La Jolla Country Day (Calif.), 24-2

The Torreys bested Mission Hills, 68-53, and won the CIF San Diego Section championship.

6. Classen SAS (Okla.), 19-1

The Comets kicked off the 4A Area 3 postseason bracket with a 63-18 win over Byng on Tuesday.

7. St. John Vianney (N.J.), 26-1

The Lancers enter the state playoffs with momentum after rolling through the Shore Conference tournament.

8. New Hope (Md.), 27-2

New Hope beat its three opponents in the National Association of Christian Athletes tournament by an average of 57.7 points.

9. Sierra Canyon (Calif.), 26-2

The Trailblazers’ loss to Etiwanda was disheartening, but the team has the tools to make a run in the SoCal Open Open Division tournament.

10. Conway (Ark.). 28-1

The Wampus Cats received a first-round bye in the 6A playoffs.

11. Montverde (Fla.), 18-3

The Eagles are hanging tight in hopes of receiving a bid to GEICO Nationals.

12. Cedar Park (Tex.), 34-0

The Timberwolves rolled past Liberty Hill, 50-37, and into the 5A state semifinals.

13. Incarnate Word (Mo.), 25-0

The Red Knights put their undefeated record on the line Friday against Howell Central in the district finals game.

14. Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 23-4

The Highlanders won the 4A state championship with a 75-57 win over Calvary Christian.

15. Fremont (Utah), 23-2

A win over Westlake on Thursday would set the Timberwolves up for a state championship matchup against unbeaten Lone Peak.

16. Hazel Green (Ala.), 32-0

Fresh off a 74-54 win over Park Crossing on Wednesday, the Trojans will challenge Oxford in the 6A championship game this weekend.

17. Johnston (Iowa), 24-0

The unbeaten Dragons meet Pleasant Valley on Thursday in the 5A semifinals.

18. Woodward Academy (Ga.), 26-2

The War Dragons play Warner Robbins on Saturday in the AAAAA semifinals.

19. DME (Fla.), 21-3

DME is in practice mode, waiting for a potential bid to GEICO Nationals.

20. IMG (Fla.), 11-4

Like Montverde and DME, the Ascenders have shut things down in hopes of earning a spot at GEICO Nationals.

21. Noblesville (Ind.), 25-4

The Millers beat Franklin Community, 76-52, to claim the 4A state title, the program’s second state crown and first since 1987.

22. South Bend Washington (Ind.), 27-3

The Panthers annihilated Silver Creek, 93-35, in the 3A state championship game on Saturday.

23. Rock Bridge (Mo.), 23-1

The Bruins play Blue Springs South on Thursday in the district championship game.

24. St. John’s (D.C.), 19-4

The Cadets knocked off Bishop McNamara, 68-50, in the WCAC conference championship game.

25. Mount Notre Dame (Ohio), 27-0

The team is one win away from qualifying for the Division I semifinals.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

This is no ordinary season for the DeSoto girls’ basketball team. This, as coach Andrea Robinson coined it, is the Eagles’ “legacy tour.”

DeSoto, after all, won the Texas Class 6A state championship last season and returned a senior class that includes seven Division I commits.

The leader of the pack for the No. 3 Eagles is 6-foot-4 power forward Sa’Myah Smith, an LSU commit and a 4-star recruit, per ESPN. Smith has elevated her game as the Eagles have won their first three postseason games, earning her the honors of JWS Player of the Week.

“I have more of a ‘kill ‘em and win ‘em,’ mentality this season,” Smith said. “Winning a second [state title] in a row would be huge.”

On Feb. 17, in DeSoto’s 67-32 thrashing of Legacy (Tyler, Texas), Smith scored 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds and seven steals. Four days later, on the eve of Smith’s 18th birthday, she poured in 22 points and brought down 10 rebounds as the Eagles rolled past Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas), 63-28 and advanced to the Region II semifinals.

For all of Smith’s superlative feats, she’s hardly winning games by herself. Next season’s college basketball landscape will reflect that. Amina Muhammad, an Eagles forward, is committed to Texas. Post Tionna Herron is going to Kentucky. Wing Ayanna Thompson will play at Ole Miss. Wing Jiya Perry will continue her career at SMU. And guards Jamia Harris and Michayla Gatewood will team up next season at Kansas State.

“It’s pretty amazing if you think about it,” Smith said, “just knowing that any of us can go off for 20 [points] a night.”

The team has created palpable excitement around town. Even DeSoto Mayor Rachel Proctor is urging supporters to buy shirts celebrating the team.

Still, it is Smith who is DeSoto’s engine. A versatile athlete who can finish and grab rebounds inside, Smith also is a skilled offensive initiator who often plays point-forward for the Eagles. In the offseason, she spent extra time working on her mid-range jumper, and that work has led to results this season.

She takes pride in her work ethic, picked up by osmosis on trips to her family’s farms growing up. As the lone girl, she was not required to do farm work, but she observed her brothers toiling in the summer sun and learned what it takes to get things done.

Smith brought that sense of purpose to the hardwood, where she’s made her family proud. She has big plans for the future, at LSU and beyond, but first, she wants to take care of business at DeSoto, starting with Friday’s clash against Tomball Memorial (Tomball, Texas).

There are four stops left on the Legacy Tour, with all roads leading to the Alamodome and the state championship game on March 5.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.