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Sidwell Friends’ mother, daughter duo stick together amid rumors

Kendall Dudley, here playing in the Jr. NBA Global championship, is the No. 4-ranked recruit in the class of 2024. (Pamela Costello/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.

Players Criticize NWSL Officiating After Tense Portland-Louisville Draw

Portland's Jessie Fleming chases Louisville's Ary Borges during Sunday's NWSL game.
Portland's Jessie Fleming and Louisville's Ary Borges voiced frustration with officials after Sunday’s NWSL match. (Troy Wayrynen/Imagn Images)

Concerns over faulty NWSL officiating again took center stage this week, after Sunday's 3-3 draw between the Portland Thorns and Racing Louisville FC saw a league-record 41 fouls called — with only one card handed out in regulation.

In the chippy, physical showdown, Louisville took a 3-1 first-half lead only to see it shortened to 3-2 after referee Corbyn May awarded Portland a penalty kick just before halftime. Portland then drew level with another converted penalty, this one awarded late in second-half stoppage time.

Angered by May's controversial calls, Racing Louisville's Ary Borges garnered a post-match red card for dissent after confronting the officials on the field.

"I do think that match can't keep happening in this league. I think it's embarrassing — it alters the match, it alters the sport," said Portland's Jessie Fleming after the game, remarking on Louisville's aggressive play and the officials' lack of response.

"It's embarrassing for the league, and I think it's embarrassing for Louisville as a club, and very frustrating for us as players."

Following the match, Borges apologized for her outburst via social media, going on to note, "I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame."

"For those who had two questionable penalties and spent the whole game throwing themselves in and around the penalty box, please take a moment to reflect and not talk about my team," she continued, accusing the Thorns of contributing to the issue by over-selling fouls.

PWHL Unveils Championship Rings for 2024 Walter Cup Winners Minnesota

A top and inside view of the Minnesota Frost's 2024 PWHL championship ring.
The Minnesota Frost won the first-ever Walter Cup in 2024. (PWHL)

With the puck dropping on the league's second postseason next week, the PWHL unveiled the Minnesota Frost's 2024 Walter Cup championship rings on Monday.

The reveal came as part of the league's multi-year partnership announcement with Paris Jewellers Canada, a family-owned jewelry brand that the PWHL has tapped to create its championship rings for years to come.

In order to personalize the championship jewelry, the design of the 2024 title-winning rings included input from inaugural victors Minnesota.

Fashioned from sterling silver, the rings feature an image of the Walter Cup. Surrounding the trophy are 74 diamonds, in honor of the goals scored by the team throughout their first season, as well as 18 purple amethyst stones representative of the squad's total 2023/24 wins.

The rings also bear inscriptions of the May 29th, 2024, championship game date and 3-0 winning score, the Frost's "Win One Game" motto, and each athlete's name and jersey number.

The champs received their rings in a private celebration on Sunday.

"This group will always carry the honor of being the first team in PWHL history to win the Walter Cup," said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.  "Now, we will forever have these special championship rings that encapsulate the journey to the top."

With the 2024/25 PWHL regular season closing on May 3rd, the Frost are locked in a battle with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge for the two remaining playoff spots.

For a shot at defending their 2024 title, Minnesota must win their final two games by defeating both Ottawa and Boston this week.

US Tennis Stars Gauff, Keys Shine at 2025 Madrid Open Amid Blackouts

US star Coco Gauff returns the ball during her 2025 Madrid Open Round of 16 victory.
Major power outages impacted the 2025 Madrid Open this week. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Though rolling blackouts across the region suspended play at the 2025 Madrid Open on Monday, many top US talents are working their way through the clay court competition to great success.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff dispatched Switzerland's No. 42 Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 in Monday's Round of 16, exiting the court just before the arena lost power.

"I feel like, at this point, this is only a situation you can laugh at if I was on court," Gauff said after her post-match interview was cut short by a deadened mic. "Because it's probably not going to happen ever again, and we'll always remember the day the power went out at Madrid Open."

Gauff next faces No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, where a win could see her swap places with the now-ousted Jessica Pegula in the WTA rankings to reclaim No. 3 — and resume her title as the highest-ranked US player.

The rest of the Round of 16 resumed early Tuesday morning, with fellow US star and world No. 5 Madison Keys taking down Croatia's No. 21 Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 before No. 2 Iga Świątek eked out a win against No. 13 Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Keys and Świątek will now square off in the quarterfinals — their first meeting since Keys upset the Polish star in January's Australian Open semifinal.

How to watch the 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals

The 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals kick off at 4 AM ET on Wednesday. Coverage of the tournament will continue to air live on the Tennis Channel.

NWSL Submits Division II League Proposal to US Soccer

An NWSL ball sits on the pitch before a 2025 regular-season game.
The NWSL is planning its own Division II player development system. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

The NWSL has submitted a formal application to US Soccer to launch a Division II league in 2026, with CBS Sports first reporting the league's move to strengthen player development in a shifting domestic landscape early last Friday.

Similar to the academy system overseas, the lower league would serve as both a testing ground and feeder system for the top-flight NWSL, keeping talent in-house while also providing professional resources and competition.

Eight NWSL clubs — North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisville, Gotham, Orlando, Bay FC, Seattle, and Washington — will participate in the second-tier league's inaugural year. The NWSL intends for all clubs to join within Division II's first four years.

Rapid growth reflects increased demand for women's soccer

Pro sports in the US have long relied on the NCAA to prepare future prospects, but with more young players forgoing NCAA soccer to sign pro contracts directly — not to mention the abolishment of the NWSL draft last season — new leagues are emerging to meet the development demand across North America.

Division I operations like the USL Super League and Canada's Northern Super League offer fully professional opportunities, while the amateur-focused WPSL will launch its own second-tier league, WPSL Pro, in 2026.

That said, the NWSL's Division II league would be the only secondary system sharing ownership, infrastructure, and staffing with top NWSL sides.

According to The Athletic, the NWSL has yet to agree upon full details for the new venture, with the submission primarily intended to meet a sanctioning deadline.

Should the application prove successful, club soccer in the US will see a rapid expansion, growing from a single pro league in 2023 to two Division I and two Division II leagues by 2026.

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