Sidwell Friends Boys and Girls Repeat as Champions
It was like deja vu when the Sidwell Friends boys team matched up with Jackson Reed in the DCSAA championship on Sunday at the Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University. Both teams had advanced to the championship game after battling their way through one of the most competitive tournaments since it began.
In the end, the result was the same. The Quakers pulled away to a 62-47 score (that was much closer than it appears). Before an overflow crowd, the game lived up to its expectations as the neighborhood rivals went back and forth en route to a 25-22 advantage to Sidwell at halftime.
Bard Boys Win Second Straight
In what was arguably the most entertaining game on championship day, the Bard School-SEED DC School matchup had the crowd buzzing long after the game. Bard won its second straight DCSAA tournament, 67-64 with a strong comeback after trailing by 9, late in the fourth quarter.
“If someone had said to me two years ago that we would be in this position, I would have said no way,” said head coach Malcolm Battle of the southeast D.C.-based program, which is playing in only its third year of competition. “These kids are tough. The neighborhoods where they come from pose an everyday challenge to them. But they learned something from all of this. Not so long ago, you were the hunter; now you have become the hunted.”
Bard recently won the DCIAA championship.
Carroll Girls Garner Historic First
In the girls’ DCSAA game, it was the Archbishop Carroll Lions holding off the Tigers of Jackson Reed, 39-31.
The Lions (20-10) jumped out to the early eight-point lead before the Tigers (21-8) regrouped to cut the margin to 10-8 at the end of the first quarter.
No one could take control through the second and third quarters until Carroll’s Tiayo Adelekan and Heidi Williams took over and combined for all 10 of their team’s last points to secure their first-ever title. Ayva Tillmon led her team with 17 points and was named MVP.
“It is especially gratifying to see these young ladies work as hard as they have and see their efforts rewarded with this first championship,” said Carroll head coach Edythe White. “To play for and win the state championship does a lot for the Carroll program as we move forward.”
Jackson Reed was paced by junior guard Kryslynn Stewart, who led all scorers with 17.