High school girls basketball: No. 1 Sidwell Friends the favorite at inaugural State Champions Invitational

Coming off MVP performance at McDonald's All-American Game, Kiki Rice leads the Quakers in four-team national tournament to close the season.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Mitch Stephens
By
Apr 6, 2022, 11:00am
As the No. 1 girls basketball team in the country, Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) would seem to have little to gain and much to lose heading into this week's inaugural State Champions Invitational at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Fla. But led by MaxPreps National Player of the Year finalist Kiki Rice, the Quakers have one more chance to showcase their skills.

On national television no less.

The two-day, four-team tournament opens Friday on ESPNU as Georgia 5A champion Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) takes on Florida 4A champ Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) at 2 p.m. (EST), followed by Centennial (Las Vegas), the Nevada 5A titlist, against Sidwell Friends, the DCSAA Class AA winner, at 4 p.m.

Saturday's championship is at 10 a.m.

At 28-0 and No. 1, Sidwell Friends can't rise any higher in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings but a loss could throw things into question. The Quakers have already defeated teams from seven states, including a pair of wins against No. 2 DeSoto (Texas) and over No. 4 St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) and No. 6 Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.).

Rice, a 5-foot-11 point guard, was the MVP of last week's McDonald's All-American Game and has collected several national awards. She will attend UCLA next season.

How to watch
When: Friday-Saturday, April 8-9
Where: Berkeley Preparatory School, Tampa, Fla.
Streaming/TV: ESPNU (semifinals, finals)

The brainchild of Paragon Market Group pits champions from National Federation of State High School Associations-sanctioned states. The hope is to expand the tournament to eventually create a true national championship

States that currently allow teams to participate in the SCI include Arizona (AIA), Florida (FHSAA), Georgia (GHSA), Hawaii (HHSAA), Nevada (NIAA), Utah (UHSAA), Washington (WIAA) and Washington D.C. (DCSAA).

Field at a glance

Sidwell Friends
Coach: Tamika Dudley
Record: 28-0
MaxPreps Top 25 ranking: No. 1
Key players: Rice, Jadyn Donovan, Kendall Dudley

Lake Highland Prep
Coach: Al Honor
Record: 25-4
MaxPreps Top 25 ranking: No. 15
Key players: Nyla Harris (Louisville signee), Lexi Blue

Woodward Academy
Coach: Kim Lawrence
Record: 28-2
MaxPreps Top 25 ranking: No. 17
Key players: Sydney Bowles (Georgia)

Centennial
Coach: Karen Weitz
Record: 17-3
MaxPreps Top 25 ranking: NR
Key players: Montaya Dew
Nyla Harris, Lake Highland
Nyla Harris, Lake Highland
File photo by Annette Wilkerson

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