Braedan Shea
@Braedan_shea
Family connections have been a theme throughout this year’s Spalding Hoophall Classic — from Pioneer Valley Regional’s Scott and Brayden Thayer; to Connecticut powerhouses, Northwest and East Catholic, captained by the Mirabello and Reilly families; to Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen and his son Walker at Gulliver Prep; to Mater Dei’s Kevin Kiernan coaching daughters Devyn and Kaidyn.
But in the final game of Saturday’s first session, a powerhouse duo from Washington, D.C., made their way to the sidelines. A tandem that is taking over women’s basketball.
When she took over the Sidwell Friends School program in 2020, head coach Tamika Dudley brought along a wealth of previous basketball success.
During her playing days, Dudley was nothing short of dominant. A hall of fame inductee in both high school and college, Dudley shined at Long Island University Brooklyn from 1999-2003. She finished her career as a three-time All-Northeast Conference First Team performer. She graduated as the school’s all-time leader in six statistical categories, including points (1,745) and assists (380); both of which still stand. She was named the 2001-02 NEC Player of the Year and earned NEC All-Tournament honors three times, also garnering Most Valuable Player honors after leading the Blackbirds to the 2000-01 championship.
Dudley swiftly moved into coaching, bringing her talents to the sidelines. Prior to her time at Sidwell, Dudley was the girls high school basketball head coach at Woodbridge High School in Virginia. From 2011-2019, she totalled 155 wins, and her teams appeared in the Virginia 6A state tournament in each of the final six seasons. During her last year at Woodbridge, Dudley and the Lady Knights were the district, regional and state champions – the first in school history. For her efforts, Dudley was named the 2019 Cardinal District, regional, Virginia Class 6, USA Today Virginia and Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year.
Today, Dudley has turned Sidwell into a girls basketball goliath. In four years, Dudley has a 91-11 record, including a perfect 30-0 season in 2021-22. She has been named DCSAA coach of the year three times, ISL coach of the year twice, USA Today National Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year; along with two DCSAA and National championships.
However, Dudley has not done all this alone. Also joining her at Sidwell four years ago was Dudley’s superstar daughter, Kendall. Having the opportunity to coach her .
“Just because she grew up in the gym doesn’t mean she had to love basketball,” Dudley said. “It’s been such a blessing that she actually loves the game, and she’s passionate and studies the game.”
That drive and passion for the game has transformed Kendall into one of the nation’s top high school girls basketball players. She is ranked No. 14 in WESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2024, and it’s easy to see why.
Much like her mother’s coaching style, Kendall is extremely vocal, always quick to call out help and any potential defensive lapses. Her 6-foot-2 frame makes her a constant rebound threat, and her lanky wingspan makes getting around Kendall nearly impossible.
Offensively, defenders must keep eyes on Kendall at all times. She has impeccable vision, able to sniff out the tightest of windows to set up her teammates. If no one opens, she’s not afraid to throw her head down and use her size to get to the rim, similar to how her mother did some 30 years ago.
But the bulk of Kendall’s offense comes from her silky-smooth jumper. It’s that jumper that Kendall believes will help her carve out her own name apart from her storied and heralded mother.
“She was more of posting up and taking defenders down,” Kendall said of her mom. “I’ve scratched it off to shooting more, and being able to handle the ball. That’s how I separate, but I’ve also got that type of hard work and aggressive mentality from her. That’s something that we share, but shooting definitely separates.”
Last spring, Kendall announced on ESPN – the first-ever girls high school player to do so – that she will attend UCLA next fall, beating out such programs as Virginia Tech, Texas, Louisville, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, among others. She will join her former Sidwell teammate, Kiki Rice, as well as her current teammate, Zania Socka-Nguemen; both of which will make the college transition easier for Kendall.
“Kiki being there will help me kind of navigate, and get through college and the coaching staff,” Kendall said. “Having Z on there will help everyone – we will be experiencing stuff together and you already know someone. We just make the transition kind of smoother.”
Before Kendall can start thinking about next year, however, she will have her focus on the USA Women’s Nike Hoop Summit team. She was named to the team – just the second one ever – last fall.
Alongside Kendall, Dudley was also named to the roster as an assistant coach, as is grateful to have the opportunity.
“For me, it was kind of a coaching milestone,” Dudley said. “I’ve accomplished a lot at high school level, and it’s the next step in my evolution as a coach. To have Kendall go, it makes it even better – to be able to share that experience with her. I mean, it’s pretty amazing to take and soak it up.”
From D.C. to the national stage, the Dudleys are taking over girls basketball – and they are doing so together.
Photo by Liam Reilly/The Student