“I was scared for a second,” Stewart said. “Then a few seconds later, that was the most excited I’ve ever been for a basket.”
Sunday’s championship game at George Washington University’s Smith Center matched the programs that have come to define girls’ basketball in the District over the past decade. From 2016 to 2020, St. John’s won five straight DCSAA titles. Most years, the Cadets were hardly challenged. Then came Sidwell, rising from the middle tiers of the Independent School League to the highest levels of the scholastic game. The No. 1 Quakers, nationally celebrated and locally feared, captured the past two championships, including a 19-point win against St. John’s last March.
The Cadets (26-5) and Quakers (25-6) entered Sunday at the top of The Post’s Top 20 rankings and fresh off more conference success. St. John’s had just won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference for the third consecutive season, and Sidwell went undefeated en route to an ISL crown. This state tournament gave the powerhouses an opportunity to play for another level of supremacy.
“This tournament means a lot to us. Means a lot to me, born and raised in D.C. — you always care about the city champs,” Cadets Coach Jonathan Scribner said. “To say you’re the best in the city is a big, big thing for our school and for our kids. It’s so hard to do that, especially against a team like Sidwell. So I am incredibly proud of this team.”
From the start, the championship game was low-scoring and tense. By the time the second half arrived, with both teams still in the 20s, every basket felt seismic. St. John’s held a slim lead for much of the evening, but Sidwell sophomore Ava Yoon knocked down a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to tie the score and, eventually, send the game to overtime.
Sidwell opened the extra period with momentum, and the Quakers built a quick four-point lead. With the game slipping away, Cadets senior Kyndal Walker squared up for a contested three from the corner. It brought her team within one as the clock ticked down under a minute, setting up Stewart’s game-winning drive.
“I’ve been practicing that shot in my driveway since I was kid,” Walker said. “And these are the types of moments you practice for when you’re younger. To be here, playing for a championship in front of all these people, it’s the same thing. Same shot.”