Capping off an incredible run that saw it go 28-2 against local and national competition, the Notre Dame girls' basketball team was recognized as the third ranked girls' basketball team in the country by MaxPreps, a California-based media company. The Dragons were one of only 10 teams honored nationally out of over 20,000 public and private schools as part of the MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard.

"The MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard acknowledges the important role that high school sports play for young athletes around the country," said Andy Beal, president of MaxPreps. "We congratulate Notre Dame Academy on their outstanding performance this season."

"We had an incredible year, and it's a testament to the fantastic senior leadership we were lucky enough to have on the team," said Dragons' Coach Mike Teasley.

The team was presented with a gold-plated trophy by Virginia Army National Guard Captain John E. Scott at a recent school assembly.

A number of the Dragons were recognized individually, as well. Center Azania Stewart, or Z, as her friends and teammates like to call her, was named a first-team ESPN HoopGurlz All-American, third-team All-Parade, and Washington Post Loudoun first-teamer. Other team members named to Washington Post's first team included forward Mia Nickson and point guard Josette Campbell. Nickson took home overall Loudoun player of the year honors from the Post. Coach Teasley was named Coach of the Year. Echoing the sentiments of their Coach, both Nickson and Stewart praised the team-first mentality of the Dragons, pointing to that repeatedly as the secret for their team and individual successes.

"It's hard to emphasize just how much we all mean to each other," noted Stewart, "and how much everybody on the team contributes to the team doing as well as we did this year. Knowing that we're all there for each other, knowing that if one of us has an off-game the rest of the team is willing to help pick up the slack, that's just a huge relief to all of us. The familiarity we all have with each other was invaluable."

Stewart, one of several international students enrolled at Notre Dame, came to Middleburg three years ago from the United Kingdom. "I started playing basketball when I was about 12 or so," said Stewart. "I was tall, and a coach back home thought I might have some potential."

Now almost 6-foot-5 with quick feet and a confident way about her, it's easy to see the basketball skills Stewart has at her disposal. "Trust me, when I started playing back home I couldn't have imagined all this," she says about the accolades and recruiters. "I wouldn't say I was clumsy…."

She pauses.

"No, I was, I was clumsy!" she laughs. "And my first workout with Coach when I arrived as a sophomore? Oh my gosh! He had us out running hills by the lacrosse field! I'd never seen anything like it! I remember saying to myself, 'I don't know if I can do this!'"

Mia Nickson, listening in, smiles at the memory. "We've all come an incredibly long way as a group. What Coach has done for us, how he's helped us become better, as players and as people, how he's helped us grow, how he's helped us through the college recruitment process: unbelievable."

"But yeah, those hills…. 'Go hard or go home,' he always used to say. I'll always remember that, too."

Nickson, from Ashburn, was named Player of the Year as a freshman at her previous high school. "I remember the first time I talked with Coach he said to me 'If it's that easy for you, if you're that good, great. But if you want a challenge…' The implication was obvious," Nickson said, smiling at the memory. "He was right. It was a challenge."

She leans forward in her chair, the look of a leader glinting in her eyes. "But you know what? Nothing that's worth it in life isn't a challenge. Look where we all are now."

Coach Teasley, sitting with his players, clearly enjoys the trip down memory lane. But he seems happiest seeing who they've become as people. "It's all about personal growth, both on the team and here at Notre Dame. That's what we strive to help all our kids find, that personal growth. Resiliency. Handling pressure. A work ethic. To succeed in life, those are some of the things you need, and those are some of the things we want to teach all our kids."

Mission accomplished.