Tesha Cunningham has won 13 PCSAA championships as Friendship Collegiate’s girls’ basketball coach, but the Knights’ 49-18 victory over National Collegiate in the title game Saturday was more special than most.

Friendship Collegiate graduated its top four scorers from last season and featured just two upperclassmen this season. For the first time in about a decade, Cunningham didn’t know if her team was a PCSAA contender entering the season.

Now, Friendship Collegiate (13-7) has won eight consecutive games entering the D.C. State Athletic Association Class A tournament on Tuesday.

“Every year when you have the target on your back, it makes it difficult,” Cunningham said. “It’s the mental game I was really worried about with our team.”

About every week, the Knights visited Cunningham’s alma mater, Georgetown, to watch women’s basketball practice. The players brought notepads and studied college players at their positions. Then, they mimicked those tendencies in practice.

While National Collegiate (14-4) was the PCSAA tournament’s top seed, Friendship Collegiate guard Brucionna Cook notched a game-high 26 points Saturday. The sophomore didn’t score in last season’s title game.

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“It’s crazy,” Cook said, “I’m going to a school that’s won 13.”