Nyarah Dudley was asked the question recently: What makes her older sister, New London High School senior Nalyce Dudley, rise above the rest on the basketball court?

“Just the way she carries herself,” Nyarah Dudley, a freshman, said. “She’s the best player on the court no matter who we play. ‘I’m dropping over 20 this game. I know we’re winning this game.’ Sometimes not all her shots were going but she still found a way to get to the hoop.”

The way Nalyce Dudley carried herself led New London to its third state championship since 2014 despite a shortage of players; the Whalers had just seven.

She backed it up with talent, of course, with 1,369 career points, with back-to-back Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, with consecutive all-state selections, with a scholarship to play beginning next season at 2023 NCAA tournament participant Sacred Heart.

But there was also leadership, workmanship, perseverance. She was coachable, approachable, the glue that held things together, the good-will ambassador.

“She’s a special one,” New London coach Tammy Millsaps said prior to the Class MM state championship game, a 57-47 victory over Mercy at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“I’ve coached some special kids and she’s in the top three. And not because of her ability as an athlete and a basketball player but because of her sincerity to want to be coached. Sometimes great players don’t want to be coached. She wants to be coached.”

Dudley, a 5-foot-11 guard/forward was named The Day’s 2023 All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year, her second straight such honor.

She averaged 22.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.7 assists this season, with a career-best 39-point performance against St. John Baptiste on Jan. 14 at the Rose Classic in New York City. Dudley scored her 1,000th career point Jan. 21 in a victory over North Kingstown, R.I.

She did all that with her sister by her side in a season she won’t soon forget.

The Whalers finished 21-6, closing with nine straight victories.

“Knowing we had just seven girls, it’s just really crazy,” Dudley said of the season’s fairy tale ending. “Not a lot of people would think we could pull off states.

“We just put a lot of work into what we do and we knew we had one thing and that was to win states and we pulled it off. We just worked hard and it all paid off.”

On the days when having just seven players, or sometimes six, weighed on the team physically and mentally?

“A lot of it was just me telling myself and my teammates, ‘There’s gonna be these days where we don’t want to practice, we don’t want to watch film or do weights,’” Dudley said. “’But if we want to win, here’s what we have to do.’

“I’m really proud. I’m going to be able to carry this. I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.”

Dudley grew up idolizing New London point guard Jada Lucas, one of the program’s all-time greats, who won two state championships wearing the green and gold before signing with Division I Hartford. Lucas returned this season as an assistant coach, a link to all three of the Whalers’ state championship teams.

“I remember when they played in the state game and them winning,” Dudley said of Lucas, a 2017 grad. “I just always wanted to be like her. I just always wanted to meet her. And now actually having her as a coach, too, me and her built a really good bond.”

Unfailingly, Dudley plays like she is on a mission, something she attributes to her dad, who advises her to play angry. She sometimes fires herself up by thinking of Nyarah stealing her clothes.

She also credits Millsaps for her part in New London’s journey.

“Just having (coach) Millsaps as a coach, she just brings out a difference in all of us,” Dudley said. “She just sees something that we don’t even see in ourselves.”

But it was Dudley who became the face of the Whalers.

Unhappy with last season’s loss in the Class LL state quarterfinals, this mission became state championship or bust. Both Dudley and sophomore center Serenity Lancaster earned all-state honors.

Dudley scored 28 points in the Class MM quarterfinals, 13 straight with New London trailing, to lead the Whalers past Sheehan 47-41. In the semifinals, Wolcott ran into a New London buzz saw, with the Whalers winning 62-36.

Dudley had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals in the state championship victory.

“We just knew we had to keep climbing up. There was no more taking steps back,” Dudley said. “It’s just a lot because we put so much dedication to what we do.”

Also an All-ECC Division III first team selection in volleyball, Dudley is currently taking a dance class — a little modern dance, a little ballet — which she said helped her with her basketball movements. She plans to major in criminal justice at Sacred Heart.

“I saw all the enjoyment and all the struggles being on the team and all she’s gone through,” Nyarah Dudley said. “I got to experience it for myself with her.

“It was a great experience for me just to be able to be on the team with my sister to guide me through the whole season. She was very encouraging. She made sure our team never gave up.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

The Day’s 2023 All-Area Girls’ Basketball Team

Player of the Year - Nalyce Dudley (New London)

Mariette El Khoury (Fitch)

Kiki Kirvan (Ledyard)

Serenity Lancaster (New London)

Marissa Nudd (Bacon Academy)

Angelica Tompkins (St. Bernard)