The Summer Jam opened on Friday and there were some surprises. The flagship host North Tartan team fell in the first round as did Metro Stars 2020 Starks. I did not chart either game. My time was spent on court three and two. I wanted to chart as many teams that I haven’t seen in the prime divisions. The Summer Jam naming convention is lakes. The top three divisions per grade are Minnetonka (2020); Leech (2021) and Mille Lacs (2022). Unfortunately, the Summer Jam did have other surprises in store. It has not made it easy on reporters this year by showcasing all the championship games at the same time on Sunday. There is no feature court on any of the days. This makes a coherent narrative harder to piece together. Even when the championships are at different times, those games are scheduled on different courts making the transition from one to another problematic. I will therefore only be covering one championship game apparently on Sunday.
Back to Friday. The first three games were competitive. The last was a blow out. Four of the eight teams featured Attack. Attack teams were 1-3, but it depended on where the Attack was coming from. Iowa was clean at 1-0. SD lost twice and Nebraska once. None of these teams are affiliated with each other. The Minnesota teams went 3-0 on the day.
GAME 1: NORTH TARTAN 17U HAUGO 52, MIDWEST FORCE SELECT 17U 49
NT Haugo, a team that was inactive during the May State AAU Tournament due to the multiple sport athletes and long distance (they are based in Moorhead), held on to beat Midwest Force Select, a team based near Appleton, WI. NT turned a 24-20 halftime deficit into a 43-27 lead with 8 minutes to go (23-3 surge). Igniting the offensive lift off was two consecutive 3s from Jordyn Kahler of Wahpeton, ND (and she ended up with 9 points). NT banked their win at the free throw line with almost double the attempts with 30, and six more MADE free throws than MW Force attempted (22-16). Christy Fortune hit a 3 with 8.2 seconds to close the Force’s gap to 50-49. Paige Thompson, the first verbal from Minnesota in the 2020 class, knocked down both free throws with 4.6 seconds left to preserve the win.
| North Tartan 17U Haugo | Midwest Force Select 17U | |
| Points | 52 | 49 |
| Rebounds/off | 30/8 | 39/10 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 22 |
| Fta/% | 30/73.33 | 16/68.75 |
| 2fg%/3fg% | 32.14/25.00 | 40.00/28.57 |
| PP100 | 78.8 | 74.2 |
| Leading scorer | Two with 11 | Christy Fortune 18 |
GAME 2: DTA ACADEMY 2022 BLUE 52, SD ATTACK 15U 48
Since the first game, due to fouls and the competitive, use all time out nature of the action, ran long, I had to miss the first part of the second game, which was on court 2. This game was a runaway at the break with DTA up 33-17. SD Attack closed the gap to 51-48 with 2:40 left. That was all the Attack had left in the tank. 10 straight combined possessions came up empty for both teams.
| DTA Academy 2022 Blue | SD ATTACK 15U | |
| Points | 52 | 48 |
| Rebounds/off | 31/13 | 46/18 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 23 |
| Fta/% | 10/60.00 | 18/44.44 |
| 2fg%/3fg% | 31.57/28.57 | 45.45/6.67 |
| PP100 | 70.0 | 66.1 |
| Leading scorer | Ronnie Porter 11 | Bella Swedlund 11 |
GAME 3: TAYLER HILL ELITE 2021 72, NEBRASKA ATTACK 10 UAA 64
The long ball of Nebraska Attack came up short to the inside presence of Tayler Hill Elite. The Attack nailed a lucky thirteen 3s, but it was the inside dominance of Dora Okapora, Kierra Wheeler and Chynna Young who combined for 32 inside points. The team had 46 points in the red zone, Nebraska only 14. THE trailed 52-43 with 10 minutes left before going to their strengths.
| Tayler Hill Elite 2021 | Nebraska Attack 10 UAA | |
| Points | 72 | 64 |
| Rebounds/off | 31/9 | 27/9 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 19 |
| Fta/% | 23/169.56 | 18/61.11 |
| 2fg%/3fg% | 63.15/23.07 | 38.88/46.42 |
| PP100 | 110.6 | 98.5 |
| Leading scorer | Dora Okapora 16 | Two with 15 |
GAME 4: ALL IOWA ATTACK 11 EYBL 73, SOUTH DAKOTA ATTACK 17 42
This was light’s out fast. All Iowa Attack had a dozen 3s by half as they held a 44-29 lead. It should further be pointed out the Attack is now playing without Caitlin Clark who will be traveling with Team USA U19 to Thailand later in July. All eight players scored for the Attack with three in double figures. Kaya Laube delivered seven 3s in the launchfest.
| All Iowa Attack 11 EYBL | South Dakota Attack 17U | |
| Points | 73 | 42 |
| Rebounds/off | 39/18 | 24/8 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 16 |
| Fta/% | 7/71.42 | 7/57.14 |
| 2fg%/3fg% | 62.50/38.09 | 40.00/30.00 |
| PP100 | 125.9 | 75.0 |
| Leading scorer | Kaya Laube 21 | Emma Ronsiek 9 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
GAME 1: Karley Motschenbacher, North Tartan 17u Haugo (& Park Christian) with 11 points, 122.2 pp100, and a 21 score in the 31 Club.
GAME 2: Ronnie Porter, DTA Academy 2022 Blue (& St. Paul Como Park) with 11 points, a 110 pp100, and a 18 score in the 31 Club.
GAME 3: Dora Okapora, Tayler Hill Elite 2021 (& Irondale) with 16 points, 200 pp100 and a 31 Club Score of 19. Okapora was 8/8 from the floor.
GAME 4: Kaya Laube of All Iowa Attack 11 EYBL (& Marion, IA) with 21 points, 210.0 pp100 and a 26 score in the 31 Club—best of the day.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: LAUBE