FOUR SATURDAY MN STATE AAU GAMES
I did the AM shift at Kennedy today at the MN State AAU Championships. Instead of charting the same teams over and over again which would have happened if I was anywhere courts 6, 7 or 8 (the 2019 D1 teams), I opted for court 1 down by the glass in the Activity Center. That meant I had to sacrifice some 2019s for younger classes and D2 games. There was drama. There was running time. A common thread was the bottom scraping pp100s with five teams of the eight charted failing to get to 60. The only championship caliber team I charted came at the 2023 level where MN Fury 2023 Blue, the #1 seed, reaching 94.2, but even their story involved a comeback. They were had the highest point totals (and they use 14 minutes halves) with 49. The best the 16 minute half contingent could muster was 44.
A few more threads—-There was a northern exposure with High Impact and Northern Lights. Add strong individual performances weren’t enough to pull teams to wins.
GAME 1: 6: MN PREP RELIFORD 31, HIGH IMPACT SAVELA 29
The earliest game of the day, and the youngest division of the day also featured the most compelling finish of the day. Sometimes a sub 50 pp100 game can generate drama, especially in a tie game. Somah Kamara grabbed a long rebound and scored the game winning lay up with 0.2 seconds left to derail High Impact in the quarterfinals of the 2024 (grade 6) division. High Impact is a collection of players from Mountain Iron-Buhl (the dynasty is reloading in section 7A) and Grand Rapids. As to be expected with the younger grades, ball handling/decision making leads to lower pp100 scores. PREP was much more relentless on the boards and that helped explain the difference in field goal attempts 58-34.
GAME 2: 11-D2: NORTHERN LIGHTS 11TH 44, MN ENERGY 2019 40
In a couple of previous tournaments, I cut out right when the Northern Lights were about to take the stage. This was a make up appointment. The Lights did shine at the end in the best overall pp100 game of the day. Since this is a D2 tournament the seed numbers may seem abnormally high. NL was the #19 seed (or third in this division) while Energy was #30. The Energy may have had some advantage since many of the players were playing a home game. The day’s leading scorer Zaraya March, is a Kennedy Eagle in the winter. She ended up with 18 points and the best 31 Club score (one off) for the day. Her teammates didn’t carry their load. Energy was on the verge of an upset after Kianna Cox (another Kennedy player) hit a three (36-35). Ava Asgaard for NL put them back after scoring off the press and getting fouled to boot. With 40 seconds left NL led by six. With 28 seconds left Olivia Williams of the Energy hit a 3 from the right corner to give some hope (42-39)
GAME 3: 10: MN SUNS 10 MICHAUD 38, MN FURY 2020 YELLOW 28
Here the Fury led 6-2 but then hit the wall. The Suns shined with a 19-4 finish to the half. This game had a running time trajectory with the Suns shining bright at 36-20, but substitutions took away momentum and the Fury outscored the eventual winners 8-2 the last five minutes of action. When the Suns starters returned they were eclipsed and couldn’t get their mojo back. The Suns only shot 28%. That was six better than the Fury’s 22%. What made up the difference was the amount attempted 39-22.
GAME 4: 7: MN FURY 2023 BLUE 49, URBAN VENTURES 7 ROSS 18
Fury took a time out at the nine minute mark when they trailed 6-0 early in the win over Urban Ventures. The #1 seed Fury then got their act together. Two minutes later they were up 10-6 and wouldn’t look back. The Fury had more than enough to win at half 33-9 (a 33-3 land grab the last nine minutes). The Fury did connect on four 3s with Molly Lenz nailing three.
TOMORROW
That is the big finish with eight grade champions to be crowned. Will it be the 57%? or will the seeds prevail? Which program will claim the top prizes? and what of last year’s winners? Already there will be a new champ in the 2022 division. Stay Tuned. or go to Jefferson to watch the future unfold before your eyes.
TEAM | Points | PP100 | Leading Scorer |
MN PREP 6 Reliford | 31 | 44.3 | Somah Kamara 9 |
High Impact 6 Savela | 29 | 42.6 | Jordan Zubich 14 |
Northern Lights 11 | 44 | 83.0 | Ava Hill 15 |
MN Energy 2019 | 40 | 77.4 | Zaraya March 18 |
MN Suns 10 Michaud | 38 | 59.4 | Zhane Thompson 9 |
MN Fury 2020 Yellow | 28 | 45.2 | Carla Meyer 10 |
MN Fury 2023 Blue | 49 | 94.2 | Molly Lenz 11 |
Urban Ventures 7 Ross | 18 | 34.6 | 2 with 6 |
TRENCH PLAYERS
Game 1: Somara Kamara, MN PREP 6 Reliford
Game 2: Ava Hill, Northern Lights 11
Game 3: Nurjea Weems, MN Suns 2019 Michaud
Game 4: Teresa Kiewiet, MN Fury 2023 Ross
PLAYER OF THE DAY: AVA HILL, NORTHERN LIGHTS