SATURDAY 6 PACK from the Summer Jam
The temps outside were on the rise and so were the scores on the court in the second day of the Summer Jam. Six teams of the twelve I charted were over the century mark in pp100s with two more just missing out at 98. In fact the play was so stellar today teams had pp100s of 108 and even 111.9 and still lost. Teams rallied from second half deficits to pull out wins on four occasions and one near miss. The only exception to this rule was the final game, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t compelling. Players also rose to the occasion today. Yesterday may have been a transition day, but today those players shined—-especially when Team USA players went head to head. A lucky seven made the 31 Club on the day, but, strangely, four were from the losing side of the equation.
The day started off with rain outside…and inside (drips on court 1). But on court two there was early fireworks showcasing what was going to happen the rest of the day. In the Mille Lacs 9th grade division games All IA Attack and MN Suns Coley lit up the scoreboard with a combined 29 3s (eat your heart out Houston Rockets). That game went to overtime and was decided on….a 3. All in all, 11 different players connected in that game. Attack had 15 3s with six hands involved, the Suns had 14 with five.
Here were the 31 Clubbers on the day: (in order of accomplishment)
Kendal Coley, McKenna Hofschild, Lauren Ware, Zakiyah Franklin, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd
GAME 1: MILLE LACS QT
All IA ATTACK 9 NIKE 70, MN SUNS COLEY 67 OT
Those that were there thought nothing would top this game for the eye opener at 8 am. (We were wrong with the last game bookending high level action). All IA Attack needed to rally to top MN Suns Coley in overtime. With 8 minutes left Attack led 51-41. With five minutes left in regulation Attack led 60-53. But with the down pouring of 3s seven points can be made up in the blink of an eye. The Suns took their first lead in the second half with 1:20 left thanks to a putback (63-62). They stretched that lead to three. Rylie Kruse for Attack tied it at 65 with a 3 with 40 seconds left. Attack went back in front with a pair of free throws, but Takara Mason tied it with a drive as the buzzer sounded. Caroline Waite drew first blood in overtime for the Attack with….a 3. That was the only score in the the two minute session.
GAME 2: MINNETONKA CONSOLATION QT
MN STARS 11 NELSON 60, ALL IA ATTACK 10 NIKE 55
Attack led by 11 in the first half before the Stars started connecting. The first lead for the Stars came in the second half when Dlayla Chakolis scored on a drive. That was all part of an eight point unanswered string for the Stars.
GAME 3: MINNETONKA CONSOLATION QT
MN FURY 2019 GAUNTLET 60, DAKOTA DRILLERS 52
Another Minnesota team got off to a sluggish start. The Dakota Drillers were drilling early with a lead of 16-4. Problem was the Drillers were drilling from long distance well connecting 11 times from behind the arc. But inside they were blindfolded shooting a day low 13%, some from point blank range. The Fury, when they were at full throttle, shot 51.4 for the day, one of four teams above 50%.
GAME 4: MILLE LACS SEMI
ALL IA ATTACK 9 NIKE 45, NORTH TARTAN 9 SINN 42
I have a suspicion that I may no longer be welcomed at a NT9S game. For the second straight week NT9S lost while holding a lead in the second half. In the semis they limited Attack to “only” eight 3s and NT9S controlled the tempo of the game more to their deliberate patient style. With 13 minutes left NT was up 28-21. Two minutes later it was tied. NT weathered the first storm, but the Attack inched forward at 38-37 after a 3 by Ashley Iiams. The game was still tied at 42 when Iiams again broke through with a 3 with 20 seconds left for the final margin.
GAME 5: MINNETONKA QT
ESSENCE 74, ALL IA ATTACK 11 NIKE EYBL 72
The 9th grade Attack teams pulled rabbits out of their hats with late game heroics to win their games. This time the shoe was on the other foot. Essence pulled the rabbit out of their hat for the win over Attack. Attack led 38-27 at the break. The Attack signature was all over this game with nine 3s. They connected out of the gate in the second half for a 14 point advantage. Essence, with their speed and defense, got back in it closing the gap to 49-44 with nine minutes to go. It was back to 10 with six minutes left. Essence kept the pressure on. The first Essence (a team from Florida) lead came at 68-67 with under two minutes left. Essence knew where the finish line was. They were able to get to the rim a number of times down the stretch to pull off the win.
GAME 6: MINNETONKA QT
NORTH TARTAN 10 EYBL 79, FAIRFAX STARS U17 NIKE 66
Two USA teammates faced each other and neither left the floor. This was a match up of the Boo Williams tournament champions of the 2019 and 2020 divisions. And the numbers delivered an exclamation point to cap my day of charting games. Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd both delivered 20 point games and both joined the 31 club with identical 36 scores erasing Friday’s struggles. This was also a hot ticket as fans were lined up ten deep around the entire court to catch the action. Coaches on court 3 neglected their game (it was a massacre) to see the intensity on court 2. Jasmine Smiley gave NT a 26-24 lead and they would not relinquish it again. On the next NT possession Lauren Jensen connected on a 3. The possession after that it was an old fashioned &1 by Courtney Becker. By the break NT was on their way 38-30. Fouls bogged down the second half. Fairfax was in the bonus with 11 minutes left. As a result they attempted a whopping (for summer) 41 free throws. NT was no stranger at the line attempted 30 (and converting 27). But the 2020s met every push back and increased their margins down the stretch. Eventually NT beat Essence in the semis and they will face Boo Williams in the title game tomorrow. BW beat NT 11 Coury NIKE EYBL by 20 in the other semi.
Tomorrow will be hard pressed to duplicate Saturday.
| TEAM | POINTS | PP100 | SCORER |
| All IA Attack 9 NIKE | 70 | 112.9 | Ashley Iiams 17 |
| MN Suns 9 Coley | 67 | 108.1 | Kendall Coley 19 |
| MN Stars 11 Nelson | 60 | 98.8 | Alexis Hultmann 15 |
| All IA Attack 10 NIKE | 55 | 88.7 | Kayba Laube 22 |
| MN Fury 2019 Gauntlet | 60 | 98.4 | McKenna Hofschild 17 |
| Dakota Drillers | 52 | 83.9 | Megan Zander 16 |
| All IA Attack 9 NIKE | 45 | 86.5 | Maggie Phipps 13 |
| North Tartan 9 Sinn | 42 | 82.4 | Jenna Johnson 9 |
| Essence 11 NIKE | 74 | 100 | Zakiyah Franklin 24 |
| All IA Attack 11 NIKE | 72 | 101.4 | Caitlin Clark 29 |
| North Tartan 10 NIKE EYBL | 79 | 122.2 | Paige Bueckers 23 |
| Fairfax Stars U17 NIKE | 66 | 111.9 | Azzi Fudd 28 |
TRENCH PLAYER
GAME 1: Caroline Waite, All IA Attack 9 Nike
GAME 2: Alexis Hultmann, MN Stars Nelson
GAME 3: McKenna Hofschild, MN Fury 2019 Gauntlet
GAME 4: Ashley Iiams, All IA Attack 9 Nike
GAME 5: Zakiyah Franklin, Essence
GAME 6: Paige Bueckers, North Tartan 10 NIKE EYBL
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Paige Bueckers