SUNDAY SUMMER JAM 5
The best tournament of the summer wrapped up Sunday at Jefferson. Four MN teams made the Summer Jam finals on court one Sunday. Only one walked away with the championship. All IA Attack had the most championship appearances with three teams. When I charted Attack was two for two winning the 9th and 8th grade divisions. There was only one game that didn’t keep the fans guessing at the end. The first four games were decided by four or less. Three teams topped the century mark in the pp100 race, two came in the same game.
An interesting trend is the fact that 31 Club members are coming more and more from the losing side. In fact, two came from one loser today. Of the five entrants Sunday, only one picked up a W. This indicates too me than it takes more than one player to get over the top. Who has the best fifth (or sixth) player out there? Usually the championship team with better balance and the ability to score from more than one source. I also need to point out it is much harder to reach the 31 Club in the summer when the playing time, due to roster balance (for the most part), is limited.
Sunday’s 31 Clubbers in order of appearance: Adalia McKenzie, Maggie McGraw, Zoe Young (who was in the 41 Club on the nose—the best score of the day), Ashley Owusu, and Paige Bueckers. This was the second time this weekend Owusu and Bueckers made the 31 Club. Owusu and Young will both be teammates at Maryland starting the fall of 2019.
GAME 1: Lake of the Woods 1st (11)
MW FORCE SELECT 17U 40, E1T1 17U 37
This was the third level of the senior division, in effect the winner was #33 in class. The pp100s bear this out with the winning MW Force Select, based out of the Appleton, WI area, topping out at 60.6, the lowest winning total of the event. E1T1 is based in the Twin Cities with a strong collection from Fridley. MWFS rallied for the win here, but they were within two possessions most of the time. E1T1 led 18-14 at the break. A three by Shea Dechant of MWFS gave them their first lead at 24-22 with nine minutes remaining. Another three by #4 gave them a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way at 28-27. Tiffany McNeill delivered 20 points for E1T1 but didn’t have a lot of support around her. Brittney Smith tweaked her ankle on Saturday and was unavailable for E1T1.
GAME 2: Mille Lacs 1st (9)
ALL IA ATTACK 9 NIKE 62, MN STARS 9 HERSCH 58
The Mille Lacs Division was the next best division after the top two. The 2021 class in the area has definitely raised their profile and this game solidified that opinion. Attack, if you haven’t been paying attention, knows how to launch 3s. This game was no exception. They connected on 11 for the game, seven more than the 9th grade MN State AAU champs. Both teams knew what each other wanted to do and certain players were shadowed hard. Katie Borowicz was unable to break free from her defender to explode on offense. The exception was Adalia McKenzie. She brought the Stars back from the dead with her 28 point effort, the highest of the day. The first half was nip and tuck with both teams even at 30 at the break. Attack created separation in the second half going on a 19-6 burst over the course of eight minutes (52-39). Four of their signature 3s came in this window with Rylie Kruse delivering KO shots from a good six feet beyond the 3 point line. The Stars climbed back into it trailing 56-53 with 2:09 left after a pair of free throws from Raegan Alexander. A 3 by McKenzie got the Stars with two with 40 seconds left (60-58). Attack then milked the clock down to 4 seconds and converted a pair of free throws for the final margin.
GAME 3: Nokomis 1st (11/10)
MN FURY 2020 GAUNTLET 82, KINGDOM HOOPS 17U ELITE SEAY 78
These two teams probably felt left out by not being included in the Minnetonka division. Both could make claims that they should have been placed there. Fury was the runner up in the MN State AAU tournament. KH featured a player that for two years played with North Tartan’s top team—Zoe Young. The efforts in the Nokomis title game support their claims as they fought to be #17. Both teams lit up the scoreboard with KH having the best pp100 of any losing teams on the day at 106.8. This was the fourth time in the Summer Jam where the loser cracked the century mark. The Fury held the lead most of the game jumping out quickly to a 14-6 lead. But like their neighbors in Ames, KH can deliver long and so they are never out of a contest. KH did take a half time lead of 37-33. The Fury scored the first six times out of the gate in the second half, a 16-7 burst. That propelled the Fury to a 49-44 lead and they built it to eight (66-58). A late 3 by #10 cut the margin to 80-78 with 30 seconds left. After a missed front end, KH got to the lane but was bottled up causing a turnover and preserving the victory for Fury.
The Fury was the only Minnesota winner of the five games I charted.
The problem with KH is their bench is thin. The bench was only able to muster three points of the 78.
GAME 4: Minnetonka 1st (11)
BOO WILLIAMS NIKE 57, NORTH TARTAN 10 NIKE EYBL 50
Lauren Jensen was not available for NT in this game and that scoring punch and length on the perimeter hampered NT’s efforts against perennial power Boo Williams. BW created separation early and NT was forced to play catch up the rest of the game. Breaking free from a six all game, BW went on a 18-5 tear scoring on six straight possessions at one stretch. The combination of speed and length proved to be too much for the youngsters to handle. NT has further hampered by going stone cold at the free throw line in the first half. Counting a missed front end (and the second opportunity), NT left seven points on the table. The final margin was seven. The second half showcased a fighting spirit for NT. With a late charge NT cut the margin to five with under a minute to go, but the signature division went to an out of state team this year as time ran out. Paige Bueckers had a game high 24 points for NT. Her supporting cast came up with 26.
GAME 5: Gull 1st (8)
ALL IA ATTACK 8 NIKE RED 61, MN STARS 8 KOLDEN 40
The 2022 field is another strong class with jockeying for position still occurring among the Minnesota teams. MN Stars Kolden won the 7th grade MN State AAU tournament last year, but did not make the qualifier or overall championship game appearance for the first time. They corrected that with an appearance in the Summer Jam Gull Lake division, but may have used up energy to do so. Attack, like their older sisters, can shoot the ball. They connected on nine 3s and put running time (in the last 45 seconds) on the Stars. The Stars fell behind quickly 6-1 and called time out. That rectified the situation enough that they tied it up at 8, 10, and 13. Attack continued with their long distance dialing and created big separation by half 37-20. The Stars
FROM SUMMER TO STATE?
There weren’t a lot of teams to pick from here with only four teams to pick from, but some trends are clear. The more I see players in the summer, the better their chances are for March. These teams will need to be paid attention to in March:
4: Hopkins
3: Fridley, Simley
2: Eden Prairie; Farmington, Park Center, Richfield, Roseville, St. Michael-Albertville, Wayzata
Looking at this list you might be thinking Fridley? Richfield? Really? Those players came from the E1T1 roster. On further examination, adding up their contributions, those two teams may not be playing for the right to go to state. Having said that they still have some personnel that could potentially catch fire. The other eight teams were in the finals of their section this year and should not be a surprise to any veteran observer of the high school scene. The more things change…
| TEAM | POINTS | PP100 | TOP SCORER |
| MW Force Select 17 | 40 | 60.6 | Shea Dechant 14 |
| E1T1 | 37 | 57.8 | McNeil 20 |
| All IA Attack 9 NIKE | 62 | 91.2 | Two with 15 |
| MN Stars 9 Hersch | 58 | 85.3 | Adalia McKenzie 28 |
| MN Fury 2020 Gauntlet | 82 | 110.8 | Molly Mogenson 17 |
| Kingdom Hoops 17 Elite Seay | 78 | 106.8 | McGraw 26 |
| Boo Williams NIKE | 57 | 90.5 | Ashley Owusu 20 |
| North Tartan 10 NIKE EYBL | 50 | 79.4 | Paige Bueckers 24 |
| All IA Attack Nike Red | 61 | 103.4 | Emma Ingersoll-Weng 16 |
| MN Stars 8 Kolden | 40 | 69.0 | Emma Miller 10 |
TRENCH PLAYER
Game 1: Shea Dechant, MW Force Select 17U
Game 2: Riley Kruse, All IA Attack 9 Nike, had the best pp100 of any player on the day with a 214.3 pp100. That is because she can knock the ball down from four point range.
Game 3: Molly Mogenson, MN Fury 2020 Gauntlet
Game 4: Ashley Owusu, Boo Williams NIKE. The only trench player that was able to get to the 31 Club (with one to spare). Also had 111.1 pp100.
Game 5: Emma Ingersoll-Weng, All IA Attack 8 NIKE red
PLAYER OF THE DAY: ASHLEY OWUSU
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