July 17, 2023
By Morgan Wenger
Tournament Director

Hot Shots stormed through pool play in the Junior Girls division by dispatching of Details (14-10), Golden Girls (16-8), and Dalton (24-10) to earn the top seed on the bracket. Xtreme was looming as the number 2 seed after blowout victories against Dalton (28-8) and the Waynedale Golden Bears (28-16). Crossover Crew handed Xtreme their only loss on the day by a 30-19 count. Crossover Crew elected to play in the boys division in bracket play.

Dalton, on the strength of Aubrey Maibach’s eight points, defeated Details 18-11 in the quarterfinal round of bracket play. This left the fourth seeded Dalton squad with a rematch from their 24-10 pool play loss against Hot Shots. The top seeded Hot Shots could never get their offense untracked in this game, and the game turned into a fierce defensive battle. Aubrey Maibach (6 points) and Kennah Hignight (4 points) were able to do just enough offensively to scratch out a 10-8 win against the previously unbeaten Hot Shots. Alexa Miller led Hot Shots with four points in defeat.

In the other semifinal game, Xtreme found themselves in a fight with Golden Girls early on. Hope Shaffer (8 points) was a force in the paint for Golden Girls, as the lead changed hands several times early on. Xtreme, as they did all day long, responded by going inside to Peighton Hlaudy. Hlaudy scored eight points of her own to match Shaffer and received a big boost from teammates Neia Kay (6 points) and Marisa Brunsdon (5 points) as Xtreme pulled away late for the 19-10 victory and a berth in the championship game.

Xtreme's Neia Kay drives against Dalton's Aubrey Maibach in the championship game

Dalton was able to turn the tables on Hot Shots in their rematch in the semifinals, but they found the going much tougher against Xtreme in the championship game. Xtreme turned the lights out right away in this game, holding Dalton without a basket until there were just a few minutes remaining. Meanwhile, Peighton Hlaudy went to work inside. Hlaudy scored on post moves, put backs, and protected the paint defensively on her way to a dominant 10-point performance to lead her team to a 21-4 championship game win. Hlaudy received support from Neia Kay (5 points), Marisa Brunsdon (4 points), and Brystol Butzer (2 points). Aubrey Maibach and Kennah Hignight each scored a basket to lead the way for Dalton.

Xtreme (Neia Kay, Peighton Hlaudy, Brystol Butzer, and Marisa Brunsdon)

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