July 27, 2024
By Morgan Wenger
Tournament Director

After overwhelming the other three teams in their pool, Xtreme 2030 found themselves in a battle with the Dalton Lady Dawgs in their bracket challenge game. Three pointers by Lena Neuenschwander and Kennah Hignight helped the Dalton Lady Dawgs build an early lead. Xtreme 2030, who had won each of their previous three games in blowout fashion, was facing their first adversity of the day. Neia Kay stepped in and rescued them. Kay started off her assault by attacking the basket, but then started hitting contested three pointers as the Dalton Lady Dawgs defense begin focusing more on her. By the time she was done, she had painted an 18-point masterpiece and led her team to a 27-18 victory. Anna Cutlip chipped in seven points for Xtreme 2030. Kennah Hignight (nine points) and Casey Miller (six points) led the way in defeat for the Dalton Lady Dawgs.

This set the stage for some interesting games in bracket play. #2 seed Dover got off to a strong start by eliminating Lady G’s White by a 30-14 count. Maddie Minnis led a balanced Dover attack with 12 points while Abbey Zurfley and Anna Klaserner chipped in eight points apiece. Melannia Daniels paced Lady G’s White with seven points. After going 0-3 in pool play, Buckeye Blast came out on fire against #3 seed Lady G’s Pink in bracket play. Aria Van Horn turned in a dominant 17-point performance to help Buckeye Blast avenge a three point pool play loss to Lady G’s Pink with a convincing 30-17 win. Brittney Nolletti and Eryka Kaufman dropped in six points each to compliment Van Horn’s outburst, while Sirenity Travis paced Lady G’s Pink with a seven-point performance. Kennah Hignight (11 points) and Lena Neuenschwander (10 points) continued their solid play in leading the Dalton Lady Dawgs to a 29-22 quarterfinal win against Lightning. Hignight burned up the nets from long distance, nailing three trifectas. Neuenschwander did her damage inside of the arc. Lightning was paced by Ella Gasser and Maya Lizarraga, who dropped in six points each in defeat.

Xtreme 2030's Neia Kay looks for an opening in the defense

The semifinals provided another tough matchup between Xtreme 2030 and the Dalton Lady Dawgs. After their bracket challenge battle just a few rounds earlier, Xtreme 2030 was focused on taking away the production of Kennah Hignight while the Dalton Lady Dawgs made a concerted effort to slow down Neia Kay. Both teams succeeded on those fronts, as the two leading scorers were held in check for both teams. This resulted in a grind it out slugfest of a game. Xtreme 2030 pulled away late for a 23-13 victory and a berth in the championship game. Emmersyn Lehman (seven points) and Casey Miller (six points) accounted for all of the Dalton Lady Dawgs offensive output, while Neia Kay still managed to lead Xtreme 2030 with seven points.

With their confidence booming after notching their first win of the day a round earlier, Buckeye Blast continued their inspired play against Dover in the semifinals. Aria Van Horn started off her scoring with a three pointer for Buckeye Blast, and then scored on a variety of moves and finishes en route to a 15 point performance to lead her team. Dover was not to be denied though. Dover rode a balanced attack, with Anna Klaserner (11 points), Maddie Minnis (eight points), and Abbey Zurfley (seven points) accounting for 26 of their 30 points as they scratched out a hard fought 30-27 victory to advance to the championship game.

Xtreme 2030 had blitzed Dover 30-11 in the first game of the day for both teams. Neia Kay (14 points) and Sadie Weaver (nine points) turned in great performances to lead the way in that game for Xtreme 2030. Dover served Xtreme 2030 notice that the championship game would be nothing like their first meeting right off the bat as Maddie Minnis bullied her way to the hoop on a couple of drives to give Dover an early lead. The game went back and forth as it reached its midpoint. After a slow start, Xtreme 2030 started finding their rhythm as the game moved along. With so much of Dover’s defensive attention on Neia Kay, Sadie Weaver came up big for Xtreme 2030 again. She nailed a three pointer as part of her nine-point performance to give Kay some offensive support. Kay finished the job by scoring seven of her game high 12 points down the stretch to help secure the 30-24 championship game triumph for Xtreme 2030. Brystol Butzer added six points for the champions. Maddie Minnis led Dover with eight points in defeat, while Abbey Zurfley and Anna Klaserner chipped in six points apiece.

Xtreme 2030 (Sadie Weaver, Anna Cutlip, Brystol Butzer, Neia Kay)

Dawg Days Home