Bulldogs Advance To Next Round Of UCIAC Tourney

The Dayton girl’s team earned its first victory under the new Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament format in a 55-37 win over Union Catholic.  

Although technically just the preliminary round, head coach Dave Rennie noted that this current batch of girls have come up short in the early rounds of the UCIAC, so it meant a lot to his squad to get the monkey off their backs.   

The win meant something to every Bulldog but it meant a little more to one in particular.  

“My sister graduated from there, so I had to go out and win. We had to step it up,” said forward Allie Weber. “We never won a county game before, so this was very important to us. Last year we started out strong and lost, so it was very upsetting. We didn’t want to lose this one. We definitely wanted to go out and beat Union Catholic.”    

Dayton had balance all across the board, as the usual suspects – Emily MacDonnell, Jen Kuczynski, and Anna Lies – accounted for 42 points. MacDonnell had a team-high 18, Kuczynski added 15 points and three blocks, and Lies had nine points, nine assists, and three steals. But they weren’t the only ones to shine, as Weber had a game-high 11 rebounds and Heather Fritzen contributed with seven boards.   

Usually in the shadows of Dayton’s “Big Three” Weber and Fritzen made it possible for the 12^th-seeded Bulldogs [15-4] to extend its 27-20 halftime lead into a 20-point route to start the fourth quarter. They shared a laugh afterwards when it was pointed out how innocent and angelic they are off the court but seemingly have a switch to turn on once the whistle blows.  

“I don’t really know,” Fritzen said when asked how she goes from mild-mannered off the court to fierce on it. “But I think that if I do something bad I’m going to get [pulled from the game], so I kind of try to keep it [aggressive switch] on all game.”  

Weber agreed with a mischievous smile.  

“Absolutely, we’re crazy out there,” she beamed, adding that everyone has expertly accepted their roles. “Everyone has their own roles and has to do what they have to do. The two of us [she and Fritzen], our jobs are to go out and get rebounds, pass, and look for the open shot here and there. We definitely do like to fight for our rebounds and push it up to our girls.”  

Dayton certainly pushed the tempo to start the third quarter, as MacDonnell and Kuczynski made the Vikings pay with numerous open jumpers, knifing layups, and smothering defense. MacDonnell really tightened the screws on 13^th-seeded Union Catholic during one sequence that was started by a Fritzen offensive rebound. MacDonnell scored on ensuing layup and followed that up by stripping a Viking player at halfcourt and racing coast-to-coast for the layup. By that time it was a 42-26 Dayton lead with seconds remaining in the third and the end result would not be in doubt.    

Midway through the final stanza, Rennie began to empty his bench but there were still two constants on the floor – Weber and Fritzen – who were still scrapping for everything despite the game being all but over.  

“They’re just very competitive kids and like to win,” Rennie beamed of the duo. “They play hard and are constantly working on getting better.”   

Rennie then began to gush over the ‘other two starters’ who many may sometimes forget about.  

“They do a great job. Everybody is aware of our three scorers but both Allie and Heather provide us with points when we need them,” he said. “When teams are keying on the others, they do a good job of getting open and they do a great job of playing their roles of getting rebounds and playing great defense. I can’t be happier with the way they’re playing. They’re doing everything I’ve asked them to do.”   

Dayton’s win has earned them the right to advance to the first round of the UCIAC tourney to face the winner of the Oak Knoll-St. Patrick winner.