Reporting on the Nike EYBL- Session 1
The first session of the Nike Girls EYBL took place last weekend and two northwest programs took their talents to Virginia to battle with some of the best teams in the country at Boo Williams. Tree of Hope (Seattle, WA)…
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Continue ReadingThe first session of the Nike Girls EYBL took place last weekend and two northwest programs took their talents to Virginia to battle with some of the best teams in the country at Boo Williams. Tree of Hope (Seattle, WA) and Team Northwest (Tacoma/West Linn, OR) both sent their 17u and 16u teams. Playing in front of a packed house of college coaches, here’s how the two northwest based programs performed!
Tree of Hope:
17u– With the additions of top 3 guard national guard, Hailey Van Lith and 6’8 center, Sela Heide, Tree of Hope (TOH) came into the Boo Williams session with very high hopes. In pool play, TOH got off to a 1-2 start with tough losses against Kentucky Premier and Colorado Premier by a combined 12 points. Their one win over the Philly Belles secured third place out of four in pool play. In the EYBL, based on your pool play record, you get placed into a bracket with teams from the other pools that placed the same. Tree of Hope was placed into the “Silver Bracket” with other third place pool teams and they started to hit their stride by that point. TOH defeated Team Elite, Tennessee Flight and Cal Storm to win the silver bracket of the Boo Williams session. While Jordyn Jenkins, Hailey Van Lith and Dalayah Daniels get a lot of the publicity, Coach Mo Hines felt like 2020 6’0 SG Kendyl Carson and 2020 5’8 G Aaliyah Alexander both played at a high level. Alexander’s biggest moment of the weekend came in a tough battle against Cal Storm where she drove coast to coast to hit a game winning layup at the buzzer. Tree of Hope looks to build off of their momentum and they would go on to finish 4-2, after a 1-2 start. Hailey Van Lith led the team in scoring, assists and steals. Jordyn Jenkins was a consistent force leading the team in blocked shots, field goal percentage and rebounds.
16u- The Tree of Hope 16u team got off to a slower start in pool play as well, finishing 1-2, but the tie breaker placed them in fourth for their pool. They secured one win over Kentucky Premier and suffered two losses to Colorado Premier and the Philly Belles. In the Brozen bracket, TOH finished at 1-1, beating Cal Swish by 27 and then losing to West Coast Premier by 10. This group is mostly all new together, so they should continue to improve as the season goes along. Overall, TOH 16u finished at 2-3 on the weekend.
Team Norhtwest:
17u- Nike Team Norhtwest (NTNW) possess a good amount of size at the post positions and solid guard play, but they got off a rougher start in session 1 of the EYBL. With losses to Cal Stars, Tennessee Flight and Spiece Gym Rats, NTNW finished last in their pool. 2021 5’5 PG Esmerelda Morales was aggressive on offense and led the team in scoring, assists, minutes and free throw percentage. Overall, Team Northwest finished 1-4 with their final win coming over the Miami Suns in the Bronze bracket.
16u- NTNW comes into EYBL play with one of the youngest rosters at the 16u division, with 7 freshman on their roster. 2022 5’6 G Aniyah Heavens is one to watch on this roster moving forward. 2022 5’7 G Mya Groce is another solid freshman guard and 2021 5’6 PG Hayley Flores rounds out their back court for the next couple years. NTNW finished 0-5 on the weekend.
*For rosters, stats and scores from Boo Williams Nike EYBL, see the link