WESTFIELD, Ind.—Ignoring the time-honored adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, the folks from Nike reshaped the summer landscape of girl’s club basketball with this year’s EYBL schedule. Throwing caution to the wind they moved Nike Nationals out of Augusta and at the same time bumped the coveted event up to the first segment of the NCAA July evaluation calendar. In turn the early scope of tournaments has seen a heavy focus by college recruiters on the Midwest and a full schedule of intense competition just a short drive apart. Over the last three days the USJN Premier Showcase in Indianapolis and the Run for the Roses in Louisville have hosted and set the stage for a Swoosh Grand Finale beginning Monday in Chicago. Each event hosted two divisions of the EYBL lineup and 16 of the league’s 32 teams for round two of their 10 game lead up to Nike Nationals.
In Indianapolis, the Maya Moore and Elena Delle Donne divisions took the floor at Jonathan Byrd’s Fieldhouse for 40 games, 28 of which were decided by 15 or less points. Of those, 17 were single digit battles challenging not only players but their coaches as well. Friday’s schedule was highlighted by a match-up of the league’s remaining two undefeated teams and the past two EYBL champions. The Cal Stars edged Team Elite by four and won their remaining single game Saturday to move on to Chicago with an unblemished record. Three other teams take just one loss with them to the Windy City while another trio enter the final round with two setbacks thus far. In contrast to previous years, all 32 teams will be in Chicago for what promises to be one of the most tightly contested Nike Nationals in recent memory.
For addional information, follow the links below to the Nike Girls EYBL web site as well as Game Changer.com for stats, standings and more.
https://gc.com/tmt/spring-2017/2017-nike-girls-eybl-regular-season-58f0ec725e157400215e82c5
Below are images, records and basic team stats (cumulative 10 game) for the 16 EYBL teams on hand in Indianapolis. Continue to check back with Blue Star Media for continuing EYBL coverage as well as additional content from USJN Indianapolis plus other events from across the country.
