CHICAGO IL – While the outcome of most club basketball and exposure events is often forgotten before the lights in the gym are turned off, the Nike Nationals / EYBL Championship stands alone in the amount of interest and conversation generated among players, coaches and media alike. Once again, set in the midst of the expansive Nike tournament of Champions, the EYBL crowned a new and first time winner of grassroots basketball’s most coveted crown Friday afternoon.
Team Takeover, who ran the table back in April’s first round of play, went undefeated across five games in Chicago to claim their first Nike Nationals / EYBL championship. A 10 point final win (57 – 47) over the defending champion All Iowa Attack appears closer than the game actually was and saw the entire bench get into the action before all was said and done.
Just a few days ago Takeover had fallen by 11 to the Cal Stars in Louisville for their first 2019 EYBL loss. The Louisville crown was ultimately won by Boo Williams while the Philadelphia Belles went undefeated in Indianapolis to claim their round two hardware. Those wins and Takeover’s loss led to speculation that this year’s bracket may be one of the most wide open and evenly matched line ups in recent memory. Takeover seemed to think otherwise.
Friday’s final was a rematch from a semifinal back in Hampton when Takeover advanced with a convincing 72 – 58 win over All Iowa. And in April…All Iowa also had the services of Caitlin Clark who is currently preparing for the World University Games with her USA Basketball teammates. Clark had 22 points and 7 assists in that loss. Another notable stat from the earlier match up was Takeover’s rebounding dominance with a 40 – 22 margin on the glass. Keep that difference in mind.
Coming into the game both teams were posting over 60 points a game on their path to the final. However Takeover was holding opponents to just 43.8 points per games while All Iowa’s defense was considerably more generous giving up 62.3 per contest. All Iowa made their way to the final with a 6.7 point per game margin of victory while Takeover won their four earlier games by an average of 17.0 points each.
In front of a standing room only crowd, Takeover jumped out quickly with an early 9 – 2 edge. All Iowa finally evened the score with just under a minute to go in the first period and was still tied at 15 when the buzzer sounded. The second quarter belonged to Takeover from start to finish. All Iowa continued to struggle with Takeover’s imposing presence on the boards giving their opponents second and third looks time and again. At the half a 17 -3 period had given Takeover the lead at 32 – 18 along with a wealth of confidence.
The third was more of the same with Takeover extending the lead to 20 plus before a late run by All Iowa cut the margin to 13 at 47 – 34 with one quarter to play. Twice All Iowa went on short runs only to see Takeover hold ground and never let the lead shrink to single digits. Even with standout Angle Reese having to spend some time on the bench in foul trouble, Takeover kept the defending champs at bay and claimed the 2019 Nike EYBL / Nile Nationals Championship.
In the win Takeover again held a commanding 45 – 22 edge on the boards which also contributed to their 14 additional field goal attempts. Angel Reese and Mir McLean both finished with double / doubles. Reese had 18 points and 11 boards while McLean came home with 15 and 11. Liatu King added 10 more along with 7 rebounds while Madison Scott contributed 8 points and 6 boards of her own. For All Iowa Kylie Feuerbach had 20 in the loss behind a 8 of 13 shooting effort. Aubrey Joens had 16 while Kayba Laube contributed 12 more.
Scroll below to see a banner with an action shot and Chicago game results of all 32 EYBL teams. (Click on any image to see all 32 banners as a slideshow)
To see more stats and complete pool / bracket results, follow the link below to the Nike Girls EYBL site.
The day wasn’t a total loss for All Iowa. Their 16 year old EYBL team claimed top honors and completed an undefeated run through EYBL 16 league competition at all three stops. They were unscathed in Hampton back in April and claimed top honors in Indianapolis earlier this week. Chicago was no different as they went through all competition with a margin of victory of 19.5 points per game leading into Friday morning’s EYBL 16 Final with North Tartan. North Tartan had just two losses on their record falling to Pro Skills by 2 back in April and All Ohio by 2 earlier this week in Louisville.
North Tartan jumped out to a quick 12 – 6 lead only to see All Iowa roar back to claim a 15 – 12 edge with over a minute and a half remaining in the first period. After one, AIA led 15 – 12 and extended the lead with a 19 – 4 second quarter for a 36 – 20 halftime lead. Another dominant quarter (22 – 11) extended the lead to 59 – 31 at the end of three before North Tartan trimmed a few off the gap ultimately falling 62 – 42. Over the course of their total16 EYBL games played, the All Iowa EYBL 16’s had just three opponents come within single digits in the final score.
