Jasmine Davidson
Jessie Moses stepped up big for Philly Rise in Louisville. *Photo by Chris Hansen.
LOUISVILLE – The third stop of the EYBL/EYCL was hosted at the Run For The Roses tournament at the Kentucky Expo Center. The event set the stage for next weekend’s Nike National’s in Chicago. Here’s what we learned.
FIBA/USA Impact
As happens every other year, the USA Basketball U17 team is competing at the FIBA World Cup, taking some of the nation’s top players off the circuit for the summer. The EYBL and EYCL were missing five players – Addison Bjorn, Alex Eschmeyer, Lola Lampley, Jordyn Palmer and Jerzy Robinson.
For Philly Rise, compounding the loss of Palmer, the team was without Olivia Vukosa, who is playing with the Croatian U17 National Team. Rise went 6-1, even without two of its aces. Players stepped up, big time. Jessie Moses, who is already an ELITE 25 watch list player, took her game up a level. She scored 23 points on 8 of 10 shooting in a win against Exodus NYC, 21points on 8 of 14 shooting in a win over Boo Williams, and 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting in a tight loss to Cal Stars. Kennedy Henry was another player who leveled up with the increased responsibility.
It's hard to feel bad for Dickson Jensen’s All Iowa Attack missing Addison Bjorn with the amount of talent in the program. But the pressure on that roster went up with an ankle injury to Texas commit Aaliyah Crump. Jordan Speiser and Ava Zediker were ready to pick up the slack, coming up big in AIA’s final two games in Louisville, tight wins against Why Not Premier and Wisconsin Flight Elite. Those two wins allowed the team to complete league play perfect at 15-0 and the top seed heading into Chicago.
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Aaliyah Chavez of Cy-Fair Elite and Kaleena Smith of Cal Storm travel with a baseline full of cameras catching their every make and miss.
Chavez went for 36 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, converting 11 of 12 free throws against Missouri Phenom a day after scoring 31 points on 17 shots against Kentucky Premier. She’s leading the entire EYBL in scoring by a pretty wide margin and is also third in assists.
Smith leads the Nike circuit in assists with 7.8 per game while also being among the top scorers at 17.3 points per game. She had back to back 12 assist games against Drive Nation and Essence. Cal Storm Team Taurasi will head to Chicago as an 6-seed but won’t be a team to be excited about playing on the schedule with a player who can take over a game.
SPECIAL MOMENTS
Jezelle “GG” Banks picked up her fourth foul mid-way through the third quarter in the showdown between her Team Durant and Cal Stars. The threat of fouling out led her to play way more passive than is normal for the dynamic guard from Team Durant. That all changed late in the fourth quarter with just under three minutes to play. Banks shifted gears scoring 11 of her 15 points in just over a two-minute span to put the game on ice.
QUICK HITTERS
With the EYBL, EYCL and Roses teams in action there was no shortage of talent in the building.
Adaline Sheplee, a 2026 for Wisconsin Flight Elite is the prototypical big wing of the modern game and she’s starting to show she can carry a team.
Cydnee Bryant, a 2026 post for Why Not Premier, has a huge following of college coaches. When she’s dialed in she’s dominant, like she was against Kentucky Premier where she finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Grace Knox in a huge showdown against one of the most talented teams in the country, Cy Fair Elite, this 2025 standout played her best game of Session III with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
Olivia Hamlin of Mountain West Premier put herself in the conversation as one of the best players in her home state of Utah. Her 18 points on 9 shots against a physical Team Takeover was impressive.
Nicolette Kerstein of Mac Irvin Fire S40 is slick with the ball in her hands. She used her crafty handle and change of speed to get into the lane and create.
Autumn Fleary from Team Takeover has proven to be a consistent and steady presence at the point. She sets the tone for her squad.
Jasmine Davidson continues to show why she’s considered one of the nation’s true 5-star players. She’s a double-double waiting to happen but not in the post. Her versatility is special.
Maddyn Greenway continues to power the North Tartan machine. Her most complete game was a 23 point, 8 assist game.
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was a co-founder of and the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase and ELITE is EARNED events. He can be reached at chris@chrishansenbasketball.com.
