The Overtime Select League debuted this weekend on YouTube in Atlanta, backed by some of the biggest brands (like Adidas) and featuring top players from across the country. I was curious to see how this league would play out, from the narratives created to the assembly of talented players, hoping the basketball would turn out well. It was a mixed bag. The league continues this week (not all teams played this past weekend). I tuned in to a few games on YouTube between the Olympics, where the live chat was active, with anywhere from 900 to 2,000 viewers logged in. You have to wonder if the folks at overtime were expecting those numbers to be better. Also noticeably absent was much commentary from most of the major girls/women’s basketball outlets.
Another hot topic is how much the top kids are playing. I’m not great at math, but for some of them, it’s three live sessions, including playing for USA Basketball halfway across the world, Nike Skills, Overtime Select, Wootten Camp, Nike Skills Camp, and whatever else corporate America throws at these elite prospects in hopes of getting a post on Instagram and praying they turn into Caitlin Clark in their jersey in 10 years. It’s a strange new world. For parents, eventually, it’s going to become a question of when is enough enough (but this year, just streaming on the internet has almost been enough for me).
Biggest Storylines
Aaliyah Chavez is knocked out in week one. Chavez was coming off a Nike National Title and viral video after viral video. Her team, “Venom Tears,” was knocked out in the first weekend of the Overtime Select League. Unfortunately for Overtime, their top draw player-wise is out, even though it wouldn’t surprise me if there was some re-entry point for her. It only makes sense, right? Chavez has plenty of basketball ahead of her with all these standalone events, including the upcoming Nike Skills Academy. With Chavez knocked out, it seems like GG Banks will be the headliner story-wise. She advanced through some weird 15-point knockout game where there were 0 fouls called against her team coming down the stretch. Still, Chavez was great and put up monster numbers, scoring 50 points in two games.
Injuries Take Their Toll
To somewhat address the point made early in the article, these players have been playing a lot. Despite the narrative that this is the first and only opportunity for elite players to play against each other, they just got off their circuit, USA Basketball, and other events where the same kids played against each other 50 times. You can see the fatigue from a long summer. Somehow, I think anyone who gets something really going in early to mid-June might steal the show for the elite player market because they’ll actually be fresh, even though USA Basketball is kind of already doing this. We saw “team captain” Jenica Lewis injured and miss Week 1 of Overtime Select, despite some great commentary throughout the game. Dee Alexander ended the weekend on a hard fall, which ended her Overtime Select experience because she played on the Venom Tears, which had already been eliminated. Alexander’s injury did not look serious, but it’s just another example of how fatigue, the time of year, and already being committed can contribute to the overall quality of play in early August.
You’re Welcome
Scrolling through Twitter, where graphics galore are posted, there isn’t really mention of any of these players or games outside of the Overtime feed and social media accounts. I’m not sure if this is a concerted effort to keep all the media in-house by Overtime or if it’s a balking of the traditional voices of women’s basketball not covering it. Regardless, how it is being covered is a story. I spent a fair amount of my weekend watching just because it was new and so many good players were in it.
Fortunately for mainstream women’s basketball media, they didn’t need 1,500 teams and 15,000 players to tweet, cover, and write up the kids that were already ranked by ESPN. They just only included them, and therefore, even if there had been 15,000 players, the coverage would have almost looked the same. So you are lucky to be reading this article because it might be the only non-three-second clip on the internet about the league. I am interested to see how the league progresses, and it is always fun to see broken storylines, like Chavez getting knocked out and how they have 48 hours to figure out what to talk about next. It’s pretty cool showing up one time in Atlanta away from home to play in the league, but a month of it? Seems like it could get old pretty quickly unless some real money is attached to it or they stream it on something a little more mainstream. Just a thought. Again, it’s going to be interesting to see if the mainstream girls’ basketball media jumps on it or if some combination of their territorialism or Overtime’s desire to house all the coverage on their own will prevent any diverse opinions on the league (other than here, of course).
How Would I Make It Better?
Well, I would just change up the rules. I still contend that a 9-foot hoop would be really interesting and make for some great content. They did do some weird stuff like a power play in hockey with a 4-on-5 format. Another idea would be defensive 3 seconds or maybe a 4-pointer. Feel free to send us or post your suggestions!
We will keep covering the league because I think something interesting could happen, and no one else is actually covering it. I could also see Nike or Under Armour throwing some wrenches into their schedule with departures and arrivals for their major events this fall, so it’ll be interesting to watch the shoe company chess match play out.
Game Recaps
Game 1: YGE (95) vs. Venom Tears (79)
In a game that was tightly contested throughout the majority of the first three quarters, YGE and the Vemon Tears went head-to-head in an entertaining matchup. Aaliyah Chavez was excellent for Venom Tears throughout the game, as she powered her team with 27 points on 6 threes over the course of 32 minutes of game action. Venom Tears trailed by just one at the halftime intermission. Headlined by GG Banks, who finished with a triple-double of 23-10-10, YGE was going to need a big second half to put the Venom Tears away. Throughout the course of the 3rd, YGE slowly but surely started to stretch their lead, as they used a 30-25 3rd quarter advantage to gain some momentum heading into the 4th quarter, which is where they truly left their mark. They used high-powered offense and sound defense to win the 4th quarter by 10, and finish with a 95-79 victory. Outside of Banks, two more players recorded double-doubles for YGE, in Jaliya Davis and Stella Lockhart, finishing with 15 & 11 and 15 & 10, respectively. Washington’s Oliviyah Edwards finished just shy of one herself as she chalked up 9 rebounds. For Venom Tears, Taylor Brown finished with 19 points on a steady 53.8 FG%.
Game 2: Double Dynasty (79) vs. Royal Reign (55)
Double Dynasty used an incredibly balanced attack to overwhelm and shut down Royal Reign in this one. Headlined by Kate Harpring’s 22 points and 5 rebounds throughout 23.5 minutes of game time, they used a big second half to pull away from Royal Reign and pull out the win. In the first quarter, Royal Reign looked very impressive as they jumped out to a 20-7 lead to end the period. Double Dynasty clawed their way back into it and trailed 27-30 heading into the halftime break. Coming out of halftime, Double Dynasty was dominant, and Kate Harpring and Deniya Prawl made their mark. Powering their team to a 29-12 3rd quarter win and a 56-42 lead going into the 4th, the dynamic duo was incredibly hard to stop. Double Dynasty carried their momentum to the finish line as they won this one 79-55. Royal Reign’s Nation Williams, coming off a massive performance at NIKE Nationals, finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals in the defeat. Destiny Jackson led the team in scoring with 15 points. Other key contributors for Double Dynasty include Aaliyah Crump who recorded 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 20 minutes, and Mia Pauldo who logged 8-3-6-2 in just over 27 minutes of play. High level performance from a very deep roster.
Game 3: YGE (64) vs. Double Dynasty (87)
Double Dynasty just might be the deepest and most balanced team in this league. Both of these teams were coming off a win in their first game, and Double Dynasty came out blazing as they jumped out to a roaring 26-13 1st quarter advantage. The duo of Harpring and Prawl was back at it again as this time they combined for 37 points in this game, Prawl with 19 and Harpring with 18. YGE was able to take back 2 of those points before the halftime break, as the score lined up to 41-30 in favor of Double Dynasty going into the intermission. Double Dynasty then proceeded to stretch their lead even more. Olivia Vukosa was dominant on the glass for Dynasty as she recorded a game high 13 rebounds. For YGE, Stella Lockhart paced her team in scoring and on the glass as she finished with 17 & 9. The 4th quarter was more tightly contested, but YGE didn’t have enough in the tank to come back and Double Dynasty ended up winning it handedly by a score of 87-64. Other key contributors for Double Dynasty included the Tennessee-bound Pauldo twins, Mya and Mia, who recorded stat lines of 11p-2a-3r and 9p-9a-3r, respectively. YGE also got tough performances out of Aubrey Shaw and Oliviyah Edwards.
Game 4: Royal Reign (77) vs. Venom Tears (56)
Royal Reign used a balanced attack to overpower Venom Tears and push through in their last game of Week 1. Fresh off a GUAA Championship, ZaKiyah Johnson led her team’s attack with 19 points on an efficient 55 FG%. Miciah Fusilier absolutely dominated on the glass in this one as she snatched down 16 rebounds to control the boards for her team. Fusilier also recorded 8 points. At the half, the score was 39-37 in favor of Reign, and they used a big 3rd quarter to stretch their lead to double-digits heading into the 4th quarter. Venom’s standout Aaliyah Chavez poured in a plethora of points as she looked to put her team on her back as she finished with 23. The only problem for her was nobody else finished with double-digits, and her team’s lack of firepower in this game ultimately cost them. Reign’s offensive production was very balanced. In addition to Johnson’s 19, Nation Williams recorded 16 & 13, Gabby Minus came through with 16 & 10, and Autumn Fleary chipped in 12 to round out the double-digit scorers for Royal Reign as they win it 77-57 over an incredibly talented Venom Tears team.
Game 5: Royal Reign (12) vs. YGE (15)
In a quick match to 15, YGE used a quick and dynamic offensive attack to will themselves to this win. Stella Lockhart had a team high 6 points and Oliviyah Edwards controlled the glass with a game high 6 rebounds for her team. On the other side for Royal Reign, Nation Williams recorded 4 points and 5 rebounds, which would have turned into a massive production output on the glass if this game was a full-length game. Gabby Minus was also tied for a team high for points in the close loss.
