End of the Trail: Roebbelen Center in Roseville hosts three-day girls basketball tournament

Summer Finale Showcase Tournament this Friday through Sunday

Roseville, Calif. – Some of the best girls’ basketball players and many of the successful club teams on the West Coast will compete in the End of the Trail (EOT) Summer Finale Showcase tournament Friday, July 19, through Sunday, July 21, at the Roebbelen Center in Roseville, bringing about 3,000 people and more than $1 million to Placer Valley.

The EOT Summer Finale Showcase tips-off at 1 p.m. Friday, and then 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with games continuing into the evening at the Roebbelen Center located @the Grounds, 700 Event Center Drive.

Admission Price & Parking

Daily admission is $20 for adults, and $15 for children older than 5 and for seniors at least 62 years old. Younger children are admitted free. Parking is $10 per day.

About 85 club teams – from as far away as Hawaii and Montana, including several from the Sacramento region – will play in the three-day tournament. More than 1,000 middle and high school-aged players and their coaches will participate in the tournament. About 2,000 family members and fans will also attend the EOT Summer Finale Showcase.

Economic impact

The tournament will generate at least $1 million in revenue for hotels, restaurants and stores in Placer Valley.

“It’s a big tournament for the athletes and area businesses,” said Kim Summers, CEO of Placer Valley Tourism and @the Grounds, home of the Roebbelen Center. “The tournament is also an opportunity to showcase Placer Valley and the Roebbelen Center, and everything we have to offer.”

Competition & Showcase

The tournament, one of the largest and longest-running on the West Coast, allows players to compete and showcase their skills to NCAA basketball coaches and recruiters. The EOT Summer Finale Showcase is one of only a few NCAA-approved club tournaments for girls in California. So, the tournament attracts some of the best club teams and players who are hoping their skills lead to a scholarship.

“You will see a lot of good hoops,” said EOT co-owner and tournament director Pat Woodward, who organizes about 15 tournaments every year on the West Coast. “There will be some players recruited by Division I schools.”

Roebbelen Center

The Roebbelen Center’s ability to accommodate 12 full-length basketball courts and enough space between the courts for NCAA coaches and recruiters to walk around and watch multiple games and players is a game-winner.

“We love the event center with everything all under one roof,” said Cali Moscrip, coach for Bordertown Basketball and an assistant basketball coach at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Moscrip will be able to coach her teams and recruit between games. “We don’t have to go from one gym to another. It really helps get our players exposed.”

NCAA coaches are “bound to find someone and see a lot of players” at the tournament, said Tom Tran, director and head coach of NorCal Dynasty in Roseville and assistant women’s basketball coach at Sierra College in Rocklin.

NorCal Dynasty will have a 10-player team participate in the EOT Finale Summer Showcase, a short drive for parents of players – and a much-appreciated break from the out-of-the-area tournaments this summer.

“It’s literally in our own backyard,” said Tran. “It’s so cost-effective. You’re not having local teams travel thousands of miles. It’s so much easier for the families.”

But a large majority of the club teams at the tournament are from outside the Sacramento region, with many from out of state, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

“The competition definitely goes up a little,” said Moscrip, who will bring two teams and18 players to the tournament. “You get to see different teams, a different mix.”

Future generation

And basketball fans will get a chance to see the future generation of college players and maybe the next A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu or Caitlin Clark, the WNBA rookie who broke the NCAA scoring (men’s and women’s) records while playing at the University of Iowa. Those players – along with current NCAA stars Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins – are helping women’s basketball score with fans.

Almost 18.9 million people watched the NCAA Women’s Championship game between Iowa and the University of South Carolina in April, an 89% increase from a year ago and the second most-watched, non-Olympic women’s sporting event ever in the U.S. The interest, in part because of Clark, has given a much-needed boost to the WNBA, which has enjoyed record viewership during the first two months of the season and the best attendance in 26 years, with half of the games selling out.

“This last year with the Caitlin Clark phenomenon really picked up a lot of momentum,” said Woodward, a former girls’ basketball coach at Oregon City High School. “We just hope it continues.”

The attention on Clark has been “transformative,” said Tran, who estimates the interest in girls’ basketball has tripled during the past few years.

More girls are wearing jerseys of WNBA players and they are starting to play the sport at a much younger age.

“It’s good for the next generation of players and all of women’s sports,” said Tran.