Northern Indiana: Michiana

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='295766' first='Monique' last='Mitchell'] (2024) of South Bend's Washington High School.     The area that includes South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, and the surrounding towns, has commonly been referred to as "Michiana" over the years, but South Bend has also been dubbed "The Metropolis of Northern Indiana" and "Wagon City", Mishawaka has been identified as "The Peppermint Capital of the World" and "Princess City", while Elkhart has also been nicknamed "The Town with a Heart" and "The RV Capital of the World". For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on the 31 high schools that reside in St. Joseph County, Elkhart County, Marshall County, and Kosciusko County.   "Michiana" has seen a great deal of success in girls' basketball, with South Bend Washington (2022 Class 3A), NorthWood (2020 Class 3A), South Bend St. Joseph (2017 Class 3A), and Penn (2016 Class 4A) all winning state titles in the last seven years. Additionally, recent prospects like Trinitee Harris (Elkhart Central 2019), Keegan Sullivan (South Bend St. Joseph 2020), Kaitlyn Costner (Penn 2021), Brynn Shoup-Hill (Goshen 2021), Kelly Ratigan (South Bend St. Joseph 2022), Mila Reynolds (South Bend Washington 2022), and Taylor Bowen (Culver Academy 2022) have all represented the area well, and each of the 2021 and 2022 graduates listed above are currently playing at Division-I schools. Costner, Shoup-Hill, and Reynolds were Indiana All-Stars as well.   However, year after year there are many other quality players in Northern Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive up U.S. 31 or across the Indiana East-West Toll Road a couple of times each high school season to check out the area teams. Below, I wanted to take the time to highlight a handful of girls who may not often grab the spotlight, but who deserve their share of recognition for their basketball abilities. Not all of these girls are technically in “Michiana”, but they are from the extreme Northern part of Indiana.     [player_tooltip player_id='410038' first='Dionna' last='Craig'], 2023, 5-7 G, Culver Academy - Dionna is a really nice athlete who plays with a good motor. She has length, wiry strength, and she moves well in just about every direction. She is more of a slasher/driver offensively, but she can slice through the defense and finish around the basket. She can knock down the occasional outside jumper, but it would benefit her to make that more consistent, especially for the next level. Defensively, I enjoy her intensity, and she'll defend the ball in all areas of the floor with effort. She's also aware and reacts quickly from "help".   [player_tooltip player_id='59744' first='Julia' last='Economou'], 2023, 5-11 F, Penn H.S. - Julia is one of those "jack of all trades" sort of kids. She isn't elite at any one thing, but she also isn't deficient and has good balance to her game. She plays extremely hard, she's willing to be physical and play inside/rebound, but she also flashes some skill around the perimeter. She's productive with her dribble, and she can knock down the occasional outside jumper. I think the mid-post is probably her forte right now, as she can consistently knock down the 15-footer or attack the basket and finish through contact.   [player_tooltip player_id='96083' first='Kennedy' last='Hayden'], 2023, 5-9 W, John Glenn H.S. - Kennedy has always flashed some intriguing qualities in her game, and she's one of those kids who should continue to grow and develop her game at the next level. She has nice length, fluid athleticism, and some bounce to her. She plays with a solid motor and some versatility as well. She plays primarily around the perimeter, she can knock down the occasional outside jumper, but she's probably better in the mid-range game and attacking the basket. I also like her ability defensively to guard wings and forwards.   [player_tooltip player_id='298267' first='Dominique' last='Stilley'], 2024, 6-0 F, Concord H.S. - Dominique strikes me as one of those kids who potentially could have the upper-tier small colleges fighting for her services next Spring and Summer. She has nice height, great length, and a wiry-strong frame. She is a fairly fluid athlete, she has some bounce to her, and she can play inside or out. She prefers to play around the perimeter, and she has some touch outside. But she can also put it on the floor and straight-line drive it to the basket or pull-up in the mid-range. Defensively, she can take on '3s' and '4s' alike.   [player_tooltip player_id='369830' first='Addyson' last='Viers'], 2024, 6-1 F/C, Triton H.S. - Addyson is a really nice, small school front-liner. She has a fairly strong frame, she's a solid North/South athlete, plus she has good hands, decent footwork, and she can score it comfortably around the block. Additionally, she is developing a perimeter jumper, and as she begins to make that more consistent, she will be a real threat in screen-and-roll-or-pop situations. Addyson plays extremely hard, she's somewhat feisty and physical inside, and she will both box out to rebound and pursue caroms outside of her area.   [player_tooltip player_id='324080' first='Ella' last='Mohamed'], 2025, 5-5 G, Northridge H.S. - Northridge always seems to have really nice, disciplined, and skillful guards and wings spread throughout their program. Ella is no exception. She is a fairly strong combo guard who has a nice handle, she's quick with the ball too, and she understands how to create space with the dribble. It's important because she's a knockdown shooter, whether she's handling it or coming off of screens. She plays with a nice motor, good all-around awareness, and she continues to improve as a facilitator.     Additional Northern [program_tooltip program_id='805349' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2023-2025: [player_tooltip player_id='460826' first='Shayla' last='Alexander'], 2023, Mishawaka Marian H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='372358' first='Kinsey' last='Atkins'], 2023, Triton H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='460827' first='Brighton' last='Bird'], 2023, Culver Academy [player_tooltip player_id='203667' first='Savannah' last='Boerema'], 2023, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='460833' first='Payton' last='Brooks'], 2023, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='372343' first='Taylor' last='Delp'], 2023, Plymouth H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='203654' first='Eva' last='Fisher'], 2023, Northridge H.S., committed to Marian [player_tooltip player_id='59748' first='Nevaeh' last='Foster'], 2023, Mishawaka Marian H.S., committed to Western Kentucky [player_tooltip player_id='59749' first='Brea' last='Garber'], 2023, Fairfield H.S., committed to Indiana Wesleyan [player_tooltip player_id='331766' first='Aliyah' last='Hershberger'], 2023, Mishawaka Marian H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='203665' first='Peyton' last='Hull'], 2023, South Bend St. Joseph H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='96086' first='RaShunda' last='Jones'], 2023, South Bend Washington H.S., committed to Purdue [player_tooltip player_id='241192' first='Tyra' last='Marcum'], 2023, Goshen H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='424861' first='Katie' last='Moyer'], 2023, Bremen H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='127232' first='MaKaya' last='Porter'], 2023, Mishawaka Marian H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='59769' first='Amiyah' last='Reynolds'], 2023, South Bend Washington H.S., committed to Maryland [player_tooltip player_id='331769' first='Kendal' last='Taylor'], 2023, Concord H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='300074' first='May' last='Wiseman'], 2023, Penn H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='177318' first='Morgan' last='Cross'], 2024, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177319' first='Kaylie' last='DeHaven'], 2024, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369828' first='Karleisha' last='Echols'], 2024, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='201872' first='Gaby' last='Gates'], 2024, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177328' first='Kyra' last='Hill'], 2024, Goshen H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369836' first='Jaya' last='Johnson'], 2024, Elkhart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='239352' first='Olivia' last='Oman'], 2024, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='298255' first='Joey' last='Rastrelli'], 2024, Warsaw H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='406434' first='Asiah' last='Shaffer'], 2024, Mishawaka H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='326492' first='Mariah' last='Stoltzfus'], 2024, Bethany Christian School [player_tooltip player_id='369826' first='Samiyah' last='Stout'], 2024, Elkhart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369824' first='Lauren' last='Walsh'], 2024, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='338899' first='Zoe' last='Willems'], 2024, Bethany Christian School [player_tooltip player_id='239359' first='Justyce' last='Williams'], 2024, Jimtown H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='454676' first='Lena' last='Jones'], 2024, Plymouth H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='453223' first='Mia' last='Jones'], 2024, Warsaw H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295766' first='Monique' last='Mitchell'], 2024, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324082' first='Abbey' last='Peterson'], 2024, Warsaw H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295770' first='Kira' last='Reynolds'], 2024, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295795' first='Jessa' last='Troy'], 2024, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295780' first='Ryiah' last='Wilson'], 2024, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295782' first='Brooke' last='Winchester'], 2024, Warsaw H.S.

The featured image is of Monique Mitchell Monique Mitchell 5'11" | SF South Bend Washington | 2025 State IN (2024) of South Bend's Washington High School.