Northwest Indiana: The Region
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The featured image is of Gracie Little Gracie Little 5'7" | CG Washington Township | 2025 State IN (2025) of Washington Township High School. For many years now, it has been heavily debated as to what area the nickname “The…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Gracie Little Gracie Little 5'7" | CG Washington Township | 2025 State IN (2025) of Washington Township High School.
For many years now, it has been heavily debated as to what area the nickname “The Region” truly refers to, and it seems like anyone and everyone from Northwest Indiana has their own definition of this. Officially, any town located within the Chicago Metropolitan Area is a part of “The Region”. This includes all of Lake County in Indiana, which is home to towns like Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Hobart, Merrillville, Munster, and Whiting.
While I realize it’s a little hypocritical to the above information, in an attempt to bring more attention to lesser-known prospects, we are going to expand the reach of this article like we did with Evansville and Fort Wayne, and we’ll consider ladies from any of the Northwest Indiana counties who are located within the Central Daylight Time Zone. This means players from Jasper, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, and Starke counties will also be eligible here.
Year after year Northwest Indiana turns out several talented basketball players and teams, and they tend to be overlooked, underappreciated, and unfortunately feel “less-included” at times from statewide polls, honors, and awards. In general, I think a lack of familiarity with this area of the state contributes to this. At the same time, recent prospects like Riley Ott (LaPorte 2019), Dash Shaw (Crown Point 2020), Courtney Blakely (Hammond Bishop Noll 2021), Trinity Thompson (Michigan City 2021), and Jessica Carrothers (Crown Point 2022) all grew up in Northwest Indiana. All of those ladies were Indiana All-Stars and/or are playing at Division-I schools.
However, year after year there are many other quality players in Northwest Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive up I-65 or across U.S. 30 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 “The Region”, but they are from the Northwest corner of Indiana.
Olivia Burkett
Olivia
Burkett
5'7" | SF
North Judson-San Pierre | 2023
IN
, 2023, 5-7 W, North Judson-San Pierre H.S.
– Olivia is a “jack of all trades” sort of player for the Bluejays. She has a fairly strong frame, some length, and she plays with a nice motor and a quiet toughness. She can play a point forward position and facilitate, but she also has the ability to attack the basket strong and finish inside. She’ll defend wings, bigger guards, but she can even act as an undersized post defender when absolutely necessary. She is a very good rebounder, especially at the offensive end, and she simply out-hustles her matchups most games.
Abbi Foster
Abbi
Foster
5'10" | PF
Crown Point | 2023
IN
, 2023, 5-9 F, Crown Point H.S.
– Abbi began her high school career at Andrean, but she returned to Crown Point after two years. She is another somewhat undersized prospect who outplays her listed height. She has good length, a little bounce, and fluid athleticism. She can knock down the occasional jumper, and she’s really good in the mid-post, but she can also attack from there and finish around size. She has gotten stronger and more confident over the years, and the Lady Bulldogs will need her to step up this year, following a couple of frontline graduations.
Akaoma Odeluga
Akaoma
Odeluga
5'11" | C
Munster | 2023
IN
, 2023, 5-11 C, Munster H.S.
– Akaoma landed on my radar this past Winter, and while she will still need some polish to her game, she has a lot of intriguing qualities small colleges would love. She is extremely strong/powerful, and she’s a people-mover in the paint. She establishes and holds her spot offensively, and she blocks out well and maintains position to rebound. It’s not often she has fewer than ten rebounds in a game. She plays with a nice motor, runs the floor North/South reasonably well, and she seems very coachable and eager to learn.
Nadia Clayton
Nadia
Clayton
5'7" | SG
Lake Central | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, 5-8 W, Lake Central H.S.
– Lake Central is loaded with talent in the 2024 and 2025 classes, so it can be difficult to not get lost in the shuffle. Nadia, however, has carved out a niche as an outstanding defender with a good motor and a quiet toughness. She is a fairly strong and athletic wing, and she can defend most ‘2s’, even some smaller PGs, as well as wings and forwards. Offensively, she is more of a driver/attacker right now than anything, but she will also come up with “scraps” baskets on offensive rebounds or cutting off of others’ penetration.
Becca Gerdt
Becca
Gerdt
6'0" | PF
Valparaiso | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, 5-11 W, Valparaiso H.S.
– Becca hasn’t been a big grassroots kid, but she has noticeable talent and upside to her game. She is extremely long, wiry-strong, and possibly still growing. She has a couple of older sisters over the 6-foot mark. Becca also plays with great versatility. Offensively, she is a fluid slasher who can get to the basket, but she also has some touch around the perimeter and a nice mid-post game. Defensively, she is very active in their 3/4-court 1-3-1, and she uses her length well to get a number of deflections and steals. She is a bit of a sleeper right now.
Gracie Little
Gracie
Little
5'7" | CG
Washington Township | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, 5-7 G, Washington Township H.S.
– From last year to this, the most notable thing for me about Gracie is that she looks a little taller, noticeably stronger, and much more confident. She had a great Freshmen season and put up good numbers for Washington Township. She has really nice length, some speed and quickness, but also a little shiftiness in her game. She can handle and run offense from time to time, but she’s such a natural shooter/scorer from all over the floor, that you want to get her looks. She has also improved defensively, and that will be key moving forward.
Additional Northwest Indiana Prospects in Our Rankings for 2023-2025:
Tori Allen
Tori
Allen
5'9" | CG
Andrean | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Andrean H.S.
Skylar Bos
Skylar
Bos
6'0" | SF
DeMotte Christian | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, DeMotte Christian School
Kristin Bukata
Kristin
Bukata
5'7" | PG
Valparaiso | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Valparaiso H.S.
Allison Capouch
Allison
Capouch
5'11" | SF
Kouts | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Kouts H.S., committed to Trine
Exsencia Cloma
Exsencia
Cloma
6'0" | PF
Gary West Side | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Gary West Side Leadership Academy
Lauren Colon
Lauren
Colon
5'7" | CG
Andrean | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Andrean H.S.
Anjelicia Del Valle
Anjelicia
Del Valle
5'9" | SF
Portage | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Portage H.S.
Victoria Detraz
Victoria
Detraz
6'0" | C
Morgan Township | 2023
IN
, 2023, Morgan Township H.S.
Eva Dodds
Eva
Dodds
5'8" | SG
New Prairie | 2023
IN
, 2023, New Prairie H.S.
Asia Donald
Asia
Donald
5'9" | SG
Hobart | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Hobart H.S.
Sophia Frasure
Sophia
Frasure
5'9" | SF
North Judson-San Pierre | 2023
IN
, 2023, North Judson-San Pierre H.S.
Nasiya Gause
Nasiya
Gause
5'7" | SG
Lake Station Edison | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Lake Station Edison H.S.
Lauren Koedyker
Lauren
Koedyker
6'0" | PF
Kouts | 2023
IN
, 2023, Kouts H.S.
Brooke Lindesmith
Brooke
Lindesmith
5'9" | SF
Crown Point | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Crown Point H.S.
Olivia Marks
Olivia
Marks
5'9" | PF
South Central (Union Mills) | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, South Central H.S. (Union Mills), committed to Trine
Jaci Menard
Jaci
Menard
5'11" | PF
Boone Grove | 2023
IN
, 2023, Boone Grove H.S.
Emily Phillips
Emily
Phillips
5'7" | SG
Crown Point | 2023
IN
, 2023, Crown Point H.S.
Payton Reid
Payton
Reid
5'5" | CG
Highland | 2023
IN
, 2023, Highland H.S.
Liliana Sirko
Liliana
Sirko
6'2" | C
La Lumiere Prep | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, La Lumiere Preparatory
Kate Thomas
Kate
Thomas
5'5" | PG
Kankakee Valley | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Kankakee Valley H.S.
Lilly Toppen
Lilly
Toppen
5'9" | SG
Kankakee Valley | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Kankakee Valley H.S.
Aniyah Bishop
Aniyah
Bishop
5'10" | SF
Lake Central | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Lake Central H.S.
Kennedy Blakely
Kennedy
Blakely
5'8" | SF
Hammond Central | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Bishop Noll Institute
Kennedie Burks
Kennedie
Burks
5'3" | PG
Lake Central | 2024
IN
, 2024, Lake Central H.S.
Jayden Flagg
Jayden
Flagg
5'6" | PG
New Prairie | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, New Prairie H.S.
Shena Fleming
Shena
Fleming
5'8" | SF
La Lumiere Prep | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, La Lumiere Preparatory
Faith Harrison
Faith
Harrison
6'0" | PF
Lake Central | 2024
IN
, 2024, Lake Central H.S.
Genna Hayes, 2024, Kankakee Valley H.S.
Peyton Honchar
Peyton
Honchar
5'11" | PF
Morgan Township | 2024
IN
, 2024, Morgan Township H.S.
Aniah Lewis
Aniah
Lewis
5'7" | SF
Lake Station Edison | 2024
IN
, 2024, Lake Station Edison H.S.
Sadie Marks
Sadie
Marks
5'9" | PF
South Central (Union Mills) | 2024
IN
, 2024, South Central H.S. (Union Mills)
Riley Milausnic
Riley
Milausnic
5'7" | CG
Lake Central | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Lake Central H.S.
Nevaeh Mosley, 2024, Lake Station Edison H.S.
Maddy Murray
Maddy
Murray
5'9" | SG
Kankakee Valley | 2024
IN
, 2024, Kankakee Valley H.S.
Makenna Schleman
Makenna
Schleman
6'1" | C
North Newton | 2024
IN
, 2024, Rensselaer Central H.S.
Miya Simmons
Miya
Simmons
5'7" | SG
La Lumiere Prep | 2024
IN
, 2024, La Lumiere Preparatory
Morgan White
Morgan
White
5'9" | SF
New Prairie | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, New Prairie H.S.
Kayla Wilkerson
Kayla
Wilkerson
5'8" | SF
Lake Station Edison | 2024
IN
, 2024, Lake Station Edison H.S.
Ava Ziolkowski
Ava
Ziolkowski
6'1" | PF
Crown Point | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Crown Point H.S.
Lindsay Arcella
Lindsay
Arcella
5'9" | SF
Andrean | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Andrean H.S.
Jiselle Chabes
Jiselle
Chabes
5'6" | CG
Marquette Catholic | 2025
IN
, 2025, Marquette Catholic H.S.
Ava Dase
Ava
Dase
6'3" | C
Kankakee Valley | 2025
IN
, 2025, Kankakee Valley H.S.
Carly Drone
Carly
Drone
6'0" | PF
Rensselaer Central | 2025
IN
, 2025, Rensselaer Central H.S.
Ayla Krygier
Ayla
Krygier
6'0" | SF
Lake Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Lake Central H.S.
Bryn Leonard
Bryn
Leonard
5'7" | PG
Lake Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Lake Central H.S.
Natalie Robinson
Natalie
Robinson
6'0" | PF
Marquette Catholic | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Marquette Catholic H.S.
Isabella Soria
Isabella
Soria
5'11" | SF
Lake Central | 2025
IN
, 2025, Lake Central H.S.
Icesis Thomas
Icesis
Thomas
5'10" | SF
Kenwood | 2025
State
IL
, 2025, Bishop Noll Institute
Taylor Van Meter
Taylor
Van Meter
5'11" | SF
Rensselaer Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Rensselaer Central H.S.
Kylie Wells
Kylie
Wells
5'10" | SF
Merrillville | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Merrillville H.S.
Vanessa Wimberly
Vanessa
Wimberly
5'5" | PG
Lake Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Lake Central H.S.