Southern Indiana: Down by the River

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='59777' first='Ava' last='Sowder'] (2023) of Eastern High School in Pekin, Indiana.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we continue our expedition throughout Indiana, this installment will focus on the area that includes Scottsburg, Jeffersonville, New Albany, and the surrounding towns. For those of you not terribly familiar with those areas, most of this territory is just North of the Ohio River and Louisville, Kentucky. For the purposes of this articles, I am going to focus on the 22 high schools that reside in Clark County, Crawford County, Floyd County, Harrison County, Scott County, and Washington County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southern Indiana has seen a great deal of success in girls' basketball, with Silver Creek (<em>2021 Class 3A</em>) and Eastern (Pekin) (<em>2017 Class 2A</em>) winning state titles in the last six years, and Silver Creek (<em>2022 Class 3A</em>), Salem (<em>2020 Class 3A</em>), and North Harrison (<em>2016 &amp; 2017 Class 3A</em>) all making runner-up appearances in the last seven years. Additionally, recent prospects like Lilly Hatton (<em>North Harrison 2019</em>), Nan Garcia (<em>Jeffersonville 2020</em>), and Kynidi Mason-Striverson (<em>Silver Creek 2022</em>) were all Indiana All-Stars who are currently playing at Division-I schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, year after year there are many other quality players in Southern Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive down I-65 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. All of these girls are from the extreme Southern part of Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62fa61408b18a","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["300066"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Sydney is a tough-nosed, fairly strong, high-motor, versatile forward. She has a solid to strong frame, she's a good athlete in most directions, and she has shown the ability to play around the perimeter or in the mid-range game. She can knock down the occasional 3-pointer or straight-line drive it to the basket. But she's most comfortable in the mid-post and short corners, where she can use her touch at 15-feet or her strength to battle for rebounds. She's also an effortful defender who can take on a variety of forwards.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62fa61b28b18b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["59777"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ava is a pretty smooth and versatile wing prospect who should draw a lot of small college interest, if she isn't already. She has really nice length, a wiry-strong frame, and she plays sort of a point forward role for her teams. She can slice through defenses, create for others, plus she has the ability to knock down shots at all three levels. I think as she continues to get stronger, she'll continue to increase her consistency/efficiency. I also think with her length and fluidity, she can be a high-level defender, both on and off the ball.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62fa61d98b18c","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["298260"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ellie is probably still a little under the radar. She is a really nice, long, wiry-strong, and fluid wing prospect. She moves somewhat effortlessly around the floor, and she can play either a bigger guard role or a traditional small forward role. She has a nice motor, solid touch on her shot to 3-point range, but she's also willing to get inside and mix it up/rebound. Defensively, she shows versatility as well, using her length to bother ball-handlers, and getting deflections/steals from u0022help-sideu0022. She has nice upside for the next level too.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62fa61fe8b18d","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["298262"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Carrie is a solid to strong guard prospect with a nice, quiet toughness to her game. She will compete each possession, and she's willing to get on the floor or battle for rebounds. She's also a skillful kid who can really shoot it with limited space. She has a solid handle, she can create space off the bounce, but, when necessary, she can slide over and take on more of a point guard role as a game-manager. Carrie always plays with a nice basketball IQ. There is a lot to like about her skillset and her understanding of the game.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62fa621a8b18e","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["324073"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Not as many people are familiar with Nora, because she's also a talented volleyball player and spends a lot of time in the offseason with that. When she's on the basketball floor, she is a fairly strong youngster with a good frame. She will continue to add muscle as she matures, plus she might still have an inch or two left in her. She has the ability to post, she has solid hands and decent footwork, but she also has a nice face-up game with touch to near the perimeter. I feel like she's a front-liner who will only get better with time.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Southern Indiana Prospects in Our Rankings for 2023-2025:</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='178233' first='Laney' last='Hawkins'], 2023, Charlestown H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='331785' first='Myah' last='Johnson'], 2023, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='300070' first='Maranda' last='Mason'], 2023, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='127229' first='Tatum' last='McFarland'], 2023, Charlestown H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='372344' first='Kyia' last='McKinley'], 2023, Eastern H.S. (Pekin)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='59768' first='Sophia' last='Reese'], 2023, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='59774' first='Cadence' last='Singleton'], 2023, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='241196' first='Hannah' last='Stutsman'], 2023, Scottsburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='178232' first='Ava' last='Weber'], 2023, Corydon Central H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='59789' first='Linzie' last='Wernert'], 2023, Lanesville H.S.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='177316' first='Kennedy' last='Coleman'], 2024, Charlestown H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='455932' first='La'Kyra' last='Johnson'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='177339' first='Elle' last='Marble'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='177348' first='Maddie' last='Nipper'], 2024, Charlestown H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='201883' first='Skylar' last='Thompson'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='324067' first='Hylton' last='Brumley'], 2025, Lanesville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='295760' first='Hadley' last='Crosier'], 2025, Lanesville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='404110' first='Alyssa' last='Groover'], 2025, Corydon Central H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='295802' first='Ellie' last='Richardson'], 2025, Scottsburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='324096' first='Josie' last='Vaughn'], 2025, Corydon Central H.S.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->