Conference Look-In: Mid-Southern Conference

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='295802' first='Ellie' last='Richardson'] (2025) of Scottsburg High School.   As we enter 2023, I wanted to continue taking the time to highlight some of the better conferences in the state. I'll take a quick look at the teams at the top, statistical leaders, players on the rise, a top Freshman, plus an under-the-radar recruit. In order to select which conferences get the first glance, I've taken the Sagarin ratings (as of 12/4/22) of each team in each conference and averaged them out to give each conference a "score", if you will. As for individual statistical leaders, I am working off of whatever has currently been provided on MaxPreps. If your team's stats on MaxPreps are incomplete, I apologize, but please ask your coach to put them there if you would like to be considered for stat-based portions in the future. (At the time of this article, only Corydon Central and North Harrison had statistics submitted on MaxPreps.)   Mid-Southern Team Standings: Corydon Central (13-2 overall, 4-1 Mid-Southern) Silver Creek (7-6, 3-1) Scottsburg (12-3, 4-2) Brownstown Central (10-4, 4-2) Eastern (Pekin) (8-5, 2-2) Charlestown (9-6, 2-3) Salem (2-14, 1-3) Austin (8-7, 1-4) North Harrison (4-11, 1-4)   The Mid-Southern Conference is one who a lot of people statewide might not know much about, but I can assure you even the best teams in Southern Indiana don't want to run into any/many of these teams. All of them have had successful eras in girls' basketball, and all of them do a nice job of maintaining strong programs. This year, Corydon Central appeared to be the favorite early, but a December 1st loss to Scottsburg put a little snag in their plans. They are still in control of their own destiny, especially if they can defeat Silver Creek next Tuesday. Speaking of Silver Creek, they are coming off of two Class 3A State Finals appearances, so they were bumped up to Class 4A this season. If they knock off Corydon, they can sit in the driver's seat to potentially run away with the conference title. Scottsburg, Brownstown Central, and Eastern (Pekin) are all quality opponents carrying two losses around, but with a little luck and help from others, any of those three teams are capable of stepping up as well.   Mid-Southern Statistical Leaders:   <figure class="wp-block-table is-style-regular"><table><tbody><tr><td>Scoring Leaders:</td><td>Rebounding Leaders:</td><td>Assist Leaders:</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='178232' first='Ava' last='Weber'], 2023, CC: 18.5</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='178232' first='Ava' last='Weber'], 2023, CC: 6.3</td><td>Bailey Orme, 2023, CC: 5.4</td></tr><tr><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td></tr><tr><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   .   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Steals Leaders:</td><td>3-Pointers Made:</td><td>Free Throw %:</td></tr><tr><td>Bailey Orme, 2023, CC: 3.9</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='324096' first='Josie' last='Vaughn'], 2025, CC: 24</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='324096' first='Josie' last='Vaughn'], 2025, CC: 87%</td></tr><tr><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td></tr><tr><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td><td>not enough teams submitted stats</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   .   On The Rise: [player_tooltip player_id='295802' first='Ellie' last='Richardson'], 2025, 5-8 G, Scottsburg H.S. - Over the past calendar year, Ellie looks to have finished growing and has started to gain the strength to take her from solid high school player to talented prospect. She looks more explosive, more confident, more consistent, and she's finishing through contact much better. She possesses really nice length, wiry strength, and she has some toughness to her. She can knock down the open 3-pointer at a high rate, she's good attacking the basket, but she can also slide over and play point guard, finding open teammates. She is an effortful and intelligent defender who understands angles, as well. The only question will be which backcourt role she takes on at the next level.   Under-The-Radar Recruit: [player_tooltip player_id='178236' first='Madelyn' last='Hackman'], 2023, 5-8 G, Brownstown Central H.S. - Madelyn has been a key backcourt contributor for the Lady Braves since her Freshman season, when she helped them reach the South Semi-State. She is a strong, tough-nosed, hard-working guard who plays with a great deal of poise and understanding for the game. She isn't as explosive as many true point guards, but she is a nice athlete, and she takes care of the ball and gets it where it needs to go. If she plays off the ball, she is a dangerous perimeter shooter with range to 25-feet. She can attack the basket straight-line and draw contact/and-1s as well. She will also rebound and defend her position with effort. To this point, she has probably been undervalued by recruiters.   Impressive Freshman: [player_tooltip player_id='486543' first='Brooklynn' last='Renn'], 2026, 6-1 F, Silver Creek H.S. - There are a handful of really nice Freshmen already contributing to Mid-Southern Conference teams, but I went with Brooklynn because she is already talented, skilled, and she has a tremendously high ceiling. She is extremely long, wiry-strong, fluidly athletic, and somewhat bouncy. She moves around the floor almost effortlessly for a player her age at her height. She continues to grow, even, but she also continues to build her skillset away from the basket. In the Spring, I felt like she was more comfortable around the block, but by July, she had a really nice mid-range game coming together. She's still a year or two away from even coming close to her potential.

The featured image is of Ellie Richardson Ellie Richardson 5'8" | CG Scottsburg | 2025 State IN (2025) of Scottsburg High School.