Down by the River (Southern Indiana)

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486522' first='Ava' last='Wheeler'] (2026) of Borden High School.   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.   Southern Indiana has seen a great deal of success in girls' basketball, with Lanesville (2023 Class 1A), Silver Creek (2021 Class 3A), and Eastern (Pekin) (2017 Class 2A) winning state titles in the last seven years, and Corydon Central (2023 Class 3A), Silver Creek (2022 Class 3A), Salem (2020 Class 3A), and North Harrison (2016 & 2017 Class 3A) all making runner-up appearances in the last eight years. Additionally, recent prospects like Lilly Hatton (North Harrison 2019), Nan Garcia (Jeffersonville 2020), and Kynidi Mason-Striverson (Silver Creek 2022) were all Indiana All-Stars who are currently playing at Division-I schools.   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.   .   [player_tooltip player_id='298260' first='Ellie' last='Falkenstein'], 2024, 5-9 SF, Silver Creek H.S. - Ellie is someone who has stood out to me during grassroots seasons, because she has played a lot of minutes in the past for her [program_tooltip program_id='712568' first='Indiana' last='Flight South'] teams. She has nice length, a wiry-strong frame, and she's a fluid and smooth athlete. She loves to attack the baseline and either finish at the basket or knock down the pull-up jumper. She has some touch around the perimeter as well, when in rhythm, and I think she can add value with her length and versatility defensively. She transferred into Silver Creek from Jeffersonville.   [player_tooltip player_id='572798' first='Kaidin' last='James'], 2024, 5-8 SG/SF, New Washington H.S. - Not many people are familiar with Kaidin on a statewide level, but she had a strong statistical season for New Washington in 2022-2023, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 steals per game as a Junior. She has a fairly strong frame, she's a solid North/South athlete, and she can knock down the occasional 3-pointer. However, her game is mostly attacking the basket, earning free throw trips, and picking up "scraps" baskets off of offensive rebounds. She's someone small colleges should get on soon.   [player_tooltip player_id='626930' first='Katrina' last='Cooper'], 2025, 5-11 PF, Scottsburg H.S. - Because of missing some time due to injury leading up to last year, there was speculation Katrina might not even play in 2022-2023. But she did return to the floor, and she made quite the impact inside of the arc for Scottsburg. She is a long, wiry-strong, bouncy and athletic forward. She plays with a really nice motor, she rebounds outside of her area, and she can defend different types of frontline players. As she continues to develop a consistent offensive game, she can help Scottsburg become an elite Class 3A team.   [player_tooltip player_id='404110' first='Alyssa' last='Groover'], 2025, 6-0 PF/C, Corydon Central H.S. - I've really been impressed with Alyssa's growth over the past couple of seasons. She has a fairly strong frame, she's a nice athlete in most directions, and she plays with a motor. Where she has really improved is skillfully. She is not a back-to-the-basket post, but instead, she likes to face the basket in the short corners and the mid-post. She can knock down the 15-footer, she can attack the basket one or two dribbles productively, plus she is a very good pursuing rebounder. She could have a nice 2023-2024 season.   [player_tooltip player_id='567133' first='Brynn' last='Owens'], 2026, 5-6 CG, Austin H.S. - I finally had the opportunity to see Brynn in-person during July, and she definitely has some upside. She is long and wiry, quick, and she plays with a really nice motor. With her travel team, at least, I felt like she was more comfortable off the ball as a '2', but she does possess ball skill. She is an accurate perimeter shooter, and the more she plays against top competition and works on quickening her shot process, the more dangerous she'll become. I also felt like she was a scrappy defender who used her length well.   .   Additional Southern [program_tooltip program_id='716083' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2024-2026: [player_tooltip player_id='177316' first='Kennedy' last='Coleman'], 2024, Charlestown H.S., committed to Marian University [player_tooltip player_id='298254' first='Megan' last='Czarnecki'], 2024, Floyd Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177323' first='LaQaya' last='Gold'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='298262' first='Carrie' last='Hiler'], 2024, Scottsburg H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='455932' first='La'Kyra' last='Johnson'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177339' first='Elle' last='Marble'], 2024, Jeffersonville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177348' first='Maddie' last='Nipper'], 2024, Charlestown H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='324067' first='Hylton' last='Brumley'], 2025, Lanesville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295760' first='Hadley' last='Crosier'], 2025, Lanesville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='496047' first='Lola' last='Fouts'], 2025, Scottsburg H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324073' first='Nora' last='Gibson'], 2025, Floyd Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='404110' first='Alyssa' last='Groover'], 2025, Corydon Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324079' first='Samara' last='Miller'], 2025, Floyd Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295802' first='Ellie' last='Richardson'], 2025, Scottsburg H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='506022' first='Katy' last='Rooney'], 2025, Silver Creek H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324096' first='Josie' last='Vaughn'], 2025, Corydon Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='366806' first='Lydia' last='Wright'], 2025, Silver Creek H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='486500' first='Elise' last='Coleman'], 2026, Floyd Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='567129' first='Kelis' last='Dansby'], 2026, Rock Creek Academy [player_tooltip player_id='486550' first='Riley' last='Rarick'], 2026, Borden H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486543' first='Brooklynn' last='Renn'], 2026, Silver Creek H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='422604' first='Emma' last='Schoen'], 2026, Silver Creek H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486522' first='Ava' last='Wheeler'], 2026, Borden H.S.

The featured image is of Ava Wheeler Ava Wheeler 5'11" | SF Borden | 2026 State IN (2026) of Borden High School.