From The Notebook: Bloom Bank Classic, Day-1

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486509' first='Maya' last='Layton'] (2026) of Lafayette's Thomas Jefferson High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday midday, I attended the Bloom Bank Classic Holiday Tournament hosted by Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Indiana. The event hosted eight teams throughout the two-day event, and they include several under-the-radar prospects. Below is a look at four teams I saw during the first session of Day-1 action at the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Bloomington North (Bloomington, IN)</font></strong><br>The Cougars would appear to be in a "rebuild" mode, as they graduated some key pieces from their 2023-2024 team. However, they have a talented group of youngsters, so they aren't really "rebuilding" as much as they are just learning and adapting from playing against Varsity competition. North has a pair of nice, versatile forwards in 6-0 Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612077' first='Audrey' last='Burton']</strong> and 5-11 Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='878873' first='Ashley' last='Stegemoller']</strong>. Burton is incredibly long and wiry, she might even be pushing 6-1, and she could still grow another inch or two. She can handle it a little around the perimeter, and she likes to face the basket at about 15-feet. As she continues to get stronger, her game should be more consistent. Stegemoller is another long, fairly fluid athlete. She is a little stronger and more physical than Burton inside, and she is a willing rebounder and likes to make hustle plays to help her team. 5-7 Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992357' first='Katharine' last='Lehr']</strong> had several nice moments in their game as well. I saw her briefly in July, so it was good to see her at length in this setting. She has really nice length, speed &amp; quickness, and when she is set and has rhythm, she's a very good perimeter shooter. She also showed the ability to handle the ball, though she'll need to play lower and tighter with it against pressure. 5-6 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='969802' first='Rilynn' last='Williams']</strong> is yet another young player who flashes nice potential. She is also very long, quick, fast, and feisty. She defends, rebounds, slashes to the basket, and she can knock down an open shot. The Cougars should be in good hands the next couple of seasons, as those four acclimate themselves to each other.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Lebanon (Lebanon, IN)</font></strong><br>The Lebanon Tigers are unfortunately without 5-11 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='923198' first='Riley' last='Vanaman']</strong>, who was injured in the Fall and will miss most/all of this season. I mention her because she had a really nice Spring &amp; Summer grassroots season, and she was their top returning interior player. In her stead, I thought 5-11 Junior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='883672' first='Jade' last='Mount']</strong> did some nice things inside. She is very strong/powerful and physical around the paint, she plays with a nice motor, and she has reasonably soft hands and finishes around the basket through contact. I thought she did a really nice job of initiating contact at both ends and holding her position. I also felt like 5-7 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1123932' first='Claire' last='Boling']</strong> put together a nice effort in the game I saw. She is long and wiry, fluidly athletic, and she moves well without the ball. When she does get her feet set, she is a good perimeter shooter, but she also handled it some, and she can attack the basket a little as well. She also uses her length to get her hands on passes defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Perry Meridian (Indianapolis, IN)</font></strong><br>The Falcons have found it tough to operate the last few games with Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='885310' first='Aubrey' last='Hall']</strong> injured and not available. She was good at one of our PGH Fall showcases, and I was anxious to see her again, but instead my attention turned to 5-10 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1122885' first='Mariah' last='Thomas']</strong>. She is an extremely intriguing frontline prospect who has attracted some small college attention over the past year. She is long, wiry-strong, somewhat bouncy, and very active. She has a nose for the ball and is always around rebounds. When she has the ball, she is decisive, and she doesn't really turn it over attempting things she isn't capable of. Instead, she works off of her teammates, gets a lot of dump-off and rebound baskets around the paint, but she does have some skill in the short corners and around the free throw line. From there it was tough to find another standout in the game I saw, but Junior wing <strong>Aubriana Haugh</strong> and Junior guard <strong>Macy Stroud</strong> were active and aggressive at both ends of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Thomas Jefferson (Lafayette, IN)</font></strong><br>Lafayette Jeff is having a pretty good start to the Winter, finishing the tournament yesterday with a 10-3 record in the 2024 half of this season. 5-8 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486509' first='Maya' last='Layton']</strong> transferred in from Faith Christian this year, and the Division-I prospect is a big reason for their massive improvement over last year's 4-20 record. She is long, wiry, quick, and shifty, and she is an absolute playmaker at both ends of the floor. I've been impressed with her shooting improvement from when I first saw her in 8th Grade until now, and she just continues to be a threat anywhere on the floor. She can handle and create for others, she's an effective on-ball defender, and she is elite at stealing the ball from a "help" position. 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1122682' first='Amani' last='Byrd']</strong> also stood out because of her elite speed and quickness. She is a tough-nosed, hard-working, defensive-minded guard who can really defend the ball. Offensively, she is probably more of a '2' right now, but she has a quick first step and can definitely get to the rim in a hurry. This was my first time seeing 5-7 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='886667' first='Shaylee' last='Barrett']</strong>. She is very long, wiry-strong, and she slices to the basket with easy, whether that's attacking off the bounce and making dribble-moves or just on a simple back cut/basket cut. As she continues to tighten her skillset, I could see her drawing a lot of small college interest this coming Spring. 5-7 Junior forward <strong>Da'Niyah Johnson</strong> is a strong, physical forward who can play around the mid-post or the perimeter a little. She is very active, athletic, and she absorbs contact well. At 5-7, if she can continue to develop her jumper and handle, she could be a handful as a true wing player. Also of note is 6-2 Junior post <strong>Sydney Moffatt</strong>. She is still growing and adapting to that, but I saw her in the Spring at about 5-11 to 6-0 just seven months ago, and she has the potential to develop into a nice small college prospect as she continues to develop her skillset and finishes her growth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->