June Road Trippin’: Taylor University

<!-- 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>The month of June has annually been set aside for high school teams to work with their high school coaching staff on skill development, as well as offensive &amp; defensive principles, plus participation in competitive games, whether they are at one of the state's many Summer leagues, high school &amp; college day-long showcases, and the more recent NCAA "scholastic live period," taking place next weekend. Yesterday, I began my day at Upland, Indiana, home of Taylor University, where there were about a dozen Varsity programs competing against one another at Odle Arena and the 3-court Kesler Student Activities Center. Below is a look at seven ladies who stood out when I was able to see them during the first half of the day's action at Taylor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["886667"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5a0a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Shaylee is a talented young lady who could really take off and become a nice collegian when it's all said and done. She has really nice length, speed &amp; quickness, and she plays with a nice motor and some toughness. She is a very good defender, but she could be elite with a little more discipline. She does a really nice job of knowing what she is offensively, and she is often on attack off the dribble, but she also has a nice mid-range pull-up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["486509"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5a84"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Maya is a Division I Northern Kentucky University commit, and she showed her worth for Lafayette Jeff Friday. She has really nice length, some speed &amp; quickness, but it's her smoothness that stands out. Over the years, she has done a nice job of making her jump-shot more consistent, plus she has been a much more urgent on-ball defender. She is creative off the dribble, plus she does a nice job of balancing scoring with distributing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["773844"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5ace"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Trinity is a really nice, talented athlete, who I think is still a little "undiscovered" by recruiting circles. She has an athletic frame, bounce, plus a nice motor working the boards. She is relentless when it comes to rebounding, and she posts a double-double just about every game she plays. Defensively, she sits down and can defend the perimeter, plus she willingly battles inside against bigger prospects. She has a lot of value as a defender.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["486553"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5b0f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The number of traditional posts in the world are nearing extinction, but Natalie does a really nice job of using that to her advantage and creating mismatches. She likes physicality, but she also possesses solid balance, good ball skill, and the ability to turn either direction and finish with a couple of post moves each way. She plays hard/runs the floor hard, and she is engaged and effortful defensively. She also has a little face-up capability as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["751034"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5b4b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Alanna is kind of a 'tweener right now, but she absolutely battles on the floor. She is strong, physical, but bouncy and athletic. She can get out and run, finish in transition, or sit down and post up smaller defenders. At the same time, she is comfortable attacking the basket from the perimeter, plus she has a little touch outside. Alanna also has some versatility defensively and can take on bigger guards, wings, and undersized power players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["751060"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5b87"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I had not been able to see Gianna live in-person in a little over a year and a half because of injury issues. But Friday she was present, and she looks like she is rounding back into form nicely. Gianna looks leaner, longer, and more fluid. She was always a post with some face-up skill and a good understanding of the game. Now, building that core strength and making up for lost time with skill development should help her catch back up quickly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["999405"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6844b551c5bcf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Riley had an outstanding season for Heritage Christian this Winter, and she has looked equally good this Spring so far. Yesterday, she was in control often, bringing it up in transition, handling the ball and creating offense, plus slowing it down to initiate the offense. She has tremendous length, she's at least 5'10 now and might still have another inch or two in her, plus she shoots a very good ball. She is already talented, and she should only get better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->