Day-2 Notebook from “The Clash”

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>April 25th-27th has come, which means the girls' grassroots season is in full-swing, and the first "live" period is upon us. As there are any number of tournaments across the country currently taking place, many of the Indiana grassroots clubs have sent teams to The Clash in Hamilton, Ohio, at the Spooky Nook Champion Mill location. After returning for Saturday's action, below is a look at six additional ladies who stood out for one reason or another with their play when I was able to see them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='928916' first='Lela' last='Edmonds'], 2026, 5-10 SF, East Chicago Central H.S.</strong><br>- Lela is someone who is currently flying under the radar quite a bit, but I feel like she could add nice value to a good small college program. She is extremely long and wiry, fluidly athletic, and she plays with a motor and never seems to play with frustration...she just works. She has some skill and has played a little guard in the past, but I feel like her slashing style and height/length defensively would be put to better use in college as more of a wing/small forward. She continues to improve.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486546' first='Kendall' last='McLaughlin'], 2026, 5-8 SF, Homestead H.S.</strong><br>- I really think Kendall is getting overlooked. She is on an extremely talented high school team and could probably be a double-digit scorer in many other lineups. She is strong, tough-nosed, and just quietly works at it. She has a beautiful shot and can get hot quickly, but she's also willing to work inside, set screens, defend, and battle for boards against much bigger opponents. I think she is a better athlete than people realize, and this weekend she has shown a lot of productivity for her team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1256517' first='Eliana' last='Stewart'], 2026, 5-8 SF, Kokomo H.S.</strong><br>- Eliana is definitely intriguing and I think she could bring some value to a small college program. She has an athletic frame, some strength, a little length, and she plays with good energy. She has some bounce in her as well, and she likes to get out and run in transition. She is more of a slasher right now, and she will go inside to rebound/defend, but as she continues to build her ball skill and shoot it more consistently outside, she could draw several small college eyes with her versatility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='624885' first='Miley' last='Wareing'], 2026, 6-1 PF/C, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S.</strong><br>- Miley has really bounced back nicely since a Summer of 2024 knee injury set her back a bit. She looks leaner, stronger, and more explosive, and she's still not quite back to 100% just yet. I think that is scary for opponents moving forward. She is getting out and running well in transition, she is moving laterally much better than in the past, and she's showing the potential to move off the block and become more of a '4' or face-up '5', than the bully of a low-block '5' she was a year ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Akiera Huntsman, 2027, 6-0 PF, Kokomo H.S.</strong><br>- Akiera was extremely intriguing when I saw her for the first time this weekend. She has a very long and wiry frame, she looks like she could add a lot more strength to her frame, and she moves well for her height/age. She gets out and runs in transition, plus she can sit down and defend out on the floor quite a bit. I don't believe she's a true post, other than she's taller than most girls her age, but as she continues to develop her mid-post game, she should be a nice face-up '4' in time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751051' first='Claire' last='Larrison'], 2027, 5-11 SF, Greensburg H.S.</strong><br>- Claire has developed nicely into one of the best prospects in Indiana's 2027 class. She continues to grow, she has gotten much stronger, plus she has broad shoulders and length. She has guard skill, she can handle it and find open teammates, plus she has nice touch around the perimeter. But now she's able to use her frame better to attack the basket North/South, absorb contact, and finish inside. She'll need to continue working on her on-ball defense, but the offensive talent is there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->