South Bend, IN: The Midwest Girls Slam (South Bend, IN) was host to some very talented young girls’ basketball players. For this weekend, I adjusted my lens to focus on some of Indiana’s top talent up North. Here are some thoughts on Northern Indiana’s finest and why you should drop the pin here if you are looking for some ballers.
2019 5'8" PG Trinitee Harris MBA Select/Elkart Central
Trinitee is really good with the ball in her hands. She has a sneaky quick first step that allows her to get just about anywhere she wants to on the court. She has all the tools you need from a scoring point guard. She has range (2 triples vs. Always 100), a pull-up, a floater, and she can score amongst the trees in the paint as she is very crafty. Harris has really good composure under pressure and can play with and through contact…she just doesn’t seem to get rattled. Trinity finished with 24 points vs. a very tough Always 100 team.
2022 6'4" Post Kyla Oldacre Sky Diggs
Kyla has big-time potential. Besides her size, what first grabbed my attention was her ability to pass the ball. On the offensive rebounds she didn’t put back (and she had her fair share those) she was able to make accurate and strong passes out to waiting for 3 point shooters. She hit cutters with great passes. She made high-low passes with great touch. Oldacre has soft hands as well. She can catch balls thrown to her outside of her space and finish. Her post-I.Q. needs development, but this raw talent is one to keep an eye on…heck, two eyes lol!
2021 5'7" SG Trinity Clinton 5’7” MBA Select
Trinity Clinton has an intimidating presence about her. She attacks the rim extremely hard with a power and speed combination that’s breath-taking at times. She can do a lot of things on both ends of the court. Defensively, she can sit on you, and turn you in the open court or guard 3s and 4s a few inches taller than her. She rebounds very well for her size and is not afraid to mix it up. I’m pretty sure she had more points than drops of sweat. She finished her teams win over Always 100 with game-high 16 points.
2019 6'2" Post Hattie Westerfield Always 100 Chamble
In probably the most intense game I watched, Hattie Westerfield was the toughest. She has a commanding presence in the paint with and without the ball. She finished with both hands around the basket. Her most impressive attribute is her ability to play through contact for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances to rebound or get loose balls. She has good footwork in the post as well.
2019 5'8 SG Sylare Starks Always 100 Chamble
I’ve seen Sylare from time to time over the last year and when I see her, at some point there’s one thought I have consistently, “This girl is consistent.” Now I know that’s not a comment filled with pizazz, but it does point to the substance she has to her game. Sylare showed the ability to give her team just what they needed, just at the right time. Do you need to slow down the other team’s best player from driving down the middle of the lane? Get Sylare. Do you need a big three? Get Sylare. You need that three from deep because the 17U Michigan Crossover is sitting in a zone you are struggling to score against? Get Sylare, because she’s got 4 of them for you. And in that game vs. Crossover, all 4 threes were seemingly from a different area code. They were shot with confidence and were needed to bring her team closer. Always 100 would drop the contest 66-55, but would later avenge their loss by finding the last Infinity Stone (Avengers reference lol) and beating Crossover in the Championship, 58-50.
