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Growing up in Indiana I never thought that I would somewhere else that loved girls basketball as much as my home state. Then I moved to Tennessee in 2018.
Thanks to the legends like Pat Summit, girls basketball is a massive deal here and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to cover some great teams and more importantly, some great players. Thanks to this winter weather keeping me cooped up inside the last few days, I decided to take a look back at 10 of my favorite players that I’ve covered since 2019.
As a side, these are players that I’ve seen in-person multiple times. While several hail from the 615, there are others outside of the 615 Preps coverage area. I decided to include them as well though as they are technically Midstate players.
Yesterday I released my 10 favorite boys hoopers. Without further ado, here are my 10 favorite Midstate girl basketball players I’ve seen live:
Brooklyn Crouch, Upperman
I haven’t seen many players down here run a team quite like Crouch did for the Lady Bees in their run up to the 2022 Class 3A title.
Some nights Crouch would score 20+. Other nights she was more of a facilitator. Whatever she was asked to do, she did it and that’s why she ended her high school career winning that season’s Class 3A Miss Basketball award.
Ella Ryan, Brentwood
I was a big fan of Ella’s older sister Sydney and well, basketball runs deep in the Ryan family.
Ella is a five-tool player and has shown great potential since her freshman season. Now the undisputed leader of the Lady Bruins, Ella’s enjoying her best season so far.
Just a junior, the future’s extremely bright for Ryan and the Lady Bruins program as long as she’s running the show.
Imari Berry, Clarksville
There really isn’t a thing Berry can’t do on a basketball court which is why she’s arguably the state’s best player this season.
The Clemson signee has either already set several school records or is on pace to shatter whatever records remain. As good as she was the first three seasons of her high school career, Berry’s currently playing her best basketball.
Defense, offense, it doesn’t matter. Berry’s a special talent.
Iyana Moore, Blackman
I unfortunately never got the chance to see Crystal Dangerfield when she was at Blackman. Thankfully I was able to see the next great Lady Blaze player in Moore a few times.
It could be argued that Moore is the second-best girls player to come out of Blackman trailing only Dangerfield.
I was most impressed with her run through the 2021 state tournament. She scored 17 points in each of the three games to lead the Lady Blaze to to their third state title.
Jailyn Banks, MTCS
While Webb was running the show in DII-A for three years, Banks led the second best team in the class to back-to-back championship appearances.
If someone said that Banks was the best player on the court during both of the runs nightly, I wouldn’t argue against it.
During those four games she averaged 21.8 points. Banks dominated both years in the first round scoring 27 points and 31 points against CAK in back-to-back years.
Jaloni Cambridge, Ensworth
On my boy’s list I mentioned Brandon Miller and said that he was the best boys high school basketball player that I’ve ever seen. The top girls high school hooper I ever saw live was Skylar Diggins.
If Diggins is my 1A in that category, Cambridge is an insanely close 1B.
There’s not a thing Cambridge can’t do on the court and she proved that winning three straight Miss Basketball awards and two state titles.
I would have enjoyed seeing her close out her high school career at Ensworth but now competing against the best players and teams in the country, I think Cambridge is in the exact spot she needs to be in a this point in her career.
Jalynn Gregory, Macon County
Gregory’s Macon County teammate Keeley Carter was a walking bucket and I could have added her to this list. However thanks to COVID, I only saw Carter play once.
Now a Lady Raider at MTSU, Gregory gave MTSU fans a glimpse of what was to come in the 2021 Class 3A state tournament. She led Macon County to its first state title that year averaging 20.7 points during that tournament run.
Gregory’s only upped game since going to MTSU. She’s on pace for a special college career thanks in-large to her efficiency from beyond-the-arc.
Karly Weathers, Loretto
In 2021 I covered the Lady Mustangs and watched them win their first state title since 1958. That was a special run that I’ll never forget.
As good as that team was, it doesn’t happen without Weathers leading the way.
Weathers was a two-time Miss Basketball winner and her talent was apparent from the moment she stepped on the court as a freshman. You have to be a special kind of player to be a Miss Basketball finalist all four years and Weathers was that and then some.
Kennedy Cambridge, Ensworth
While Jaloni is the best girls player I’ve seen in-person down, her older sister was also a heck of a player in her own right. Ensworth doesn’t win multiple state titles without these two leading the way.
Kennedy was one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen typically putting a suffocating full court press on whoever had the ball. While she had range from outside, Kennedy was at her best slashing to the basket.
If she had an open lane, it was an easy two.
Lashae Dwyer, Webb-Bell Buckle
Dwyer was the catalyst for what would be a dominant three-year stretch for the Lady Feet.
Webb had plenty of great players during that three-year stretch but none impressed quite as much as Dwyer. She led Webb to a 28-2 record her senior year and was dominant in their two state tournament games.
Dwyer opened the tournament with a 22-point performance in a five-point win over USJ and closed it with a 23 point afternoon against PCA. She was unguardable during those two games and proved she should have been a Miss Basketball finalist that season.
