Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Jane Huss fills heart-and-soul role for Derry

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, January 8, 2025 | 11:01 AM

When Nathan Keller took over as Derry’s girls basketball coach this season, he knew he had a cornerstone player in senior Jane Huss.

Huss quietly has led the Trojans, scoring over 40% of their points as one of WPIAL Class 4A’s unheralded guards.

Through nine games, the team captain was averaging 15.8 points and 4.7 steals, numbers that sit nicely next to her one foul a game.

Heller expected this type of impact from Huss.

“Derry Area girls basketball starts with Jane Huss,” Heller said. “She is one of the most competitive people that I have ever met, and it has filtered to the rest of the team. We have little to no varsity experience, and she has embraced the role of our leader and mentor. Jane is someone who leads through actions. She never makes the same mistake twice. She hates to come out of a game, and that work ethic has translated to the younger girls on our team.”

Huss, a terrific track and cross country runner who will continue her competitive running career at Slippery Rock, has worked on her shooting and defense to complement her end-to-end speed.

Huss and Highlands’ Tyarah Woody put on a show last week when they played in a Section 1-4A clash. They went shot for shot and combined for 70% of the game’s total scoring as Highlands won 50-46.

Woody had 35 points and Huss had 27, both career highs.

Panthers surging

Franklin Regional coach Bernie Pucka thought at the start of the season that his team had the talent to compete for a section title.

Well, one-third into the Section 1-5A schedule, the Panthers (7-5, 4-0) are in first place, leading Shaler (10-1, 3-0) by a half-game.

Franklin Regional, winners of five of their past seven games, will host Shaler on Monday.

Norwin struggling

Norwin sustained its third straight loss – the first time that has happened since 2021-22 – as it fell, 63-53 to top-ranked Upper St. Clair.

The defending WPIAL 6A champion Knights (4-5, 1-1), who received 19 points from Kendall Berger and 10 from Averi Brozeski, lost four games all of last season (23-4).

Season high

Greensburg Central Catholic standout junior Erica Gribble must be more relaxed with her college decision off her shoulders. It showed in last week’s 63-39 win over a Avonworth in Section 2-3A.

Gribble, who recently committed to Richmond, poured in a season-high 34 points as GCC moved to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in section.

The big test for GCC — maybe the WPIAL game of the night — will be Thursday night when the second-ranked Centurions play at No. 1 Shady Side Academy (11-0, 4-0).

GCC is the defending WPIAL 2A champion, while Shady Side is looking for a repeat in 3A.

Streak broken

Mt. Pleasant surprised neighboring Southmoreland on Tuesday night, 44-23, to post its first win of the season and snap an 11-game losing streak that dated to last year’s first-round playoff exit.

Thursday slate

Local section games to watch Thursday night include:

Section 1-6A: Canon-McMillan (7-5, 2-1) at Norwin (4-5, 1-1); Hempfield (7-4, 1-2) at Upper St. Clair (7-2, 2-0)

Section 1-5A: Franklin Regional (7-5, 4-0) at Armstrong (2-9, 1-4)

Section 2-5A: Greensburg Salem (7-5, 1-3) at Latrobe (7-6, 3-2); Kiski Area (7-4, 2-2) at Penn-Trafford (11-0, 4-0)

Section 1-4A: Valley (1-11, 0-5) at Burrell (7-4, 2-2)

Section 3-4A: Elizabeth Forward (7-3, 4-0) at Yough (9-3, 3-1); Southmoreland (3-9, 1-4) at South Park (7-2, 4-0)

Section 2-3A: Greensburg Central Catholic (7-2, 3-0) at Shady Side Academy (12-0, 5-0)

Saturday matinees

A couple of nonsection games of note will be played Saturday as two local defending WPIAL champions look to sharpen their teeth against top 5 teams from other classes.

Class 5A No. 2 South Fayette will play at 6A No. 4 Norwin at 1:30 p.m., while Class 4A No. 3 Oakland Catholic will visit 2A No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic at 2 p.m.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Derry Area, Greensburg Salem, Norwin