Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Derry’s Jane Huss

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Monday, January 20, 2025 | 10:43 AM


When three seniors graduated at the end of last season, Derry girls basketball was stuck in a tough spot.

Then, would-be senior Jane Huss initially chose to focus on cross country and track, leaving the team extremely light on upperclassmen.

However, Huss had a change of heart and returned to the team as its only senior, embracing the challenge of leading an inexperienced group.

“I saw how young the team was,” Huss said. “There’s a lot of building to be done. I saw that, and I figured that they needed some experience on the team, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to help them out and be a leader.”

Last year’s seniors left behind a lasting impression, including showing Huss what it meant to lead.

“(Last year’s seniors) were all very good basketball players, but more than that, they showed me how to lead the team, how to be a good leader and how to step up when the time’s right,” Huss said.

Not only is the team inexperienced, but the Trojans are also led by a first-year coach in Nate Keller.

Huss credits him with creating a positive environment.

“Coach Keller, he helps make it fun for the team,” she said. “He talks us through things if we need help with something. He’s a very patient coach. He’s very understanding.”

Through the first nine games, Huss led Derry with 15.7 points per game while averaging just one foul per contest.

“I just try to go out there every game, remembering I’m doing it for the team,” Huss said of performance this year. “When you put the team first and try to make plays for the team, you end up, sometimes, even scoring more. I like seeing my hard work and stuff pay off.”

Huss is a three-sport, year-round athlete, competing in cross country in the fall and track in the spring. She’ll be attending Slippery Rock next year to participate in both.

In the midst of the season, Huss took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with basketball?

I started playing basketball in third grade through rec and just continued throughout my middle school career and high school career. This year, actually, I was debating on whether to play or not. I actually joined a little bit late in the season only because of track, since I’m going to college for track and cross country, so I was going to focus on that, but then I ended up deciding to play senior year, and I definitely do not regret it.

What has your leadership role looked like this year?

Definitely more than just scoring points and stuff like that. It’s more so about making sure you can involve everyone in the plays and just kind of like explaining the plays to them if they need it. Explaining like the defense and offense and just making sure everybody’s involved. A big part of it is making sure they’re having fun. Because you want to see them stick with it. With them being such a young team, in order to build it up and be successful, you want to make sure they’re not burned out at an early age.

Is there anything from any of your sports that helps with another?

You have to be very mentally strong for cross country. I feel like that honestly has helped me the most in my other sports because basketball, you kind of have your whole team, and you’re out there with them the whole time. Cross country, you have to get in that mode of, OK, I’m tired and I’m struggling right now, but I have to push through it. That’s helped with other sports, like track and basketball, where you have those other people near you, cheering you on and being there with you.

What is one thing that people might not know about you?

One thing someone might not know about me is that junior year, during my cross country season, I was actually debating joining the tennis team. I think it was more so just kind of going to be for fun. I liked the coaches that were there, and some of my friends did it, and I was like, ‘Why not just do it on the side? Maybe I could run after the tennis match or something.’ I would have put cross country first, but I would have done it kind of like half to cross country practice and half to tennis.

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