On Thursday, April 20, 2023, Souderton seniors Casey Harter & Teya McConnaha were recognized for committing to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level. Photos by Keith Clemens Photography. Click on the link for a full gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/p577784494
Casey Harter – Northwestern University (Basketball)
Major: Undecided
Final list of colleges: Northwestern, Harvard, Providence
Reasons for choosing Northwestern: “I chose Northwestern because of the family culture of campus and the team and the coaches.”
Favorite Souderton sports memory: “My favorite memory was cutting the nets down after winning the conference.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in basketball at the collegiate level? “Middle school is when I started to get serious about basketball, and I decided it was something I wanted to do in the future.”
Coach Lynn Carroll says: “Casey was four years of consistency and work ethic. The seriousness with which she went about her game in the offseason and getting better one year to the next – I don’t think she took a break when our season ended. She got right back to it. She just got better every single year. I’ve said it a million times, but her drive to excel at something that she loves is what makes her so special. It doesn’t end with basketball, and certainly as she moves forward in life, she’ll continue to be that way with whatever it is she does next. She’s just so dedicated and driven to do well.
“Right up until the last game, she was determined. She did whatever she could to try to get us to win that last game of her senior year with an injury, and she somehow found a way to keep us going. Casey has some of the natural talent – she was born with some good genes, and that, in my opinion and experience, can actually hinder a kid because they’re always the best because of their speed and athleticism, and maybe they settle because they’ve had a level of success based on those things alone and a little bit of work. She’s not the type of person to settle. She gets better at this and then moves on to the next thing and gets better at that and just works and works and works. She really could do it all. She did not have a weakness in her game by the time she graduated. Casey is third in career points with 1,211 and very likely would have been our all-time leading scorer if not for COVID (and the shortened 2020 season).
“I already can see with some of our younger players from this past season – we had one player in particular say in our postseason meeting that she wants to do what Casey has done and what does she have to do. What a gift for young player to be a teammate of Casey Harter’s in high school and what she was able to learn from her, to watch what work ethic looks like and what leadership looks like. For both Casey and Teya, I’m excited to see what happens at the next level. It will be fun to follow them.”
About Casey:
Favorite food: Buffalo Chicken
Favorite TV show: You
Favorite artist: Rod Wave
Teya McConnaha – McDaniel College (Basketball)
Major: Biology/Pre-med
Final list of colleges: McDaniel, Scranton
Reasons for choosing McDaniel: “I chose McDaniel because it was the best fit for me.”
Favorite Souderton sports memory: “My favorite memory was when we got to go to Tampa this year to play basketball.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in basketball at the collegiate level? “I’ve always wanted to play in college, and it became a reality for me when I started playing competitive basketball in middle school and high school.”
Coach Lynn Carroll says: “At our banquet – like every team, we give out awards. Teya got most improved one year, and our most improved is not a feel-good award – it’s who really worked in the offseason, so she got the most improved one year, she got the hustle award one year. We didn’t know what to give her this year because none of them really fit, so we got a glass backboard with a rim and had her name and total rebounds put on it. In basically three years, which included the COVID-shortened season, she had 697 rebounds (274 as a junior and 270 as a senior). She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever coached. She was and always will be obsessed with rebounding. It was like every shot was a pass to her, and she was going to go get it. That’s how she treated every single possession to the point where she would sacrifice her body to go get a rebound. She would dive out of bounds and land basically flat on her stomach to tip a ball back inbounds. I can think off the top of my head right away three-four hustle plays that I watched her make over her career. As a player, if you’re on the court and that’s what your teammate is doing, you can’t help but want to up your intensity and be a little more willing to sacrifice your body.
“It was never more evident than in Florida when she broke her nose in the championship game down there. She had blood pouring down her face, she had teeth marks on her nose – it was crooked and clearly not in the right place, and she wanted to go back in the game. She eventually did go back in the game after she was cleared by the trainer. She’s just gutsy and tough and must just be brutal to play against. There were games when you could see the opposing team – part of their game plan was to keep her off the boards. So much so, that other people got rebounds because either she was double teamed or maybe the taller person had to take Teya. Therefore, it gave us a mismatch somewhere else on the court. It was part of the game plan of our opponents, and it just changes things. It opened things up for us. Any time you’re forcing an opponent to strategize because of something that you do, and that something is just work ethic – you can’t really ask for more than that.
“We have a big cap that goes in the basket when we do rebounding drills, so the ball bounces off it. Any time you get 10 rebounds, you sign it and put the date next to it. It’s just covered in Teya McConnaha. Her name is all over it. You’ve got to think as players go through the program and see that, that’s motivation right there. It’s motivation I can’t provide, it’s motivation Teya has given us that has a lasting impact long after a player has graduated.”
About Teya:
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite TV show: American Horror Story: Murder House
Favorite music: Pop Music
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