Through her work ethic, likeability and dedication, Northwestern University freshman, and Souderton alumna, Casey Harter earns a starting position on her team in college by continuing what she did in high school.

Last year’s girls basketball season solidified Harter’s legacy at Souderton when she passed a career 1000 points, something very few student athletes have accomplished at Souderton. 

Harter continues to play at a high level at Northwestern, averaging 24 minutes and 5.5 points per game as a freshman.

Harter credits her success to staying “confident” and not changing how she plays whether it’s a better or worse team.

So far, in her college career, Harter has played against four top 25 teams. During these games Harter has played against stars like Caitlyn Clark, the star point guard at the University of Iowa. 

“She’s somebody that I obviously look up to as much as the rest of the world and the sport of basketball does,” Harter said. “It’s pretty cool just being able to have the opportunity to play against people like [her].”

Girls basketball senior captain Brooke Fenchel attributes Harter’s success in D1 to her work ethic.

 “If she didn’t have the work ethic that she has I don’t think she’d be playing in the Big 10 right now,” Fenchel said. “You can have all the talent in the world, but coaches want to see that work ethic and the hustle and that’s what she has.”

According to Souderton girls basketball coach Carrol Cathy, Harter impacted the team at Souderton by forcing other players around her to work harder. 

However, Cathy believes that Harter’s impact will stretch even further than just to the people that played with her, 

“Kids now want to work harder because they watched what [Harter] did,” Cathy said, “and then the kids that come behind them are going to see our current players and how hard they work and then it will just continue year after year.”

According to Cathy, during Harter’s time at Souderton one of her biggest obstacles to overcome was her perfectionism.

“She was a perfectionist, she didn’t want to take a shot if she didn’t think it was going to go in,” Cathy said. “We saw a much different version of [Harter] back then, but you could tell that she had the pieces to be special.”

Even though she is far along in her career, Harter still believes she has much to learn.

“I’m still a freshman so I have a lot of things to improve on. But I’m getting a lot more playing time, so that will help me develop even more,” Harter said. 

According to Fenchel, while Harter still continues to impact the team, there is no doubt that losing a player like Harter left a vacancy on the Souderton team.

“Setting the tone at practice every day was different without her there,” Fenchel said. “It was really about who was going to show up and give 100 percent because that’s what she always did.”