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03/24/2016 12:00 AMDana Ross plays a sport in every season at East Haven High School, but says that basketball has always been her No. 1 game. Standing at 5-foot-10, Dana’s played basketball throughout her life and has enjoyed every minute of it. She recently completed her senior year as a captain with the Yellowjackets and helped them have their best campaign in program history.
“My whole life, I’ve been doing something. If I didn’t do something, I wouldn’t feel right,” says Dana, who’s also stayed active with East Haven’s cross country and outdoor track squads. “I’ve been playing basketball since I was four years old. I just love the game. I love playing with my friends and being with the team. It’s my favorite sport. It’s like being a part of a family.”
Dana’s height helped her make the varsity team her sophomore year and she’s seen the floor regularly ever since. Head Coach Anthony Russell says that Dana floated in and out of the starting lineup and then really came into her own as a senior this winter.
“Her senior year is when I felt like she made the most progress. I’ve been telling the other coaches, I wish I had Dana for one more year because I really felt like she was being more of a vocal leader. She has more confidence because she realized she was a threat inside,” Coach Russell says. “I think Dana realized she’s 5-foot-10 and can be a strong, physical kid when she wants to be. The coaching staff and I were constantly saying to her that not many players can physically stop her down low and I think she bought into that during the second half of the year.”
Dana averaged about nine points and 10 rebounds per game in her senior season and showed up in the box score with a double-double on six occasions.
“I feel I’ve been better in the post area, going up strong, getting rebounds, and going back up with them; also, drawing fouls and making my foul shots. We put in a lot of work,” Dana says. “We separate into bigs and guards and we push each other. That really helped me. It just showed me that you have to work, put in the time, and keep working at it. Even after practice, any free time I had, I had to keep practicing.”
Dana was rewarded for her impact with the Yellowjackets’ cross country and basketball teams by being named a captain for both. Dana embraces the leadership position and feels her experience as a captain in cross country helped her immensely when she reprised that role on the basketball court this season.
“It really gave me experience and showed me how it has to be. You have to push everyone, be respectful, and keep everyone up to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to. It helped me continue it through basketball, so it wasn’t a first-time experience for me. It was a big role for me because it showed me that I was able to take care of the team,” says Dana. “It’s been a great experience. I love my team and it really helped me bond with them and connect with them. As captain, they respected me and it helped me make the younger kids a part of the team.”
Dana competes in the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, and triple jump with East Haven’s outdoor track squad. All three events require excellent technique and so Dana puts the necessary time in to succeed.
“You can’t go right into it and finish easily. You have to practice at it and keep going with it,” she says. “For the hurdles, you have to get your three steps down before each jump. In the high jump, you have to do your drills to help you practice through it and go higher. For the triple jump, you have to get the footwork down, as well, to make sure you’re going further.”
The girls’ basketball team wound up recording 21 victories, while reaching the SCC semifinals and Class M quarterfinals this season. It was the most wins in a season in program history, as well as the furthest the Yellowjackets have ever advanced in the State Tournament, and Dana takes plenty of pride in being a driving force behind their success.
“It was a big deal. We’ve never gotten that far,” says Dana. “Ending on that, it was a big deal for me because it showed how much work we put in to be a better program and how it’s going to be for years to come.”