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Thursday, December 21, 2000

Allan MacQuarrie

SCHOOL: Pine-Richland.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior guard who has a good chance to score 2,000 career points.

THE PAST WEEK: Pine-Richland had two important victories over North Hills (70-59) Friday and Shaler (65-48) Tuesday. MacQuarrie had big games in both wins, scoring 43 against North Hills and 30 against Shaler. MacQuarrie put on a show against North Hills, scoring 31 points in the first half. For the game, he made 15 of 18 shots. Against Shaler, he was 15 of 17 from the free-throw line.

SEASON: MacQuarrie is one of the leading scorers in the WPIAL, averaging 24 points a game.

GOING FOR 2,000: A member of the varsity since his freshman season, MacQuarrie has 1,808 points. Barring injury, he should go over 2,000 points before the regular season ends. Only 14 players in WPIAL history have scored 2,000.

THE SPIRIT OF 76: MacQuarrie has never been shy about shooting. He scored 76 points in a summer-league game.

"He's going to take a couple of bad shots every game. We know that going in," said Pine-Richland Coach Dave DeGregorio. "But he creates some things for other people. I think his shot selection has gotten better this year. He's gotten stronger, too. People used to be able to bump him and knock him off in years past, but they can't do that as much this year.

"I think he's playing a more complete game this year. He's playing a lot better defensively."

JUST BASKETBALL: MacQuarrie used to be on Pine-Richland's golf team and played football as a junior. But this fall, he did not compete in either sport. He practiced basketball more and lifted weights more.

THE FUTURE: MacQuarrie does not have any scholarship offers from Division I colleges, but a few schools have started to show interest. A coach from James Madison wants to attend an upcoming game. Bucknell and Columbia also are interested. MacQuarrie has a 3.9 grade-point average.

"He didn't go to the AAU national tournament this summer, and that's where a lot of colleges see these kids play," DeGregorio said.

-- By Mike White

Emily Carter

SCHOOL: Bethel Park.

WHO IS SHE? A senior, Carter is considered one of the best swimmers in the state.

THE PAST WEEK: Carter had two record-breaking performances in the past four days. On Tuesday, she set a Bethel Park pool record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1 minute, 4.5 seconds. On Saturday, she swam at an invitational at the University of Pittsburgh and broke a meet record in the 200 breast with a time of 2:15.78.

CAREER: Carter has won four WPIAL Class AAA championships and two PIAA titles. She won WPIAL championships in both the 100 breast and the 200 freestyle as a sophomore and junior, and a PIAA title in the 100 breast last year. She set a WPIAL record in the 100 breast last year with a time of 1:02.98.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: Possibly Carter's best accomplishment came in the spring won she won the 200 breast at Junior Nationals.

ON TRIAL: Carter also qualified for the Olympic Trials this past summer in Indianapolis in the 100 and 200 breast. Although Bethel Park has produced many talented swimmers, she is the first female from the school to qualify for the Olympic Trials. She knew she wouldn't make the U.S. team in either event, but it's quite an accomplishment for a high school swimmer to make the Trials.

"There were probably 120 swimmers in both events. I finished somewhere around 80th," Carter said. "It was just exciting to go back at night for the finals and watch the Olympians swim."

CARDINAL RULES: Carter already has signed with the Stanford Cardinal, a perennial power that has won 11 of the past 14 NCAA championships. Her other four finalists were Virginia, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. She has a 4.3 grade-point average and scored 1,270 on the SAT. Stanford's coach is Richard Quick, who also is the U.S. Olympic women's team coach.

"I like the university first, the academics and everything," Carter said. "But having the best coach helped a lot when I made my decision."

OH, BROTHER: There is another talented Carter on Bethel Park's team. Alan Carter, a sophomore, has the top WPIAL Class AAA time this season in both the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

-- By Mike White