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Thursday, January 17, 2002

SCHOOL: Farrell

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior guard on Farrell's basketball team.

THE PAST WEEK: Lowe had a record-setting game Friday against Summit Academy, scoring a school-record 51 points in a 112-82 victory. It was the most points in a WPIAL game this season. He had 18 points in an 83-75 loss to Mohawk Saturday and 16 in a 77-72 victory against Shady Side Academy Tuesday.

SEASON: Lowe is the fifth-leading scorer in the WPIAL with a 21.9 average.

CAREER: Lowe has been a starter since his sophomore year and has 1,123 points.

BREAKING THE RECORD: Lowe's 51 points broke a long-standing Farrell single-game scoring record. Julius McCoy set the record with 40 points in the early 1950s.

"I've heard of him," Lowe said. "He's even at most of our games."

Lowe made 17 of 25 shots from the floor, including 8 of 15 from 3-point range. He was 9 of 12 from the free-throw line.

"Things were just going good for me. and my teammates kept passing me the ball," Lowe said. "I was surprised [Summit Academy] played zone. I thought they'd come out and run man-to-man at some point, but they stayed in a zone almost the whole game."

GOING FOR ANOTHER RECORD: Lowe knows exactly how many points he has in his career. Ask him what the school record is for career points, and he doesn't hesitate before answering. "It's 1,471," he said.

Do you know who holds it? "Julius McCoy," he said. "I'm going to get it."

But for Lowe to reach McCoy, Farrell would probably have to go to the WPIAL and PIAA championship games, and Lowe would have to average about 25 points a game.

"We're going to win it all," he said.

-- By Mike White

SCHOOL: North Catholic

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-10 freshman for the Trojanettes' varsity basketball team.

PAST WEEK: Has led the team to the top of the Class AAA Section 4 standings, four consecutive victories and a No. 4 ranking. Tuesday, she scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a come-from-behind, 45-42, victory against Schenley, the top-ranked team in the City League.

SEASON: Leads the Trojanettes in scoring (14.4 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and steals (2.1 pg). Is shooting 78 percent from the free-throw line and is averaging two assists per game as well.

FAMILY TIES: Frederick has two older siblings who were successful at different schools. Her older sister, Jill, graduated from Hampton in 1997 as the school's third all-time leading scorer and received a basketball scholarship to West Virginia Wesleyan. Her older brother, Adam, was a quarterback at Shady Side Academy and led the Indians to the WPIAL Class AA championship game in 1997 and the WPIAL championship in 1998. He is a backup quarterback at Kent State.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Although she is just a freshman, Frederick already has become the Trojanettes' top player. Her early success has been a pleasant surprise to Coach Molly Larkin Rottman. "You never expect a freshman to play as well as she has," Rottman said. "I mean, I saw her play AAU ball in the summer and I knew she was good, but I didn't think she'd be this good. She has a lot of poise and confidence on the court. And the thing that surprises me most is her outside shooting ability. She is one of our best 3-point shooters."

BIG SUMMER: Frederick said playing AAU ball for the Pittsburgh Bruins has helped her make the transition to the varsity game. This summer, she helped her team to a ninth-place finish at the AAU girls' national championships in Lafayette, La. "When you go from playing middle school players to playing against the best players in the country, it forces you to realize how much harder you have to work to reach the level you want to be at. But I am a competitor and I loved playing against the best," she said.

MISS VERSATILITY: Frederick is listed as a forward, but she plays one of three positions -- shooting guard, small and power forward. "And she handles the ball well enough that some times we have her bring it up the court," Rottman said.

-- By Paul Zeise