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Thursday, March 07, 2002

By Paul Zeise and Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

SCHOOL: Moon

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-7 senior point guard for the Tigers.

Moon's Erin Smith is averaging 12 points and six assists this season. (Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette)

LAST WEEK: Smith registered 11 points, 8 assists and 4 steals in leading the Tigers to their first WPIAL Class AAA championship Saturday. Moon (25-2) beat North Catholic, 54-44, in the title game at Robert Morris. Smith was especially big in the fourth quarter of the game, as she hit 6 of 6 free throws to help the Tigers seal the win. In the team's 63-39 semifinal win against Blackhawk, Smith had a game-high 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and made 5 assists.

THIS SEASON: Smith is averaging 12 points and six assists per game. She scored a season-high 22 vs. Riverside Jan. 17. In the playoffs, she has averaged 14 points and eight assists.

CAREER: Smith has 1,013 career points in three seasons. Last year, she averaged 14.4 points and 6.0 assists for the Tigers, who finished 23-6 and lost in the WPIAL semifinals to champion West Mifflin.

SECOND TITLE: Although the Tigers won their first WPIAL title, this is actually the second title Smith has helped a team win. As a sophomore, she was a starter and averaged 10 points a game for the Oakland Catholic girls team. That year, the Eagles went 31-1, defeated Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game and lost to Cheltenham in the PIAA final. She transferred to Moon before her junior year.

NEW POSITION: Smith began last season as the team's shooting guard because Megan Gallagher was already in place as the team's point guard. But Moon Coach Tom Szczepankowski switched the two to try to take advantage of Smith's quickness and Gallagher's shooting ability. He said the move is a big reason Smith and the Tigers have been so good the past two seasons. "It took Erin awhile to pick up the concept of being a point guard and doing the things that we ask our point guards to do," he said. "But, by the end of last season, she really came into her own at the position, and this year, she's been excellent at breaking down defenses, penetrating to the basket and distributing the ball. Her scoring has dipped a little because she's being asked to do a number of different things. But our system is very complex, and she has really mastered it."

ELITE COMPANY: Smith was one of three WPIAL players, 29 players in Pennsylvania and 1,000 girls nationwide who were nominated for the first girls' McDonald's All-American game in April at Madison Square Garden. She was also one of four WPIAL players who were listed by Street and Smith's magazine as Pennsylvania players to watch.

FUTURE: Smith is being recruited by schools such as Western Kentucky and Jacksonville, as well as a number of Division II schools. "She'll be an excellent player at the next level because of her athleticism and the fact that she is becoming a pure point guard," said Szczepankowski.

-- By Paul Zeise

SCHOOL: Uniontown

WHO IS HE? A 5-foot-11 senior point guard for the WPIAL Class AAAA basketball champion Red Raiders.

LAST WEEK: Vaughns had two big games in leading Uniontown to the championship. He scored 26 points in a 73-52 victory against Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals and 23 in Saturday's 60-57 victory against New Castle.

SEASON: Vaughns leads Uniontown in scoring with a 19.4 average. The Raiders begin the PIAA playoffs Saturday.

CAREER: Vaughns has been on Uniontown's varsity since his freshman season and has been a starter since his sophomore year. He has 1,642 career points.

ON THE LINE: Vaughns clinched the victory against New Castle by making two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining. Fouling Vaughns and putting him on the free-throw line is almost a guaranteed two points for Uniontown. He was 8 for 8 against New Castle. Shuck said Vaughns shoots a little better than 90 percent from the free-throw line.

"It's ninety-one percent," said Vaughns, who is a stickler for knowing statistics.

Vaughns' free-throw accuracy should come as no surprise. In eighth grade, he finished second in the state in a free-throw shooting contest.

"The thing about Terrance is he makes foul shots when you need them," Shuck said. "Over the years, he's won an awful lot of games for us at the foul line."

ELITE GROUP: Vaughns was one of six freshmen Shuck brought up to the varsity team three years ago. Three years later, Vaughns and his comrades have left a lasting impression on Uniontown faithful. The WPIAL title was the school's first since 1981. In the past three seasons, Uniontown's record is 76-11.

DON'T GET HURT: Shuck was nervous this fall because Vaughns decided to play football for the first time in his high school career. "It scared me to death," said Shuck, fearing his star might sustain an injury.

THE FUTURE: A few Division I schools have showed interest in Vaughns, who has a 3.5 grade point average. But no school has offered a scholarship.

-- By Mike White