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Thursday, December 05, 2002

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

	Loui Hall: 83 points, 60 rebounds in three games. (John Beale, Post-Gazette)

SCHOOL: Albert Gallatin

WHO IS SHE? A 6-foot senior forward who is one of the top basketball players in the state.

LAST WEEK: Led her team to a 2-1 record at the Nothing But the Best Tournament at CCAC South. In the three games, Hall scored 85 points and grabbed 60 rebounds. In a 62-55 win Saturday against Sto-Rox, she scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. In a 51-46 loss Friday to McKeesport, she had 22 points and 21 rebounds, and in a 41-39 win Saturday against Penn Hills, she had 22 points and 20 rebounds.

CAREER: A four-year starter, Hall has scored 1,734 career points and continues to inch closer to the school record of 1,937 which is held by her older sister, Shauntai. She has been all-section in each of the past two seasons and she was named to the Post-Gazette Fab Five last year after she averaged 26.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and shot 81 percent from the free-throw line.

TRIBUTE TO A TEAMMATE: Hall said the person who has motivated her and inspired her team is Deanna Gratchic, a senior guard who is awaiting a kidney transplant. Gratchic already has had one transplant but will have another operation in less than a month. Her mother will donate a kidney. Still, she continues to practice with the team and has played in some games. "We're all amazed by how strong she is because she never complains and always comes to work hard even when you know she isn't feeling well," Hall said.

SIGNED AND DELIVERED: Hall has had a number of offers from higher profile programs but has signed a letter of intent to play for Duquesne. Duquesne Coach Dan Durkin recruited her sister, she said "I know he wouldn't ever become two-faced or change into someone different than he has been once I get there. That's important to me. It also takes a lot of stress off my back to have that out of the way."

ON A MISSION: Hall said she wants to lead her team to a WPIAL title and prove that her stellar season of a year ago was not a fluke. "I know people from the big city think we're all just a bunch of hicks here in Masontown," Hall said. "But I want to prove that us country bumpkins play some ball too."

-- By Paul Zeise

SCHOOL: South Allegheny.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-3 senior guard-forward who is off to a fast start for South Allegheny's basketball team.

THE PAST WEEK: Menifee led South Allegheny to the championship of the Yough tournament. He had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 55-48 victory Friday against Yough. He had 19 points and eight rebounds in a 53-51 victory against Norwin in the title game Saturday.

"He actually played hurt Saturday with a charley horse," said South Allegheny Coach Ed Marko. "He wasn't even sure he was going to be able to play. He had a noticeable limp, so he had to pick and choose the times to go all out." Menifee scored 20 points in a 56-48 victory Tuesday against Southmoreland.

HE'S EVERYWHERE: Although Menifee plays mostly at small forward, he sometimes plays center or point guard.

ON THE MOVE: Menifee attended McKeesport as a freshman before transferring to South Allegheny as a sophomore. Menifee lives with his father in the South Allegheny district.

"My parents thought I'd do better [at South Allegheny] without all my friends around. There was too much negative stuff going on at McKeesport," Menifee said. "My grades were down at McKeesport, too. I've gotten focused more on getting my work done in the classroom. I didn't take it too seriously at McKeesport. But I've gotten older and matured."

RISING STAR? Menifee might not be well known to WPIAL fans because he didn't play basketball as a sophomore, and South Allegheny did not make the WPIAL playoffs last year. "He's an unknown quantity. We were a Double-A school last year, and that was really the first year he played," Marko said. "Plus, we didn't make the playoffs. But I know some people who feel he might be the best player in the WPIAL."

Some Division I colleges are interested in Menifee, who averaged 15 points a game as a junior. He attracted attention this summer playing with the Pittsburgh Shockers AAU team. One of his teammates was Plum's Bobby Franklin, who is considered one of the WPIAL's best players.

"The school that had been showing the most interest was Robert Morris," Marko said. "But in the past month, Rutgers has been really putting a push on for him. Eastern Michigan has called, too."

SWIN'S BROTHER: Menifee's sister is rather well known. She is Swin Cash, a former McKeesport star who went to play at the University of Connecticut and the WNBA.

"We're close now, but growing up we had the typical brother-sister relationship," Menifee said with a laugh. He said he has played many pickup games over the years with Cash but has never played his sister one-on-one. "I think she's scared of me."

-- By Mike White