NICK SEFSCIK

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Shaler's Nick Sefscik has been outstanding lately, averaging 30.8 points the past four games. Click photo for larger image.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-3, 196-pound senior and sharpshooting guard for the Titans, one of the top teams in WPIAL Class AAAA basketball.

THE PAST WEEK: Sefscik had 38 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a 92-70 victory Monday against Penn Hills. He had 26 points, including five 3-pointers, in an 85-58 victory Friday against Fox Chapel that clinched Shaler's second consecutive WPIAL Class AAAA Section 3 championship.

FEELING IT: Sefscik is averaging a team-high 19.3 points but has had a hot hand lately. In the two games before the Penn Hills and Fox Chapel contests, he had 27 points against Pine-Richland and 32 against Chartiers Valley. In the past four games, he averaged 30.8 points and is one of the main reasons Shaler is 20-3 and the Post-Gazette's No. 3-ranked Class AAAA team.

CAREER: Sefscik has been on Shaler's varsity since his freshman year and has been a starter since his sophomore year. He has more than 1,300 career points.

SHOT DOCTOR: Although Sefscik is a good, all-around player, his forte is shooting. But his shot was a work in progress a few years ago.

"My ninth-grade year, my shot was just weird," he said. "That summer, I came into the gym almost every single day and just worked on my shot with one of our former assistants, Brian Gaetano. He basically was my shooting instructor and changed my whole shot. He helped me fix it. I give him all the credit in the world."

ONE-TWO PUNCH: Sefscik and 6-5¹*₂ senior forward Stu Anglum are a formidable tandem. Anglum also has been a starter since his sophomore year and averages 17.2 points a game. The two are close friends and have known each other a long time.

"We went to kindergarten together," Sefscik said. "We've always been sort of best friends."

But the friendship was probably tested last night by a televised college game.

"He's a big Duke fan. North Carolina is my team," Sefscik said with a laugh.

THE FUTURE: Sefscik is being recruited by some top Division II schools, including Southern New Hampshire University, which has participated in the NCAA Division II tournament 14 times since 1980. Southern New Hampshire made the Final Four in 1993 and '94. Mercyhurst, Wheeling Jesuit and Davis & Elkins also are recruiting Sefscik.

-- By Mike White

CHRISTINA PAOLINO

SCHOOL: Gateway.

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-9 guard/forward and leading scorer for the girls' basketball team. The Gators (20-3, 13-1) head into the WPIAL playoffs as a Section 2-AAAA co-champion.

PAST WEEK: Paolino scored 15 points Friday in a 57-46 victory at Franklin Regional and 11 Monday in a 53-36 loss to Bethel Park.

Ten days ago, Paolino played an integral role in what might have been the high watermark of the Gateway program. She had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists as the Gators defeated Oakland Catholic, 56-49, ending the Eagles' 77-game section winning streak.

That was payback, as Gateway had lost at Oakland Catholic by 26 Jan. 6. "I don't think we were as well-prepared the first time we played," Paolino said. "The second time, we had the fire. Everyone contributed. We knew we could beat Oakland, and we finally did."

SEASON: A senior, Paolino is averaging about 13 points per game. She has started for four seasons and has about 1,200 career points, reaching 1,000 Dec. 27 in a home triumph against Penn-Trafford.

She shares captain duties with Jillian Kalkstein and Keysha Johnson.

BETTER ALL-AROUND: Though she can play close to the basket, Paolino is primarily a shooting guard. She takes that job description literally.

"Christina is a great shooter," Gateway coach Jennifer Bruce Scott said. "She has one of the nicest pull-up jumpers around."

Making jumpers isn't her only forte, though. "She can score, obviously," Scott said. "But she can pass the ball too. For two years, we had players feeding her the ball. Now she has some players she can feed it to. We have four players scoring in double figures."

FUTURE: Paolino, a Monroeville resident, wants to play college basketball. She said some lower Division I programs and a number from Division II and III schools have shown interest.

She plans to major in "something business-related. I hope to have my own business someday," said Paolino, who has a 3.4 grade point average.

-- By Rick Shrum