ELIJAH FIELDS

SCHOOL: Duquesne.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior forward on the Dukes' WPIAL championship basketball team.

LAST WEEK: Fields scored 20 points as the Dukes beat St. Joseph, 54-52, to win the WPIAL Class A title at the Palumbo Center. He had 19 points in the semifinals against Vincentian. Duquesne is 21-7 and is in the PIAA playoffs that begin tomorrow.

POSTSEASON PUNCH: Fields led Duquesne in scoring during the regular season with a 15.7 average, but in four playoff games he averaged 19.5.

"I think he just took it upon himself to let his teammates know, 'Hey, I'm here for you,' " Duquesne coach Montel Staples said. "After watching the tape of the championship, I thought he just dominated that game and St. Joseph really had no answer for him. He dominated in a lot of different ways, too."

Fields was a starter last year, averaging 10 points a game.

"I told him in the summer that if we were going to go far, he needed to be more aggressive on the offensive end," Staple said.

JUST CALL HIM "SCOOT": Fields is known to most people at Duquesne as "Scoot." It is a nickname he has had since he was a toddler.

"My grandad gave it to me," Fields said. "I've been told I used to sit in my cradle when I was a baby and just scoot all day. I don't mind the name. I'm used to it by now."

FOOTBALL PROSPECT: Fields is a talented receiver/defensive back in football and considered a Division I college prospect. He led Duquesne in receptions as a junior with 26.

"Football is my first love," Fields said. "I didn't start playing basketball until I was in eighth grade."

Staples, also the school's athletic director, said: "He gets a lot of letters from a lot of big schools. I know they're only letters, but there's interest in him. With his size and body, I think he'll be getting some offers in the spring."

-- By Mike White

LINDSAY DAVIS

SCHOOL: Bethel Park.

WHO IS SHE? One of the top scholastic divers in Western Pennsylvania.

PAST WEEK: Davis successfully defended her WPIAL Class AAA title Saturday at Pine-Richland. She finished with 437.75 points, edging runner-up Amanda Lohman (414.75) of Upper St. Clair.

CAREER: A senior, Davis has finished in the WPIAL top seven all four years. She was second as a sophomore to Montour's Cassidy Krug, daughter of Julian and Doe Krug, Davis' coaches at the Pitt Aquatic Club.

By placing in the top six, Davis has qualified for the PIAA meet each of the past three seasons. She was seventh as a sophomore, eighth last year. Her goal is to finish in the top five at the championships March 18 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.

KEEPING COOL: Being the defending champion was a negative and a positive for Davis.

"I was feeling pressure," she said. "I knew there were higher expectations because I had won it last year.

"But this year, I was pretty confident going in. I figured as long as I'm consistent, and everyone says I'm consistent, I thought I could come out with the gold."

KEEPING STEADY: Among those who attest to that consistency is Alicia Gorman, Bethel Park's diving coach and a former University of Tennessee diver.

"Lindsay is very consistent," Gorman said. "She's mentally tough, cool in competition. She has a lot of self-motivation and is very confident, and not just in the pool."

VAULTING OVER: Like so many in her specialty, Davis has made the transition from parallel bars to the 1-meter board.

"Most good divers have a background in gymnastics," said Davis, who made the switch to diving as an eighth-grader.

FUTURE: An outstanding student with a 3.9 grade point average, Davis wants to dive in college. Ohio University, East Carolina and Villanova are her top choices.

"I want to do something in the medical field," she said. "I'm thinking the physical therapy route, or, especially with Villanova, it would be dentistry."

-- By Rick Shrum