THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 28, 1997 TAG: 9701280442
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Athletes of the Week
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 40 lines
Booker T. Washington girls basketball coach Cal Davidson didn't panic when star playmaker Raquita Washington shockingly drew her fourth foul in a little over eight minutes Friday night.
More importantly, neither did sophomore LaVonne Cuffee, even when Davidson explained a myriad of tasks to the 5-foot-2 point guard:
``If they're in a zone, back out and don't play. If they go man-to-man, run four corners. If it's a zone trap, go with our zone-trap offense.
``Find the open people, but don't give to 'em in a spot where they can't do anything with it. Don't get caught underneath when we shoot, 'cause you've got to be the first one back on defense.
``Oh, and don't forget, you're guarding Churchland's best scorer.''
``Nervous? Oh, no,'' Cuffee said. ``I was looking forward to it.''
Of course, these are fairly standard duties for most point guards. But playing that position on a team with the multi-talented Washington is kind of like being the general manager of Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys - you get the title, but almost none of the responsibilities that go with it.
With the foul-plagued Washington relegated to the pine, however, Davidson had to call for the understudy. The confident Cuffee responded as though she were born to play the role.
Although she finished with just four points, Cuffee adroitly ran the Bookers' four-corners offense and snapped off passes out of double teams to cutting teammates for easy scores. She also held the Truckers' Kim Elliott to seven points, nearly 12 under her average, as the Bookers, who led by six when Cuffee took over, won by 24.
``There was no need to worry about not having Raquita,'' Cuffee said. ``We all know what's expected of us. All we had to do was go out and do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo