THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501240114
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, COMPASS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
THERE AREN'T MANY sophomores who are selected to The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star's All-Tidewater teams. And, there aren't many athletes who have the skill to be among the elite in two sports.
But, Maury's Shwante Snead, a first-team All-Tidewater pick in soccer and basketball, has defied the odds. Now in her junior year, she's looking to do it again.
``When I first got here,'' Snead said, ``it was easy. As the years go on, it gets tougher. People know how I play but that makes me work even harder.''
Snead, a 5-foot-5 point guard, works hard enough to lead the Commodores' basketball team in virtually every category, which is nothing new.
She leads the Eastern District in scoring with 17 points per game - a tenth of a point down from last year's final average. And though she's usually the smallest girl on the court, she's grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds a game and has 7 steals per outing.
Last year, she even led the Commodores, who finished third in the league, to an upset victory over Booker T. Washington in the Eastern District tournament and a trip to the region playoffs.
``How she goes is how we go,'' Maury coach Bobby ``Sweetie'' Howlett said. ``If she has a good game, we'll usually win. But if she has a bad game, there really isn't too much we can do.
``She's done a great job for Maury and there's no getting around her. She's got some natural talent as far as athletic ability goes. She's not going to give up, either. She'll fight you to the end.''
Howlett was quick to note that the Commodores base their offense on their defense and the defense usually centers around Snead.
She's usually the one guarding the opposition's best player, while on offense she faces either a box-and-one or a tight zone, which is on a mission of keeping her out of the lane.
Her speed makes her defense intimidating. Nobody can get by her and she gets by everybody. When she blows by her man, the other teams usually switch to a tight 2-1-2 zone, which she relentlessly tears apart.
``I guess I'm known for driving to the basket,'' she said. ``I don't shoot a lot from the outside. If I see a hole, I go through it. If somebody is going to leave the lane open, I'm going to drive before I take a jumper.''
Unfortunately, that may be Snead's tragic flaw.
Though she shines brighter on the grassy soccer fields - she scored 24 of Maury's 62 goals last season - where the Commodores are a league powerhouse, she enjoys playing on the struggling basketball team more. And, if she had to choose between the two, she'd stick with her first love on the hard court.
``If I go to college and play and I have to choose between basketball and soccer, right now I'd pick basketball,'' said the 16-year-old who gets usually a letter a week from some big-time programs, including Georgetown, Old Dominion and Boston College.
But she knows that in order for a scholarship to materialize, she'll have to work on her jumper. Right now, she says she's comfortable inside the 3-point arc, but still, she continues to drive.
``I know that's one thing I'm going to have to work to change if I want to play in the higher level,'' said Snead, who has watched some towering players at Old Dominion and Norfolk State play. ``I know I'm not going to be able to drive as much.''
She can save the driving for the long haul down the soccer field. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Shwante Snead, a sophomore at Maury, takes to the air for the ball
against Robin Finnell, right, of Booker T. Washington.
by CNB