Slow starts don’t worry Betsi McGraw as long as her usual fast finishes follow. The Cathedral senior paced the Lady Wave with 32 points last Saturday to help Cathedral win its first Catholic Tournament.

McGraw and teammate Vee Brice were named to the all tournament team for their efforts.

McGraw credits her father, Yates McGraw, for getting her interested in basketball. &uot;He would always buy me basketballs and goals,&uot; she said. &uot;He took time to work with me and sent me to basketball camps too.&uot;

Cathedral coach Craig Beesley is impressed with McGraw’s improvement over the years. The 18-year-old has been playing since she was a freshman.&160;She has lettered every year as a basketball player.

&uot;She has always had a tremendous outside shot with great rotation on the ball,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Most of our plays are designed to go through Betsi. It is hard to score when she is not in the game.&uot;

Beesley thinks McGraw’s rebounding has improved too.

&uot;She used to be timid about mixing it up under the basket but she will get in there and grab the ball this year,&uot; he said.

McGraw has enjoyed her final year with the Lady Wave. &uot;This year is the best group to play with,&uot; she said. &uot;We are truly a team. There aren’t any egos to worry about here.&uot;

Aside from basketball, McGraw also served as pitcher for the Cathedral softball team and serves as cheerleader for the football and boys basketball teams.

The only area McGraw and Beesley continue to work is her pregame jitters. McGraw usually struggles in the first half only to catch fire in the second half.

During her 32-point game at the Catholic finals, McGraw only had one field goal in the first half.

In the second half, McGraw was 8-9 in field goals and hit 13 of 17 free throws.

McGraw looks for one thing to calm her down. &uot;It helps to have my dad in the stands yelling for me,&uot; she said.