Girls’ Athletes of the Week

BASKETBALL

Terri Butler scored 35 points as City Central League champion Crawford High School defeated Hoover last Wednesday, 84-32.

But scoring isn’t all Butler does.

“She’s become a complete ballplayer,” said Crawford Coach Jeff Olivero. “She can pass, shoot and dribble. We graduated some pretty good players last year, and now it’s her turn to get the spotlight.”

After spending last year as a playmaking point guard, Butler, a 5-foot 4-inch senior, was shifted to shooting guard, and she has responded well to the change. Butler has scored nearly half of Crawford’s points this season. She’s averaging a little more than 23 points a game, while Crawford (14-8, 9-1) as a team is averaging 50 points a game.

“She had more assists last year, but this year we rely on her to shoot,” Olivero said. “She still dishes off effectively, but her role is to score.”

Butler had 29 points against San Diego on Feb. 12 as Crawford clinched the league title.

SOCCER

Christian High School won its fourth consecutive City Central League title last week with a 1-0 win over San Diego, and, although she didn’t score, Cindy Whitt contributed more to the victory than anyone.

Whitt, a two-time all-Central League and all-San Diego Section selection and two-time league player of the year, did get the assist. She took a shot from 17 yards out and hit the goal post, and teammate Esther O’Brien knocked it in. Whitt, a halfback, led Christian with six shots on goal before Coach Jan Hethcock moved her to defense for the final nine minutes.

“Basically, she’s the hub of the wheel,” said Hethcock. “She didn’t score the game-winner, but she was all over the place. I moved her back to defense because she’s an excellent stopper. She plays well from line-to-line.

“She’s a great soccer player, an excellent team player. Everything is geared around her--she’s our feeder and scorer.”

In 17 games this season, Whitt has 27 goals and 14 assists.