Brashear graduate Tamara Humphries posted recently that she plans to transfer from Pitt Johnstown. Humphries made waves during her freshman season with the Mountain Cats, compiling a 17-4 record and earning the No. 2 seed at the NCAA National Tournament qualifier at 117 pounds. Humphries ended up placing fifth during the qualifiers and helped the team finish eighth out of 18 teams.

Humphries finished 20-6 during her senior season and placed third in the PIAA at 112 pounds. She also participated in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, picking up a win at the event dubbed the "Rose Bowl of Wrestling."

​Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

PITTSBURGH - Eric James Jr. spent a year and a few games playing high school basketball for Green County in Kentucky. When James came back to Western Pennsylvania midway through this season, he wasn't worried about how Obama Academy would ease him into the lineup. James was already familiar with many players in the program.

That made the feeling out process a little easier. His path to playing for the Eagles took a few twists and turns. ​James played at North Hills for his freshman and sophomore years. He then transferred to play for Green County, which is where his dad lives, before returning.

"Some of the guys I already knew," James said. "I already played pickup basketball with them and I played AAU with some of the other guys. I was already familiar with their game. It wasn't too bad fitting in."

James, who averages around 20 points per game, played a big role in putting years of frustration behind the Eagles Sunday at Brashear High School. Obama, which lost in the City championship game last season after leading by nine points after three quarters, overcame a seven-point deficit entering the final frame to score a 64-58 overtime win.

Eagles coach Naron Jackson said he wanted to see James be more aggressive. While James finished with 19 points, he missed both of his field goal attempts in the first and only had one point. Allderdice made the situation more difficult, as the Dragons made five of their eight 3-point attempts to stretch the lead to 19-12.

"We've been working all week with getting (James) in some space with the ball," Jackson said. "(Naron Jackson II) was getting him in space with the ball early and he was being a little gun shy. We had a talk at halftime with him and Ron and told them we have to go back to what we know."

Collectively, Obama had a tough time getting started on offense. The Eagles shot 14.2 percent (1-of-7) from the 3-point line and 25 percent (2-of-8) from the free-throw line.

"Everybody on the team always makes sure everybody's up and in a good mood," James said. "We always hype each other up and make sure we're all good."

James, who was named the game's MVP, scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.  He would convert a 3-point play with 3 minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 47-46. James fouled out with 1:59 remaining in regulation.

James believed his teammates would close out the win.

"I felt like they were ready," James said. "They were ready and confident to get in the game and do what they had to do to win."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Former Allderdice girls basketball coach Janet Davis feels that the legacies of Mary Myers and Edna Campbell have been done a disservice. Davis, who led the Dragons' program for more than 30 years and won 445 games, emailed this week because she said some of the alumni wanted her to reach out and set the record straight.

Current Dragons senior guard Bailey White set the school's all-time scoring record earlier this season, breaking the mark set by Myers, and the record for points in a game, which was set by Campbell. Myers, who held the record for 46 years, went on to play for Kansas. Campbell would play collegiately for Maryland and Texas before embarking on a lengthy professional career.

Myers finished her three seasons with the Dragons with 1,707 points. White recently topped 2,000.

"Records are legitimately meant to be broken," Davis wrote. "A disservice has been done to Mary and Edna. They were both All-Americans and Division I players. Edna was USA Today's No. 3 player in the nation her senior year and went on and played in the ABL (American Basketball League) and WNBA, as well as on USA national basketball teams. Again, Mary only played at Allderdice three years, and Edna less than three years.  I might also add that there was no 3-point shot when they played. Had Mary played four years at Allderdice, she clearly would have scored well over 2,000 points!"

That's true. With another year, Myers could have made the number even bigger. But calling a record illegitimate is wrong.
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Setting records in sports can be a funny thing because athletes across different eras don't play the same game. No Major League Baseball pitcher will break Cy Young's record for career wins. Young pitched from 1890 to 1911 and won 511 games. The modern player who got closest to him was Greg Maddux, who won an impressive 355 games over 23 seasons before retiring in 2008.

Even Maddux's win total seems out of reach now. 

It's not fair to people in the past or present to use records as a barometer of comparison. Asking for proper context to be applied is appropriate, but calling the career record being broken not legitimate is silly. It isn't Myers' fault she didn't get to play in more games, nor is it White's fault she played more.

Instead, White topping the mark was the perfect opportunity to revisit what Campbell and Myers accomplished. Campbell spent seven years in the WNBA and averaged 7.1 points per game. Her best season came in 2001 with the Seattle Storm, when she averaged 13.9 points per game.

Myers helped Kansas win the Big 8 Conference Championship in 1981. She finished with 137 assists during the 1984-85 season, which is still the fifth most in a season in Jayhawks' history.

Davis, who was the Dragons' first coach, only left Allderdice because she wasn't given a choice. Davis was forced out as coach in 2008, despite saying she would coach for free. When she retired as the head of the Health and Physical Education Department at Allderdice, Pittsburgh Public Schools told TribLive in 2008 it was district policy to open up any extracurricular jobs that employee also holds when they retired. Dave Walchesky was chosen to replace Davis, who reapplied for her position. 

Davis later sued the district for discrimination, retaliation and deprivation of her Constitutional rights. More about the case can be read here.

Davis wrote she didn't feel the current coaching staff put the records in proper context. Davis, who led the program to 445 wins, pointed out that Campbell's record for points in a game occurred during a 71-60 win over Seton La Salle in the PIAA playoffs, while White's mark came in an 81-13 blowout win over Perry.

"While Allderdice girls basketball alumni applaud Bailey White’s scoring success, some of the alumni have asked me to set the records straight regarding Mary Myers’ scoring record and Edna Campbell’s 40-point game scoring record," Davis wrote. "I coached Allderdice for 35 years. Our statistician, Diane Hill, kept meticulous records over the years. I want to thank her for compiling an official program in 2006 detailing 35 years of statistics and records. 

Allderdice Assistant Coach, Mattie Collins-Wood, contacted an alumni wanting Mary Myers’ phone number anticipating Bailey breaking Mary’s record. Mattie was told, in no uncertain terms that Mary had only played three years at Allderdice whereas Bailey was in her fourth year. Had Bailey done this in three years, breaking the record would be legitimate. Mattie chose to ignore the discrepancy and proceed with 'breaking Mary’s record.'”

It is nice to know that people deeply involved with a program care about it long after they are directly involved. But people from the past don't have agency to say how things are defined. 

White's accomplishments aren't more impressive than Campbell's or Myers' numbers. They are different because the world is different.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo

Allderdice's Bailey White became the school's all-time scoring leader during an 81-13 win over Perry Friday afternoon. White scored 41 points to pass Mary Myers' on the Dragons' all-time scoring list by reaching 1,708 points. The 41 points in a game was also a Pittsburgh City League record for points in a game by a girls' player.

Allderdice has won five consecutive games and is 6-1 on the season.

​Josh Rizzo is editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be sent to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo

Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions and Xtreme Fighting Championships were expected to have a Fight Fest weekend hosted by Live! Casino in the parking lot July 11th and 12 outside of their location at Westmoreland Mall. However, those fights were canceled Wednesday morning.

Via a press release, General Manager of Live! Casino Sean Sullivan said that they made the decision to cancel the fights due to a concern over quality. Individuals who have purchased tickets will receive a prompt refund.

“We are committed to providing events that offer elevated entertainment for our guests and the community,” said Sullivan said in a written statement. “Fight Fest weekend was not in a position to accomplish that primary goal.” 
The MMA event was supposed to be held Friday, while the boxing event was set to take place on Saturday. Notably, the boxing card was to feature Tiqua Hemingway, a Pittsburgh native who was an alternate for the U.S. Olympic boxing team in 2012 and 2016.

Hemingway, who is 38-years-old and 2-0 as a pro boxer, hadn't fought since 2022 due to having to help her daughter battle through Blount's Disease. It required frequent trips to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

A text message was sent to Hemingway seeking comment. Story may be updated.
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected].

New coach, new results for the Allderdice baseball team. The Dragons beat West Allegheny 11-8 Tuesday afternoon on at ome to pick up their first section win since 2019. Allderdice was led by Lukas Stead, who was 2 of 2 with 3 RBis, while Kingston Mangkoski had two hits.  

Zack Shook had a team-high three hits. It was a nice bounce back for the Dragons, who lost the first game of their 2-0 Section 3-5A series 10-0 on Monday. Allderdice, which is now 2-1 on the season, is in a section along with Pine-Richland, West Allegheny, Shaler, Fox Chapel, Mars and New Castle.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected]

Ellen Guillard always has the desire to push the Allderdice girls basketball program forward. The Dragons took the next step in their development process when they beat Erie High School 64-48 to win the District 8/10 PIAA subregional championship. This is the first time Allderdice (20-5) has won the subregional to advance to the PIAA Tournament.

The Dragons, who have won 16 straight games and were the City League champions, will open up the state tournament against the WPIAL's third-place finisher, Canon-McMillan, on Friday.

"It meant a lot to the program," Guillard said. "It was great to witness the girls play with confidence and their handywork that they put forth all season paid off."

Bailey White led Allderdice with 23 points, while Peyton Lynch added 16. Seena Teshome also scored 10 points for Allderdice. The Dragons lost by 17 points in the subregional game last year. To try and halt Allderdice's struggles on the road, Guillard scheduled a game with Erie McDowell in early January.

The Dragons won that game in overtime. Allderdice didn't need overtime this time around. The Dragons built a 16-8 lead by the end of the first quarter against the Royals.

"We played really good defense and really played as a team on the road to secure a win," Guillard said. "Thankfully, we had the experience of playing Erie McDowell earlier this season. It prepped us for the long ride, the atmosphere and the refs."

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshrizzo.