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

Shady Side Academy senior Karis Thomas helped the Bulldogs make history last season. The 1,000-point scorer led Shady Side Academy to the PIAA Class 3A final for the first time in school history. She announced her commitment to play at Purdue Fort Wayne Friday afternoon on X.

Thomas averaged 19.4 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a junior. The Bulldogs were the WPIAL runner-up in addition to making a trip to Hershey for the state final. Purdue Fort Wayne finished 27-9 season, losing in the Horizon League championship game.

The Mastodons picked up two wins in the WNIT before being eliminated by Cleveland State.

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

The long basketball season has ended. Due to a scheduling mishap, the PIAA was forced to extend the state tournament to make its date for the GiANT Center in Hershey. Shady Side Academy reached the state tournament for the first time by beating OLSH 43-29 at Fox Chapel.

Read my game story about it for the Trib High School Sports Network.

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

The Burrell girls basketball team did it needed to do in order to move past Highlands 55-27 Thursday night at home. The Buccaneers held Highlands without a point in the first quarter. Burrell's defense has been excellent all season.

The Buccaneers have held nine of their opponents to 30 points or less. Burrell is in fourth place in Section 1-4A.

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

By Josh Rizzo
Riley Stephans got stuck with what inflicts many of us around the holidays. An illness kept the guard for the Plums girls basketball team longing for more time in the gym.

"Over Christmas break, I was sick," Stephans said. "I was out for a week straight, so I didn't get back in the gym until I think it was (last) Thursday. This is my first game back since probably two weeks ago."

The Mustangs looked a little tired and weary at the start of their Section 1-5A girls basketball game at Penn Hills Tuesday night. But Plum found a way to battle to a 39-29 win. Stephans finished with a game-high 23 points and knocked down six 3-pointers.

Stephans believed it was a career-high for 3-pointers she made in one game. She puts a lot of effort into being able to make those types of shots.

"I stay after practice every day and shoot until I make five to seven shots out of 10 from each spot that I go to," Stephans said.

One of Stephans' most important makes came at the first-quarter buzzer. Stephans shook free and made a trey to cut their deficit to 9-7. Plum (3-7, 2-2) felt fortunate to have the game be so close after the first quarter. The Mustangs struggled to defend Penn Hills forward Cara Crawford.

​Crawford scored seven of her 12 points in the first quarter. The Indians (1-9,1-3) also missed five layups that could have extended the lead. 

"We're really struggling at rebounding and making layups," Penn Hills coach Robert Cash said. "There's a couple of games where I thought the game would have been out of reach if we made a few layups in the first quarter and we got teams to chase us. We're allowing them to stay in the game by missing layups."

During the first quarter, Plum seemed to settle too often for long jump shots. 

"We weren't patient," Mustangs coach Rich Mull said. "We were pressing a little too much. Maybe part of it was the fact we haven't played since the Saturday before last."

Plum took the lead toward the end of the first half. Stephans completed a three-point play to put the Mustangs ahead 18-15. During the second half, Stephans made three more 3-pointers in the third quarter to stretch the lead out. Tamia West helped pick up the scoring for Plum.

West was the only other Mustang to score, contributing 16 points. Penn Hills would cut the lead to six, 35-29, with around 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game. Milani Oliver, who finished with 13 points, scored five in the third quarter to help the Indians rally.

But turnovers on the next few possessions stalled the momentum Penn Hills had momentarily built.

Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or J_oshRizzo.

Mars graduate Lauren Wasylson signed a contract to play with ZKK Spartak Subotica, which is the top level of women's basketball in Serbia. Wasylson was a Class 5A all-state player during her time with the Fightin' Planets. During Wasylson's senior season, she helped the Planets beat Archbishop Wood 36-33 in the state championship game.

Wasylson started he collegiate career at Xavier and played three seasons there. She ended up transferring closer to home to play at Duquesne. During her time in college, Wasylson averaged 5.5 points per game and avereged 2.3 rebounds per contest.

Wasylson's best statistical season was her freshman year with the Musketeers. She averaged 7.2 points per game and shot 38.3 percent from the 3-point line during her freshman year.

"We are very happy for one of the hardest-working players who have come through our program," Duquesne coach Dan Burt said in a news release. "Lauren has overcome significant adversity and injury to help Duquesne be better and now, to lead Spartak Subotica."

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

The Shaler girls basketball team improved to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in Section 1-5A with a 61-40 over Plum. Jorja Bernesser led the Titans with 20 points.

The Mustangs (2-5, 1-2) are tied for fourth place with Penn Hills.