Women’s basketball has really grown over the last 40 years. You have youngsters playing the game in elementary schools now. You have a lot more AAU teams, recreation programs and women’s basketball leagues. You have women receiving college basketball scholarships.

The NCAA tournament is on national television. ESPN televises the Final Four. You have the women’s basketball teams in the Olympics. You have the WNBA during the summer months. More women can play professional basketball in Europe in the winter.

Dawn Staley was an All-American at Dobbins Tech and the University of Virginia during her scholastic and college careers, which started in the late 1980s and concluded in the early 1990s. Staley won three gold medals with the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team. She was a five-time all-star in the WNBA from 1999-2006.

She also was the head women’s basketball coach at Temple from 2000 to 2008 before moving on to the University of South Carolina, where she is in her fourth season as the Gamecocks head coach.

Although Staley has achieved great success, there were a number of players who helped to pave the way for her as well as for other African-American women’s basketball players from Philadelphia. The Philo Lakers, the first AAU travel team in Philadelphia, had a big impact on women’s basketball in the city. The original members of the Philo Lakers include: Barbara Howard (Simon Gratz, 1974), Darlene “Frog” Bailey (William Penn, 1974), Dolores “Numdie” Richardson (William Penn, 1974), Yvonne Williamson and Yvette Williamson (William Penn, 1974, twin sisters), Louellen “El” Butler (William Penn, 1975), Leslie Wilson (William Penn, 1977), Audrey Pugh (Overbrook, 1975) and Lena Dabney (William Penn, 1977), Jeannie Harris and Janie Harris (William Penn, twin sisters), Maryland Woodland (William Penn, 1975), Darlene Cinaca “Reds” Johnson (Simon Gratz) and Linda Allen (Simon Gratz, 1974).

Auther “Pete” Bridges coached the Philo Lakers. Bridges had some of the best players in Philly. During those years, they traveled throughout the city playing at different recreation centers against some outstanding players. William Penn High was a powerhouse during those years. Alison Eachus was head basketball coach for many years at William Penn. In 1974, William Penn won the Public League championship. In 1975, the Lions lost to Germantown for the league title.

“The Public League didn’t have as many teams as they do today,” Eachus said. “There are a lot more teams now. But we had some really good players.”

In 1979, Sonny Hill had a women’s basketball league. The Camille Cosby–Gladys Rodgers Female League featured some great players like Debbie Lytle (Simon Gratz), Lorraine McGirt (St. Maria Goretti), Yolanda Laney (University City), Marilyn Stephens (Simon Gratz), Linda Page (Dobbins), Jadeane Daye (West Philadelphia) and others. Valerie Phillips remembers her playing days at William Penn and on the summer basketball circuit.

“I played a lot of basketball growing up,” said Phillips, who played her college basketball at Virginia State. “I played for Mike Flynn who coached the Philadelphia Belles (AAU team). We had a lot of girls from the Public League that played at that time.

“We played in the Camille Cosby Gladys Rodgers League, too. We had a lot of good players. It was very competitive. We all wanted to win, but we were friends. In fact, we’re still friends. It’s always good to see Marilyn Stephens, Yolanda Laney, Debbie Lytle, Audrey Lee (Bowles) and all the girls who played during those years.”

There were several outstanding players from South Philadelphia. McGirt was a tremendous player for St. Maria Goretti. She had a marvelous career at Penn State. She played for the Nittany Lions from 1982-86.

“It was a lot of fun playing in high school,” said McGirt, who runs a youth program at Marian Anderson Recreation Center. “We had so many good players from South Philly like Sandy Williams, Clara Smith (Southern) and Chanae Riddick (Franklin Learning Center). The Catholic League had some good players. The games were exciting. You could see the women’s game was really picking up during that time.

Sandy Williams played her college basketball at Villanova. Williams, a Southern High product, was one of the early stars from the Public League to play for the Wildcats. Carolyn Blaylock was a major star at Southern. Blaylock led the 1976 Lady Rams to the Public league championship. Blaylock played with Sandra Butts and Sonia Cooper.

“I saw Carolyn Blaylock play in high school,” Stephens said. “She was a great player. She’s one of the reasons why I started playing basketball. I was so impressed with and everybody in that game.

“There were so many great players during those years. I mean, you had a lot of players like Yolanda Laney, Dawn Hoover and Debbie Thomas at University City. West Philly had Jadeane Daye, Linda Hester and Audrey Lee (Bowles). Vincene Morris played for Strawberry Mansion. Linda Macallily played at Olney. She was really good. Val and Jessie Phillips played at William Penn. Lisa De Shields and Debbie Lytle played for Simon Gratz. Linda Page was a tremendous player at Dobbins.”

The majority of these women played college basketball. Morris was a standout at Philadelphia Textile (now Philadelphia University). Daye was a splendid ballhandling guard at Syracuse. Hester played for La Salle. She is a member of the La Salle’s Hall of Fame and the Big 5 Hall of Fame. Lee (Bowles) played for Temple. She was a great shotblocker and scorer around the basket.

In 1981, the Public League championship game between West Philadelphia High and Dobbins had Daye, Hester, Lee (Bowles) and Page in the same game. Actually, that was a big year for high school basketball. Page, who passed away in October 2011, played in that game.

Dobbins lost to West Philadelphia for the league championship. But that year Page, former Dobbins star, gained national attention for scoring 100 points in a Public League game. That contest, a 131-37 win over Mastbaum, broke Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring mark of 90 points, set when he played at Overbrook High School in 1955. Page was also a big time player at North Carolina State.

“It was exciting playing during that time,” Hester said. “We had a lot of girls who did very well. There was plenty of talent everywhere. I played on a great high school team. I was able to go on and play college basketball. It was a good experience for me.”

Dawn Hoover was a standout at University City High School. Hoover played her college basketball at Temple. She credits the coaching for the success of a lot of girls who played in the Public League.

“We had some good coaches in the Public League,” said Hoover, who is a recreation leader at Sheppard Recreation Center. “You had Ms. (Lurline) Jones (University City), Ms. (Ina) Newman (Simon Gratz) and Ms. (Alison) Eachus. They did a good job of working with the players. We had a lot of support, too. They took a big interest in us. We had a lot of success.”

Jones was the head coach at University City High School for 28 years. She posted an amazing 554-167 record. She won 12 Public League championships. She and Newman formed the Developmental Basketball league, which developed a lot of talented high school players.

“The girls who paved the way for the girls today were really hungry,” Jones said. “They worked extremely hard. They had a real passion for the game. We had a lot of kids who played in the DBL program. The big thing is that a lot of the girls used basketball to go to college and receive a good education.”

Laney and Stephens are good examples of what Jones is talking about. Stephens, an All Public League standout at Simon Gratz, played her college basketball at Temple. She is the Owls’ all-time leading scorer 2,196 and rebounder 1,519. In 1983 and 1984, Stephens was the Atlantic 10 and Big 5 Player of the Year. Today, Stephens is the head women’s basketball coach at Cheyney University.

Laney was an All Public League star at University City. She won three Public League championships. In 1977 and 1978, she was named Player of the Year. She played her college basketball at Cheyney State. She led the Lady Wolves to the first ever NCAA championship in 1982 where they fell to Louisiana Tech in the championship game. Laney and Stephens were also members of the Kodak All-American team.

Laney, a Temple Law School graduate, is now an assistant city solicitor in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Her daughter, Betnijah Laney, played for Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer at Rutgers. Stringer coached Yolanda at Cheyney State.

“When it comes to basketball, I had a real good experience,” Laney said. “I played at the Wissahickon Boys and Girls Club. I played AAU basketball. I played DBL basketball with Ms. Jones. We had some great high school basketball in the Public League. I also played for the 20th Century team at Turner Middle School. I played against the older players. That really helped me when I went to Cheyney. That was a great experience for me. The other thing was making the All-American team with Marilyn. That was a big accomplishment. It’s something you can always look back on.”

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .