After scoring 47 points in a lopsided Public League quarterfinal on Thursday, Audenried senior Shayla Smith is now the city’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ high school basketball history.
Her 2,502 career points eclipsed previous record-holder Shawnetta Stewart (2,501), the University City and Rutgers standout who held the record since 1996. Maureece Rice, who went on to play at George Washington and in the NBA G-League and overseas, still holds the overall scoring record with 2,681 career points for Strawberry Mansion.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Smith, a Penn State commit, said after the 82-23 win over visiting Engineering and Science. “My name is going to be in conversations with Dawn Staley, Linda Page, and Shawnetta Stewart. Definitely an honor to be mentioned with those people. That’s great. That’s greatness.”
Thursday’s contest was never in doubt. Smith scored 28 points by intermission, at which point the two-time defending Pub champion Rockets led, 46-8.
The basket that cinched the scoring crown was a short jumper from the left block right across from Audenried’s bench with 3 minutes, 44 seconds remaining.
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Senior forward Leeasia Chance got the assist after driving to the basket, drawing defenders, and finding to Smith, who was mobbed by teammates immediately after the bucket.
She also received a bear-hug from her coach, Kevin Slaughter.
“It’s like her whole career flashed in front of me when the ball went in,” Slaughter said. “I remember when I first got her, nobody believed me when I told them how good she was because she wasn’t known. So everybody was like, ‘Oh man, you just think so much of this kid. She’s unproven.’ So for her to break a record that stood since 1996, that’s almost 30 years. It’s unbelievable.”