Stacey Smalls, a 1999 Cheltenham High School graduate, and Laura Harper, a 2004 Cheltenham High School graduate, were inducted into the Philadelphia Black Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 27 at The Emerald Room in Northeast Philadelphia.

Harper, the current head women’s basketball coach at Towson University, is the all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, in Cheltenham High School history with 2,009 points and was All-Area, All-State, and an All-American selection during her time in Wyncote.

According to local historian Chuck Langerman, Harper was one of the most highly recruited athletes in Cheltenham High history. She matriculated at the University of Maryland where she led the Terrapins to the 2006 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball championship with a 78-75 overtime victory over Duke.

Smalls, who will be inducted into the Cheltenham High Hall of Fame on November 7, is the only former Cheltenham High basketball player, male or female, in the Big 5 Basketball Hall of Fame. She was named The Philadelphia Inquirer Player of the Year for Montgomery and Bucks Counties in 1999 and scored 29 points in a 62-54 state semi-final victory over Council Rock to put the Lady Panthers in the state final title game for the first time in school history.

Smalls went on to play basketball at Temple University.

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