Brionna Allen

Bishop Canevin

The past week: Allen averaged 14 points a game against top competition in the Palm Beaches Holiday Classic in Florida. Allen scored 15 in a 44-41 victory against Montverde, Fla., which was ranked No. 21 in the country. Bishop Canevin was 2-1 in the tournament.

Check this out: Allen is a 5-foot-6 senior who leads Bishop Canevin in scoring at 16 points a game and has 936 career points. The Crusaders, defending WPIAL Class 2A champions, entered the week 6-2 and ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 2A by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Boyd’s sister, Diajha, is the team’s starting point guard. Their grandfather, Frank Boyd, was a member of the Pitt basketball team from 1973-77. How good was the competition in Florida? Really good. It was tough down there because the referees’ calls were just different. Way different. How so? The play was just more aggressive. Up here, they make more calls. Down there, they let you play. They allow more contact. They allowed hand checking and over the back a lot more.

You have a new coach this year [Scott Dibble]. Were there any major adjustments

with him? It was kind of like the same. We lost two starters, so we’re just trying to get the chemistry built. The only adjustment we really have to make is play as a team the whole time.

Your old coach [Tim Joyce] was pretty successful. What was the reaction when the

school opened his job? We were fine because it was coach Dibble. We knew him. He had been helping as an assistant since our freshman year. We knew how he coached. If it would’ve been someone else, it would’ve been an adjustment.

You’re two years older than your sister. Are you tough on her? Yeah I am.

How so? Just for her to be aggressive and not shy away. Attack the hoop and score. Don’t be afraid of anything.

How’d you handle coming from Florida back to Pittsburgh? When we got here, it was freezing. It was, like, was kind of, like, ‘We don’t want to come back here.’

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Well, I’ll be 28, so I’ll be living on my own. Working as a teacher. I think I’ll be married. I want to coach, too. Maybe I’ll try start my own AAU team.

— By Mike White