Edna Campbell

Edna Campbell (born November 26, 1968) is a former women's basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The 5 ft 8 in guard played with the Sacramento Monarchs as well as three other teams, but is well known for continuing to play despite suffering breast cancer. In 2004, she was designated a Women's History Month honoree by the National Women's History Project. Campbell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

College years Campbell's college career began at the University of Maryland, College Park, but achieved her most notable success at the University of Texas' women's team, known as the Lady Longhorns, where she was named the Southwest Conference's Newcomer of the Year in 1990. She graduated in 1991 after the Lady Longhorns compiled a 48-14 won/loss record while she was there.

USA Basketball Campbell was named to the team representing the US at the 1987 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The team won all seven games to win the gold medal for the event. The USA was down at halftime in the opening game against Japan, but came back in the second half to win, helped by 15 points from Campbell. She averaged 9.7 points per game over the seven games, and was named to the all-tournament team. She became the new franchise's go-to option, but the team finished their inaugural season with a 6–26 record.

The next year, the Storm drafted its first superstar, Lauren Jackson, and Campbell was traded to the Sacramento Monarchs for Katy Steding and a draft pick. Campbell signed a free agent contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005. She played with the Silver Stars for that one season, before announcing her retirement from the WNBA on February 28, 2006.

During the 2006 WNBA season, which honored nine years of the league's existence, Campbell's return from breast cancer was nominated by fans as Most Inspirational and one of the top four WNBA Anniversary decade moments.

Career statistics

WNBA Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life During the second of her four seasons in Sacramento, Campbell was diagnosed with breast cancer. She received treatment and was welcomed back before the fans of her two most recent teams in the Monarchs' final game against Seattle during the 2002 season.

Campbell continued to play despite her diagnosis, and has become a symbol to survivors of the disease. She became the WNBA's national spokesperson for its anti-cancer efforts with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She received the league's Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2003.

Shortly after retiring from basketball, Edna was hired as a television commentator for the San Antonio Silver Stars games during the 2006 WNBA season. Edna then became a nurse in 2008, and also coached high school girls. In 2017, Edna was inducted into The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame.