Sa’Myah Smith giving LSU women best basketball of her career | LSU

SPOKANE, Wash. – A year ago, Sa’Myah Smith couldn’t leave the bench. A bulky brace stabilized her surgically repaired knee. The ligaments she tore on an early-season drive to the rim were still healing, far too tender to withstand the rigors of the NCAA Tournament.

Now Smith can’t leave the floor.

The 6-foot-2 forward’s contributions are simply too valuable to the LSU women’s basketball team, which pulled out a nail-biting win over No. 2 seed North Carolina State on Friday to bring itself back on the doorstep of the Final Four.

“When you have games like this,” Smith said on Friday, “it makes it all worth it.”

Before this NCAA Tournament began, Smith had tallied at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in just one of her 76 career games.

The redshirt sophomore has now hit both of those marks in consecutive contests, first with a 20-point, 12-board, 6-asisst outing in the No. 3 seeded Tigers’ second-round win over No. 6 seed Florida State and then with 21-point, 11-rebound performance in their Sweet 16 victory over the Wolfpack.

On Friday, Smith played all 40 minutes for the first time in her career.

Which means that LSU wouldn’t have earned a third straight trip to the Elite Eight without her.

Smith and Mikaylah Williams scored the Tigers’ last 16 points of the game.

On one of those late fourth-quarter possessions, Williams drove baseline and drew a help defender as Smith took one step to her right, opening a window for a bounce-pass that set her up to finish her eighth field goal in 13 attempts — a short jumper that she floated up and through the rim.

That bucket cut a three-point Wolfpack lead to just one with 1:48 to play and kickstarted the 10-0 run that LSU built to ice the game. Smith scored six of those points.

“I would say Sa’Myah is playing very confident,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “Sa’Myah is quietly just doing her job and somewhat doing everybody else’s job too.”

Smith grabbed four of the 18 offensive rebounds that LSU corralled in the win over NC State. She also stole away two Wolfpack possessions and blocked two shots.

“When we got beat tonight on dribble penetration,” Mulkey said, “and they would come off that screen at the top, she altered shots, she blocked shots, she got rebounds. She’s just becoming more comfortable.”

In Southeastern Conference play this season, Smith averaged only 4.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting a modest 46% from the field. She scored in double figures just twice. Grabbed at least 10 rebounds only once.

Now Smith is scoring 17.0 points, pulling down 10.3 rebounds and converting 70% of her shots through three NCAA Tournament games.

Her emergence couldn’t have come at a better time for LSU, which will meet first-team All-American center Lauren Betts and her No. 1 overall seed UCLA team in the Elite Eight at 2 p.m. Sunday (ABC). On Friday, the Bruins defeated No. 5 seed Ole Miss 76-62 behind Betts’ 31 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Smith will draw the assignment of defending Betts.

And now, it looks like she’s not only up to the task, but also grateful for the responsibility, especially because she’s now well over a year removed from the season-ending knee injury that took away her entire sophomore year.

“I’m 100% glad I stuck with it,” Smith said, “and battled what I battled, mentally and physically. I don’t say it a lot, but I’m kind of proud of myself. It’s starting to pay off, and I’m happy about that.”