Richardson-Smith Named to BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
11/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2013
NEW YORK - Seton Hall University women's basketball sophomore Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) was named to the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Weekly Honor Roll on Monday it was announced by the league office.
Richardson-Smith, who receives a weekly conference accolade for the first time in her career, nearly recorded a double-double with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and a career-high five assists in the Pirates' 86-61 victory over Wagner on Saturday afternoon in Walsh Gym.
In a starting effort against the Seahawks Richardson-Smith logged 34 minutes and connected on a team-high six field goals, including a 3-pointer, making it four-straight games she has hit at least one shot from the outside.
After coming away with a steal early in the win over Wagner Richardson-Smith sprinted down for an easy bucket to start what turned into a 21-1 first half run for Seton Hall. She also played a key role in a stretch of 10 unanswered points for the Pirates during the opening moments of the second half, following a Tara Inman (Holmdel, N.J.) 3-pointer with a trey of her own to push the SHU lead to 17 points, before taking a pass from junior point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) for a layup on the next Pirate possession to extend the run.
Richardson-Smith has emerged as Seton Hall's offensive leader through the first three weeks of the season, pouring in a team-high 21.0 ppg to go along with 7.6 rpg, which ranks second on the team. She is shooting 51.9 percent (41-for-79) from the field and has nailed a team-high 12 3-pointers.
Following a nine point, eight rebound performance in the opener against Longwood Richardson-Smith erupted for a career-high 30 points on 13-for-20 shooting in a win over Rider. That sparked what turned into three-straight games of at least 24 points for the second-year wing as she finished with 27 against Weber State and 24 at No. 21/17 South Carolina.
Richardson-Smith has scored in double figures in four-straight games for the Pirates and has led the team in scoring three times already this year. She appeared in all 31 games as a freshman but averaged just 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Seton Hall is off to a 4-1 start and has been a perfect 4-0 on its home floor. The Pirates continue a four-game home stand this Friday-Saturday, Nov. 29-30, when they host the Seton Hall Thanksgiving Classic. SHU faces Savannah State in the first round on Friday afternoon at 4:30, which will be preceded by the other semifinal matchup of Liberty and Fresno State.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Tori Rule, G - Providence College
BIG EAST Rookie of the Week
Natalie Butler, C - Georgetown University
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Jasmine Penny, F - DePaul University
Katie Young, F - Marquette University
Aliyyah Handford, G - St. John's University
Tabatha Richardson-Smith, G/F - Seton Hall University
Devon Kane, G - Villanova University
