Richardson-Smith BIG EAST Player of the Week
12/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK - After scoring 38 points in an 82-72 victory over Illinois last Tuesday night, tying the Seton Hall University women's basketball single-game scoring record that she set just last season, junior guard Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) was named the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Player of the Week Monday it was announced by the league office.
It is the third time in her career and the first this season Richardson-Smith has been recognized as the conference Player of the Week; she is the third Pirate this season to receive the distinction with Daisha Simmons (Jersey Simmons, N.J.) and Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) doing so earlier in the year.
Richardson-Smith turned in her most impressive game of the season in eclipsing 30 points for the fourth time in her career and the second time this year. She shot 11-for-20 from the field and 6-for-12 from 3-point range, stopping one triple shy of the single-game 3-point record that she already tied once this season, hitting seven treys at West Virginia on Nov. 17.
Additionally, Richardson-Smith was 10-for-12 from the line, swiping seven steals with five rebounds and three assists. Her total steals, free throws made and free throws attempted all represented career-highs.
Illinois led late during a back-and-forth opening half in South Orange last Tuesday, with the Pirates facing a four-point deficit before Richardson-Smith sparked what turned into a decisive 14-2 run over the final 2:42 to provide the Pirates with an eight-point lead at the half. She scored 10 points during that run, and created a turnover with fewer than 60 seconds remaining in the period to get Bra'Shey Ali (Plainfield, N.J.) an easy bucket in transition.
Her 23 points in the first half tied the most for a Pirate in any half of play this season. Richardson-Smith also moved within one point of 900 for her career, and ascended to fourth place in Seton Hall history with 133-career 3-pointers.
Richardson-Smith now leads Seton Hall and ranks third in the BIG EAST in scoring at 18.3 ppg, and is also first in the league in steals (3.4 spg) and 3-point field goals (3.1) per contest.
Seton Hall sits at 9-1 overall, the winner of eight straight for the first time since the 2003-04 season, with 11-consecutive wins coming inside of Walsh Gym dating back to last season.
The Pirates return to action with a pair of home games later this week. Seton Hall hosts Fairfield on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m., and gets right back to action the following night against NJIT in Walsh at 7 p.m.
BIG EAST Player of the Week
Tabatha Richardson-Smith - Seton Hall, G
BIG EAST Rookie of the Week
Sydney Lamberty - Creighton, G
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Alexis Akin-Otiko - Creighton, F
Danaejah Grant - St. John's, G
Brittany Hrynko - DePaul, G
Taylor Holeman - Villanova, F
Loryn Goodwin - Butler, G
