DENVER ? Hawai?i senior Tanya Smith has been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for her play during the week of Jan. 21-27.
Smith, from Sydney, Australia (Jannali), led Hawai?i to a 1-1 record on the road last week, helping the team cut a 16-point halftime deficit into a four point loss to Boise State before picking up a 68-53 win over Idaho.
The senior center pulled down a career-high 25 rebounds in the win over Idaho, tying the WAC’s single-game rebound record set by Cheryl Ford (Louisiana Tech) during the 2003 conference tournament. Smith’s 25 rebounds sets a new WAC record for the most rebounds ever recorded in a single regular season conference game, surpassing Ford’s mark of 23 set against SMU during the 2002-03 season. Nationally, the 25 rebounds ties Smith with Syracuse’s Fantasia Goodwin for the most rebounds recorded in a single game this season. She also added 14 points in the win against the Vandals.
Smith notched a career-high 25 points against Boise State, connecting on 12-of-17 (.706) shots from the floor. She also pulled down 17 rebounds with four blocks and a steal in the game.
On the week, Smith averaged 19.5 points, 21.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.5 steals, and 2.0 assists per game. She registered a 51.4 percent clip (18-of-35) from the field.
Smith currently leads the WAC in rebounding at 12.3 boards per game. She currently ranks second in the nation in rebounding.
Other nominees included: Boise State junior guard Tasha Harris scored 24 points in a win over Hawai?i on the road ... Fresno State senior guard Tierre Wilson averaged 18.0 points in a pair of wins last week ... Louisiana Tech senior forward JoKeirra Sneed averaged 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in leading the Lady Techsters to a 1-1 record ... Nevada senior guard Mikail Price averaged a team-leading 16.0 points per game as the Pack picked up two WAC wins ... New Mexico State senior forward Sherrel Neal averaged 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Aggies, who went 1-1 on the road ... San Jose State junior guard Natalie White averaged 20.7 points in three games, including a win over Idaho.