Mizzou Women’s Basketball’s Smith Selected to Naismith Trophy Watch List
11/6/2019 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Smith scored 27 points with a career-high 15 rebounds Tuesday vs. Western Illinois
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball senior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) is one of 50 players on the Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List, announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Wednesday. The award is given nationally to the Women's Player of the Year.
The watch list will be narrowed to 30 players for a midseason team in early February, and then to 10 national semifinalists on March 3, 2020. Finally, four finalists will be named on March 20, 2020, with the winner being announced on April 4, 2020.
Smith's 27 points led Mizzou to a 97-89 overtime win over Western Illinois to open the 2019-20 campaign Tuesday. She was one-point shy of her career-high with her seventh career 20-point game, and set new career-highs in rebounds (15), field goals (11) and steals (three).
Smith's 27-point, 15-rebound performance was her 11th career double-double, and the ninth since the beginning of last season. Smith's production is just the 18th occurrence of 27+ points and 15+ rebounds in program history, and the first since Jordan Frericks' 27-point, 17-rebound performance vs. Bradley on Dec. 6, 2014.
Smith, who was a Preseason All-SEC First Team selection by the team's coaches, has improved in each season at Mizzou, as she averaged 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while recording 28 blocks and 31 steals in 2018-19, all career-highs. Smith posted eight double-doubles on the season, as she became the fourth Mizzou player since 2010 (fifth occurrence) to record at eight or more double-doubles in a season. Mizzou is an impressive 31-9 in Smith's career when she scores in double figures.
Smith was a 2018-19 All-SEC Preseason Second Team selection by the league's coaches, and was named the 2016-17 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year.
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team @MizzouWBB (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
