Katie Smith to be inducted into women’s hall
Katie Smith has had a busy, historic last few weeks.
Late last month, during Ohio State’s game against Michigan State, Smith was honored at Value City Arena as part of the 1992-93 women’s basketball team, the only Final Four team in program history now celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The Logan native and coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty was announced Monday as one of the 2018 inductees into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She will be formally inducted June 9 at the Knoxville, Tennesseebased hall, which inducted its first class in 1999.
“You just think back and it’s just unbelievable. You love something and you did it as hard and probably as well as you could. You’re just out there trying to play,” Smith said Monday. “(You think) about all the people that had a part in it and shared in it with you and helped you get where you were and got joy out of it, pushed you and supported you.”
Smith scored 2,578 points in 124 games at Ohio State, which ranks third in program history.
She also holds the program record for career free throws made (708) and attempted (845). Her number (30) was retired by Ohio State in 2001.
She averaged 18 or more points in all four of her seasons at Ohio State (1993-96) before embarking on a 17-year pro career, during which she continued her winning ways. Smith won a title with the American Basketball League’s Columbus Quest, Olympic gold medals with the United States national team in 2000, 2004 and 2008 and WNBA titles with the Detroit Shock in 2006 and 2008, earning finals MVP honors in 2008.
“My dream was to be an Olympian. Other than that, I did not know that the WNBA and the ABL were going to be part of my life,” Smith said. “I literally thought, ‘Man, I want to be an Olympian and then I’ll go become a dentist.’ The creation of the ABL and the WNBA really kind of changed my trek in my life.”
Smith, 43, joined the Liberty as an assistant coach in 2014 before being named the team’s coach Oct. 16 of last year.
Joining Smith in the 2018 hall of fame class are former Colorado coach Ceal Barry, longtime coach Rose Marie Battaglia, Connecticut assistant coach Chris Dailey, longtime Tennessee assistant Mickie DeMoss and players Chamique Holdsclaw and Tina Thompson.
Smith can officially say she’s a soon-tobe hall of famer. Now comes the hard part: preparing a speech for June.
“I have to try to channel my sense of humor and have some stories in there,” she said. “I have to figure out which ones will resonate, and then obviously some thank yous to the people that made this possible.”
Women
Lou Samuelson scored 26 points, and Connecticut (25-0) used an early run to take control against visiting Louisville (25-2). Gabby Williams had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Huskies, who scored 19 straight points after spotting the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Men
Theo Pinson scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime to go with 10 rebounds, helping North Carolina (20-7, 9-5) pull away late to beat visiting Notre Dame (15-11, 5-8) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Joel Berry II added 21 points for the Tar Heels, who used a 13-0 burst in the final five minutes to finally get separation.
Teddy Allen provided a spark off the bench by scoring 16 points, and host West Virginia (19-7, 8-5) beat Texas Christian (17-9, 5-8) in the Big 12. The Mountaineers, who’ve had trouble holding leads, twice saw the Horned Frogs get within five in the second half. But TCU went without a field goal over a crucial four-minute stretch and was outscored 15-7 the final three minutes.