Dec. 7, 2009
IRVING, Texas - Texas A&M senior combination guard/forward Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) earned Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors on Monday by a media voting panel for games played between Nov. 30-Dec. 6.
It marked her first career weekly award. Smith, a preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention selection, led the seventh-ranked Aggies to a 3-0 week with victories over Stephen F. Austin, Southern Illinois and No. 19 California. She earned tournament MVP honors as A&M claimed the Colliers International Classic title with a 68-61 victory over host Cal in the championship game, the team's second win of the season over a top 25 opponent. The Aggies also improved to an undefeated 6-0 on the season tying the second-best start in school history.
For the week, Smith averaged a team-leading 21.3 points per game along with 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals. She shot 54.3 percent from the floor, 76.9 percent from the charity stripe and knocked down four three-pointers. Smith currently ranks fifth-best among Big 12 scoring leaders (18.5 ppg) and tops in steals (3.0 avg).
She recorded 16 of her career-high 30 points in the first half of play against Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 2. It marked the most points scored by an Aggie in the Morenike Atunrase versus Kansas on Jan. 15, 2006 and 29 points by Takia Starks against Texas Tech on Feb. 17, 2008. Smith became the 15th player in school history on the 28th all-time occasion to reach 30-or-more points in a ballgame. She is currently on a 14-game double-digit scoring streak.