| Tanisha Smith |
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"Tanisha is going to be an impact player for us. When you lose Morenike Atunrase, how can you replace her? I believe Tanisha can replace the scoring that Morenike gave us. She is long, has a beautiful jump shot, finishes well and can shoot it deep. Coach Harris did a good job of recruiting her. She is another McDonald's High School All-American who played at the University of Arkansas her first year, needed a change of scenery and went on to star at UA-Fort Smith. She was one of the top junior college players in the country last year and took her team all the way to the NJCAA Final Four. Texas A&M was where she wanted to go, because our style of basketball fit her style of play." - Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
JUNIOR COLLEGE CAREER
Spent one season at the University of Arkansas prior to transferring to UA-Fort Smith...Named an NJCAA All-American...Led the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith to a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship in 2008...Averaged 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while also leading the Lady Lions with 104 steals and 71 three-pointers in 36 games played...Finished the year ranked 16th nationally in scoring, 24th in three-point field goal percentage (40.1) and among the top 25 in steals per game (2.9)...First team all-conference and first team all-region selection...Honored as Region II regular-season MVP and Region II Tournament MVP...Selected to the NJCAA All-Tournament Team.
HIGH SCHOOL CAREER
Starred at Lincoln College Prep Academy under former coach Jeff Atkins...Averaged 28 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three steals as a senior and led the Tigers to an undefeated conference season and into the Missouri Class AAAA State Tournament in 2006...Named MVP of the Missouri All-Star Game and closed out her career in Lincoln Prep's all-time 1,000 Point Club...A McDonald's High School All-American nominee and WBCA All-American... Scored a career-high 50 points in one pre-conference game for Lincoln Prep which was half of the team's 98 total points...Four-time all-conference, two-time all-state and three-time first-team all-district standout...Also led Lincoln Prep to the Missouri state title game with a 26-4 record as a junior...Played AAU basketball with the Kansas City Keys under coach Harrell Johnson...Team reached the AAU Final Four in the summer of 2005 and finished third nationally...Named to the AAU All-Tournament Team...Averaged 18.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in AAU play, including a 31-point outburst against the Cincinnati Nets...Earned AAU All-America honors...Was one of 20 players nationally who received honorable mention recognition for the WBCA High School All-America Game in 2006...Honored as Player of the Year in 2006...Two-time St. John's All-Star Game MVP...New Mexion Tournament MVP...Region II MVP...Bi-State Conference MVP...Named Student-Athlete of the Year at Lincoln Prep...Honor roll student...Missouri Academic Student-Athlete of the Year in 2006.
PERSONAL
Tanisha Lashon Smith...Born on May 11, 1988 in Kansas City, Mo...Daughter of Andrea Kelley...Has five siblings, Antjuane (26), Andre (25), SaRon (24), DeVon (23) and Brian (22)...Leadership major at Texas A&M...Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee...Chose A&M over Cincinnati, Georgia and Kentucky.
