WBB: Seton Hall Guard Tabatha Richardson-Smith named BIG EAST Player of the Week

Tabatha Richardson-Smith (1) drives toward the basket. (Photo by John Jones – Double G Media)

Senior guard Tabatha Richardson-Smith led the Pirates with 21.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in a 3-0 week. It is the senior guard’s first Player of the Week nod this season and the sixth of her career.

After leading all players with 16 points in a 64-54 victory at Providence on Dec. 29, Richardson-Smith exploded for a season-high 27 on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range in an 86-82 victory at Creighton on Dec. 31. She followed that up with a 20-point, eight-rebound performance in a 99-68 rout of Marquette, not recording a turnover in 23 minutes of action. Richardson-Smith also added six steals and two blocks as The Hall got off to its first 3-0 start in BIG EAST play in program history.

Richardson-Smith currently ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 16.9 points per game. The explosive guard also currently stands in eighth in rebounding with 6.6 rebounds a game.

Currently climbing the all-time Seton Hall rankings as well, Richardson-Smith moved into a tie for fifth in program history with 1,558 career points on Sunday vs. Marquette. She ranks sixth all-time with 197 career steals and is the program’s all-time record holder with 232 made 3-pointers.

The No. 23 Pirates are off to a 13-1 start, their best mark through 14 games in program history. The Hall is also 3-0 in BIG EAST play for the first time. Seton Hall returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 5 to host No. 24 DePaul in a nationally-televised showdown at Walsh Gym. The rematch of the 2015 BIG EAST title game is set for a 7 p.m. tip.