PHILADELPHIA – Mackenzie Smith lit up the stat sheet over the last week and earned Big 5 Player of the Week accolades, announced Monday afternoon.
 
Averaging 26.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, Smith posted career numbers throughout the week en route to her first Big 5 Player of the Week honor.
 
Starting off with a rout over St. Bonaventure, Smith posted 15 points and seven rebounds to set a season-best mark on the glass this year in just 22 minutes of action.
 
The sophomore from Shelburne, Nova Scotia followed up with an elite performance on the road at Richmond with a career-high 38 points on 15-25 shooting from the field, tying her career-mark with eight rebounds and adding three assists, a block and a steal. Smith scored 17 of the final 21 points for the Hawks in overtime defeat to Richmond, 12 of the 14 points scored in overtime. In the fourth quarter and overtime periods, Smith was 9-10 from the floor and shot a combined 11-13 in the second half.
 
Smith becomes just the sixth Hawk to post 35+ points in a game, the first time in almost 16 years a St. Joe's player has done so – Ayahna Cornish scoring 35 against Dayton on Feb. 17, 2007. Her 38 points ranks tied for fourth all-time with current Chief of Staff and all-time leading scorer Susan Lavin, who scored 38 against St. Bonaventure on February 24, 2002.
 
Averaging 14.2 points on the year, the former Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection has upped her production from 9.1 points a season ago. Smith is shooting 48.2% from the floor on the season and 35.3% from deep.
 
The Hawks return on the road to take on league-leading Rhode Island in the only game of the week for the Crimson and Gray. Tip in Kingston, R.I. is slated for 6 p.m. on February 1.