Kyana Smith shining for Averett in her senior season

As a sophomore and junior, Kyana Smith took each and every opportunity she was given on the court at Averett to make an impression and stand out.

Entering her senior year, Smith had earned a starting role at center and was prepared to have a breakout season following two seasons of coming off the bench.

The former Tunstall standout has not disappointed and has certainly exceeded any and all expectations first-year coach Liz Hickey had for the 6-foot forward.

Smith scored the go-ahead basket with 1:47 remaining in the contest and recorded her eighth double-double in 10 games as Averett came from behind for a 50-45 victory over Methodist on Wednesday at the Grant Center.

“In the past, I learned just to continue to work hard and not get discouraged by not playing a lot. I knew that when my time came, I would be ready,” Smith said. “When I did get the shot, I was able to perform like I am now.”

Smith entered Wednesday’s contest ninth in Division III in rebounding (12.9) and totaled 17 rebounds for the fourth time this season to go with her 12 points against the Monarchs. The 6-foot forward also entered the game tied for fifth in the nation in double-doubles (seven).

Not only is Smith putting up some eye-popping numbers, she’s also been remarkably consistent. She has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in nine of Averett’s 10 contests and she’s scored eight or more points in every game this season.

“We do ask Kyana to be consistent and we ask her to be a leader on the team very much by example,” Hickey said. “Along those lines, we hold her to a higher level and she doesn’t complain, which is a huge thing as a coach to have a player who doesn’t complain and just says this is what the team needs and she goes out and does it every day.”

The second half against Methodist mirrored her first two seasons on the court for the Cougars (7-3, 3-0 USA South). After picking up her fourth foul with 16:38 remaining, Smith spent long stretches on the bench, giving her the opportunity to help Averett win the game late.

Smith scored all six of her second-half points after picking up her fourth foul and she corralled seven rebounds in the time span.

“I’m starting to learn that a lot more as a player that its coming down to crunch time and we’re going into Saturday’s game 3-0 and I feel like we have a very good chance to stay undefeated and finish at the top of the conference,” Smith said. “But it’s going to come with making each moment that I’m on the court and everybody’s on the court to perform at the highest level possible.”

Despite Smith only being on the floor 10 minutes of the second half, the Cougars closed the contest on a 27-12 run over the final 14:27. The Cougars were able to hold Methodist (4-6, 1-2) to 22.2 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes.

“Coming from a high school team where we really didn’t have a lot of success as a team, more individually, and some of the other players too are realizing that if we come together as a team, we have a chance as a team to be successful and make a run at a conference championship — something that’s never been done in Averett history and even in our personal lives,” Smith said. “I think that’s what drives us and in games like tonight … you can’t wait because the longer you wait, it’s going to be over.”

Averett senior guard/forward Liz Martin helped pick up the slack while Smith was on the bench, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Mette Scheiman finished with eight points.

“We talked about the fact that we need other people to step up and we can’t just rely on one player to rebound,” Hickey said. “As a team, maybe we didn’t shoot the best tonight but they came together and played a helluva game on defense.”

Averett 50, Methodist 45

METHODIST (4-6, 1-2)

Huneycutt 1-7 1-3 4, Hayes 1-8 0-0 2, Taylor 4-8 4-6 112, Lyles 4-10 3-4 11, Schrader 3-12 1-2 7, Woods 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 1-1 0-1 2, Tyson 1-4 1-2 3, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Christensen 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 17-55 10-19 45.

AVERETT (7-3, 3-0)

Burns 0-2 0-0 0, Slade 2-5 1-3 5, K. Smith 4-6 4-6 12, Martin 2-8 8-12 13, Scheiman 4-15 0-1 8, Nanney 0-0 0-0 0, Burns 0-5 1-4 1, S. Smith 3-7 1-2 8, Bailey 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 16-50 16-30 50.

Halftime — Methodist 25-21. 3-Point Goals — Methodist 1-8 (Huneycutt 1-5, Hayes 0-2, Woods 0-1), Averett 2-14 (Martin 1-5, S. Smith 1-2, Burns 0-3, Burns 0-2, Scheiman 0-2). Fouled Out — Taylor, Lyles. Technical Fouls — Averett — K. Smith. Rebounds — Methodist 45 (Taylor 8, Schrader 8), Averett 42 (K. Smith 17). Assists — Methodist 12 (Hayes 4), Averett 10 (Slade 3, Martin 3). Total Fouls — Methodist 21, Averett 20. A — 121.